Tom Raper Foundation Inc.

Tom Raper Foundation Inc. is a small, closely-held family foundation with no formal grants program, no published RFP, and no online portal — its own application-instructions field reads simply 'No Specific Requirements.' It was founded in 1981 by Tom and Suzanne Raper, who built Tom Raper RVs into the nation's largest RV dealership in Richmond, IN; since Tom's death in 2015, Suzanne D. Raper has run the foundation as President. The board is unusually clergy-heavy for a private foundation of its size — Secretary Thomas J. Odom and Director Ryan Thompson both carry 'Pastor' titles, alongside VP Dr. John Collier and Director Dr. Charles Keen — which signals that giving decisions run through personal and denominational relationships rather than a competitive review committee. Grantee data bears this out: recipients skew heavily toward independent, fundamentalist Baptist institutions (West Coast Baptist College, Hyles-Anderson College, Ambassador Baptist College), church-planting and evangelism ministries, and Bible-translation/distribution groups — a tight theological lane rather than broad-based 'general philanthropy.' First-time, cold applicants should not expect a response to an unsolicited web-form inquiry alone; the strongest path in is a warm introduction from an existing grantee, an affiliated Baptist college network, or a shared ministry contact who already has standing with Suzanne Raper or the board. Because there is no disclosed LOI-to-full-proposal cycle, treat any engagement as informal and discretionary: a short, personal letter framed around gospel impact — not a generic nonprofit capacity pitch — is more likely to land than a formal grant application packet. The foundation favors concrete, tangible asks (a vehicle for a missionary, a building-renovation project, a scholarship fund) over general operating support, and it has funded both domestic capital projects (church mortgage reduction, college dining-hall remodel) and international field work (Ukraine relief, Colombia scripture publishing, Mongolia pro-life center, South African adoption ministry, Zambian church-planter vehicles). Applicants whose theology, denomination, or program type sits outside conservative evangelical/Baptist Christianity are unlikely to be a fit regardless of program quality.

Across the tracked grant history (30 grants, $1,080,208 total, average $36,007), the median-sized grant sits at roughly $23,200 and the disclosed 'typical grant' band is $8,400–$38,000 (median $23,200, average $24,014, n=15), while the largest single-recipient relationship — West Coast Baptist College, an independent Baptist Bible college in Lancaster, CA — has drawn $138,000 across three grants for office relocation, a dining-hall/kitchen remodel, and student-aid replenishment. Other six-figure single grants include $100,000 to Lifesigns Deaf Baptist Church (mortgage reduction on a new building) and $100,000 to Bearing Precious Seed (outreach). Below that top tier, awards drop quickly: Hyles-Anderson College ($95,000/2 grants), Hope Children's Home ($88,000/2 grants), Tim Lee Ministries ($80,000/2 grants), down to a long tail of $8,400–$50,000 single grants to evangelistic and missions organizations. Total giving has been volatile because the foundation is non-operating and funds almost entirely from investment returns rather than new contributions (contributions received were $0 in FY2018-2020 and just $3,300 in FY2021): total giving ran $444,372 (FY2010), fell to $250,524 (FY2018) after a weak investment year, then rebounded to $548,916 (FY2020) and $477,770 (FY2021) as net investment income swung from $287,702 to $656,587. Total assets have grown steadily but modestly, from $4,645,909 (FY2010) to $5,962,588 (FY2021) — roughly 2%/year net of grantmaking. Geographically, California leads with 5 grantees, followed by Ohio (4), Florida/Georgia/Indiana (3 each), and Tennessee/Texas/West Virginia/Iowa (1-2 each) — broader than the foundation's officially disclosed geographic focus of CA/TN/FL, with a clear secondary cluster in the Midwest near the foundation's Richmond, IN home base. By purpose, funding splits roughly between capital/facilities projects (building renovation, mortgage paydown, campus relocation) and program/outreach funding (student aid, evangelistic events, scripture distribution, missionary support), with a smaller but recurring international-relief thread (Ukraine, South Africa, Colombia, Mongolia).

