South Carolina · Nonprofit
THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION
THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION (South Carolina) receives grants from 18 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,164,648 to it, the largest being THE MARCUS FOUNDATION INC ($500,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.5M
- Funders on record
- 18
- Grants received
- $1.2M
- Net assets
- $2.2M
What The Original Six Foundation does
Mission
The Original Six Foundation believes a student's educational opportunities should not be limited by the zip code in which he or she lives. Our mission is to break down barriers through after-school programming and early literacy initiatives in rural and underserved communities.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The original six (o6) foundation's flagship program, o6 afterschool, provides students in grades two through eight with a safe and supportive place to learn while closing academic gaps. What began as a small pilot program has grown significantly over the last decade. Currently in its 10th year, o6 afterschool is a model of impact and consistency. During the 2024-25 school year, o6 afterschool: -served nearly 1,000 students in 12 public schools located in eight counties (allendale, bamberg, clarendon, colleton, florence, greenville, marion, and union). -delivered 16,998 hour of individualized homework assistance provided by more than 120 certified teachers. -97% of parents reported the program positively impacted their child, and 92% of students said they understood schoolwork better after attending. In the fall of 2025, o6 afterschool expanded to a 13th school, sims middle school and extended programming for eighth-grade students at jonesville elementary school, both in union county.students receive not only academic support but also opportunities to explore career pathways. In recent years, o6 has: -supplied virtual reality headsets for career exploration in rural schools.…
$911,383 spent90% of program spendingSecond major program service accomplishment: The Original Six Foundation believes the greatest gift you can give a child is the ability to read. Reading proficiency is one of the most important predictors of long-term academic success, yet many children in under-resourced communities lack access to age-appropriate books. That's why o6 created my first library, a program that places books directly in the hands of kindergarten students.through my first library, each student chooses ten high-quality summer reading books at a year-end book fair, building their own at-home library. This program is unique because it: -starts early: unlike most reading programs that begin in first grade, my first library starts in kindergarten to prevent "summer slide," which accounts for up to 85% of the reading gap between lower-income and higher income peers. -prioritizes choice: research shows that children are more likely to read books they choose themselves 92% of kids agree. -targets the greatest need: as a statewide foundation, o6 identifies and invests in south carolina's most underserved schools. Since its launch, my first library has distributed over 109,000 books to more than 10,000…
$101,265 spent10% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,012,648.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $835k to $2.3M (+173%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
99% of THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (61% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Kara Meador
Executive director
Board chair
Michael Haley
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 7 funders, grant income rose $50k → $186k.
7 of 18 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 34% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 43% of grant income and the top three 72%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
42% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2020 65% · 2021 51% · 2022 67% · 2023 54% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
40% of THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 33% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION draws 94% of its grant income from funders outside South Carolina, across 8 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $396k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 2,127 community improvement nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,127 community improvement nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In South Carolina
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
94% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION?
- THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION (South Carolina) receives grants from 18 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,164,648 to it, the largest being THE MARCUS FOUNDATION INC ($500,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 18 organizations giving $1,164,648 in grants to THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION?
- THE MARCUS FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $500,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in South Carolina. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Original Six →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 18 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing