Nuguna Mission International is a faith-based funder primarily supporting missionary activity and mission societies, with a clear emphasis on Korean-language or Korean-origin ministries. Most of its dollars go to a small set of mission organizations and individual missionary support rather than broad secular causes, indicating a focused, denomination- or community-specific giving intent. The foundation funds both institutional mission groups and individual missionaries, suggesting priority for direct fieldwork and personnel support.
Highly concentrated giving: a small number of moderate-to-large grants (several five-figure gifts) to repeat and closely related grantees rather than many small, diverse recipients.
Nuguna Mission International centers its giving on North Korea-related missionary work, with large grants flowing to mission organizations and individual workers tied to that field. The biggest recent award in the data was $154,180 to Nmik in Seoul for missionary activity support, and the foundation also made another large 2025 grant of $33,046 to the same organization for the same purpose. That pattern points to sustained backing for a small set of ministries rather than broad, diversified grantmaking. The foundation also supported Tongil Somang Mission in Seoul with $26,700 for mission society work, showing that organizational mission infrastructure is part of its portfolio. Alongside institutional support, it funds individual missionaries and missionary families, including recipients in California, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Its giving is tightly linked to Korean-origin Christian ministry, especially work connected to North Korean missions, church planting, and field operations. The recent record shows both direct support for personnel and larger allocations to mission societies, reflecting a grantmaking style built around targeted ministry resourcing rather than general charitable programs.
A major theme in the record is missionary activity support. Nuguna Mission International gave $154,180 to Nmik in Seoul and another $33,046 to the same recipient for missionary activity support, indicating that field ministry resourcing is a central priority. Mission society support is another clear area. The foundation awarded $26,700 to Tongil Somang Mission in Seoul for mission society work, which fits its broader pattern of backing organizations that coordinate North Korea-related ministry. It also funds individual missionary support. Grants include $17,600 to Kwon OS in Welwyn Garden City, $13,500 to Jin K Choi in Santa Clara, and $3,000 to Jacob Zhu in Santa Clara. In addition, $2,510 went to James Lee in San Jose for mission expenses for the Ester Team, showing support for team-based field work as well as personal missionary service.
The reported grant-size distribution is tightly skewed upward: p25 is $1,300, the median is $2,876, and p75 is $19,875. That spread matches a pattern of a few large mission grants alongside smaller support awards. The recent record also shows repeat support to the same recipients across years, including Nmik in 2025 and 2023, Nmi Korea in 2023, and Yeona Hong in 2025 and 2023. Nuguna Mission International funds individuals and organizations, and its active programs include both unsolicited and non-unsolicited channels depending on the program, with some support arrangements described as customized sponsorships and reporting-based partnerships.
$315K
$63K
$121K
$87K
Most grants fall between $1K and $20K, with a median of $3K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$3K
75th Percentile
$20K
About 100% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Top 3 recipient countries by grant volume for Nuguna Mission International.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 11 | $31K | 68.8% |
| 2 | South Korea | 4 | $267K |
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Notable grantees: NMIK, NMI KOREA, Tongil Somang Mission, Kwon OS, Jin K Choi
Every grant in the recent list went to recipients in the foundation’s top giving state, California, or to recipients outside the United States. Seoul appears repeatedly as a recipient city, including Nmik, Nmi Korea, and Tongil Somang Mission, and Welwyn Garden City appears once through Kwon OS. U.S.-based recipients are concentrated in Santa Clara, San Diego, San Jose, Fullerton, and Diamond Bar. The recipient-country distribution shows 68.8% of grants in the US, 25.0% in KS, and 6.2% in the UK.
It supports mission organizations, mission societies, individual missionaries, and North Korea-related ministry workers. In the recent grants list, awards went to organizations in Seoul as well as to individual recipients in California, including missionary support and mission-expense funding.
Yes. The foundation funds individuals, and the recent grants include multiple named people such as Jin K Choi, Jacob Zhu, James Lee, Yeona Hong, and Jin Xue Song. Several of those grants were labeled missionary support or mission expenses.
The grant-size profile is small to mid-sized for many awards, with p25 at $1,300 and a median of $2,876. The upper quartile is much higher at $19,875, which reflects a mix of modest individual support and larger organizational grants.
Its giving is local and entirely in the HQ state, California, which accounts for 100% of grants to recipients in the state. Recent California recipients include Santa Clara, San Diego, San Jose, Fullerton, and Diamond Bar.
The record centers on Korean-origin Christian missionary activity, mission society and field operations support, and individual missionary or missionary-family support. Recent grants also include North Korean refugee assistance and mission-expense support for a team effort.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
25.0% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 1 | $18K | 6.3% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NMIK | SEOUL | $154,180 | 2025 | MISSIONARY ACTIVITY SUPPORT |
| NMIK | SEOUL | $33,046 | 2025 | MISSIONARY ACTIVITY SUPPORT |
| Tongil Somang Mission | Seoul | $26,700 | 2025 | Mission Society |
| Kwon OS | Welwyn Garden City | $17,600 | 2025 | Missionary Support |
| SDCKC | San Diego, CA | $3,500 | 2025 | Missionary Support |
| Jin Choi | Fullerton, CA | $2,753 | 2025 | Missionary Support |
| James Lee | San Jose, CA | $2,510 | 2025 | Mission Exp for Ester Team |
| Yeona Hong | Santa Clara, CA | $1,600 | 2025 | North Korean refugee Assistance Program |
| Yeona Hong | Santa Clara, CA | $1,400 | 2025 | North Korean refugee Assistance Program |
| Jin Xue Song | Diamond Bar, CA | $900 | 2025 | Missionary Support |
| Jin Xue Song | Diamond Bar, CA | $300 | 2025 | Missionary Support |
| NMI KOREA | SEOUL | $53,000 | 2023 | MISSIONARY ACTIVITY SUPPORT |
| Jin K Choi | Santa Clara, CA | $13,500 | 2023 | Missionary Support |
| Jacob Zhu | Santa Clara, CA | $3,000 | 2023 | Missionary |
| Yeona Hong | Santa Clara, CA | $1,000 | 2023 | North Korean refugee Assistance Program |
| Empower and Renew Foundation | Santa Clara, CA | $300 | 2023 | Mission Support |
NMIK
$154,180MISSIONARY ACTIVITY SUPPORT
NMIK
$33,046MISSIONARY ACTIVITY SUPPORT
Tongil Somang Mission
$26,700Mission Society
Kwon OS
$17,600Missionary Support
SDCKC
$3,500Missionary Support
Jin Choi
$2,753Missionary Support
James Lee
Mission Exp for Ester Team
Yeona Hong
$1,600North Korean refugee Assistance Program
Yeona Hong
$1,400North Korean refugee Assistance Program
Jin Xue Song
$900Missionary Support
Jin Xue Song
$300Missionary Support
NMI KOREA
$53,000MISSIONARY ACTIVITY SUPPORT
Jin K Choi
$13,500Missionary Support
Jacob Zhu
$3,000Missionary
Yeona Hong
$1,000North Korean refugee Assistance Program
Empower and Renew Foundation
$300Mission Support