Tom Raper sits in the same small-to-mid evangelical family-foundation tier as Birtcher — both are non-operating, investment-income-funded, faith-specific funders with no open RFP — but Tom Raper's median grant ($23,200) runs noticeably higher than Birtcher's ($17,112), and its top single awards ($100K) dwarf Birtcher's $50K ceiling. Maclellan is a different scale entirely (30x the assets, 40-60x the annual giving) and functions as a national leader in evangelical philanthropy with a formal — if still invitation-only — review process, useful as an aspirational comparison for how a similarly-themed funder professionalizes at scale. For grant seekers, the practical takeaway is that Tom Raper behaves less like Maclellan and more like Birtcher: a personal, relationship-gated funder where fit and introduction matter more than proposal polish.

No 2025 or 2026 news coverage, press releases, or foundation announcements were found for Tom Raper Foundation Inc. in any indexed source — the foundation does not appear to issue press releases or maintain an active news/blog presence, and its own website content is static and undated. The most recent financial data available (FY2021, $477,770 in total giving against $5,962,588 in assets) predates the current reporting window; the platform's own record shows the foundation profile was last verified on 2026-06-20 and web-enriched on 2026-02-22, but neither refresh surfaced newer grant or news detail, consistent with a foundation that files 990s but does not otherwise publicize its activity. Leadership has been stable since Suzanne D. Raper became President following Tom Raper's death in April 2015; the current officer roster (VP Dr. John Collier, Secretary Pastor Thomas J. Odom, Treasurer Dr. Tim Schelling, and directors including Pastor Ryan Thompson, Dr. Charles Keen, Nancy Brookbank, and Gayle Washington) shows no recent turnover based on available filings. Absent fresh public signal, grant seekers should treat the foundation's giving pattern as continuous with its FY2018-2021 behavior — a steady, mission-anchored evangelical funder whose grant volume rises and falls with its investment portfolio rather than with any announced strategic shift — and should verify current officer contacts and mailing details directly before reaching out, since the PO Box 69, Richmond, IN address and (954) 261-3217 phone number (a Fort Lauderdale, FL area code, where Tom Raper died in 2015) may reflect Suzanne Raper's personal location rather than a staffed office.

There is no application form, deadline, or portal — the foundation's own instructions field says 'No Specific Requirements,' and its website offers only a generic contact form (name, phone, email, message) with no named program officer or dedicated grants email. Given that pattern plus a board stacked with pastors, the highest-value move is securing a warm referral: identify a current or past grantee (West Coast Baptist College, Hyles-Anderson College, Hope Children's Home, Bearing Precious Seed, and similar independent Baptist/evangelical institutions are a good starting list) and ask for an introduction, rather than submitting cold through the web form. When reaching out, lead with explicitly Gospel-centered, evangelical language that mirrors the foundation's own framing ('furtherance of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,' 'strengthen the Lord's work') — a secular capacity-building or general-operating pitch is a poor fit for this funder regardless of program quality. Ask for something concrete and capital-flavored where possible: past grants funded a specific vehicle, a building remodel, a mortgage paydown, or a named scholarship/student-aid fund rather than unrestricted operating support, and proposals framed around a discrete, fundable project (with a clear dollar figure in the observed $8,400-$100,000 range) are more legible to a small, informally-reviewed foundation than an open-ended ask. Common mistakes to avoid: treating this like a competitive grant program with a review cycle (there is no evidence of one), sending generic secular-nonprofit boilerplate, or over-asking — the top single-year relationship in the data (West Coast Baptist College) still totals under $150K cumulative across three separate grants, suggesting even favored, recurring relationships are funded incrementally rather than with one large multi-year commitment. Because the foundation is non-operating and funds primarily from investment income, timing an ask to follow a strong market year (giving nearly doubled from FY2018's $250,524 to FY2020's $548,916 alongside a jump in net investment income) may modestly improve odds, though this is circumstantial rather than a published pattern. Given the heavy representation of independent Baptist colleges and churches among grantees, organizations outside that specific theological tradition should calibrate expectations accordingly.