Treehouse Family Foundation

The Treehouse Family Foundation is a young, lean private family foundation established in January 2022 and headquartered nominally at a WeWork co-working space at 115 Broadway, Floor 5, in lower Manhattan. With assets growing from an initial $65 million founding endowment to $141 million by 2024, the foundation has scaled its charitable giving from zero in its inaugural year to approximately $20.8 million in estimated 2024 disbursements — a pace that reflects a family at the beginning of a serious, multi-decade philanthropic commitment.

The foundation operates on an exclusively invitation-based model. No open RFP, application portal, or grants page exists. Internal database records confirm application instructions as "none" and the preselected-only flag as active across all grant intelligence platforms. David Proctor (President, Director, and Treasurer) and Sarah Groothuis (Secretary) run the foundation entirely as volunteers with $0 in officer compensation, consistent with a tightly held family giving vehicle rather than a professionally staffed institution.

The strategic posture strongly favors depth over breadth. Of 26 total grants recorded in available IRS filings, 12 went to just three organizations on a recurring multi-year basis: the Philanthropic Impact Fund (a donor-advised fund pass-through), the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Success Academy Charter Schools. This multi-year commitment pattern indicates Treehouse builds trust-based relationships before making significant investments — and once a relationship is established, grants tend to grow in size over successive years.

The giving philosophy centers on two interlocking pillars: high-impact scientific research (the Broad Institute's genomics work being the clearest expression at $7.4M) and educational opportunity through mission-driven K-12 institutions, scholarship programs, and universities serving first-generation students. Community health and social services fill a supporting role, with grantees in South Carolina's Lowcountry, Sacramento, and New York rounding out the portfolio.

For prospective grantees, the realistic path is not a formal application. Organizations in the foundation's established geographies working in K-12 education reform, biomedical research, or community health should prioritize earned visibility within the foundation's network — through board member connections at existing grantees like Northeastern University or Meeting Street Schools, peer foundation introductions, or thoughtful, patient cultivation of principal relationships over time.

Treehouse Family Foundation's financial trajectory tells a story of rapid, deliberate scale-up. Contributions received followed a declining inflow pattern: $65M (2020, the founding endowment), $35M (2021), $32M (2022), and $24M (2023) — suggesting the capital formation phase is largely complete. Total assets climbed from $65M to $100M to $125M to $137M to $141M over those same years, with net investment income partially offsetting grants paid.

Grants paid have mirrored this acceleration: $0 (2020), $325K (2021), $7.0M (2022), $14.8M (2023), with 2024 disbursements estimated at approximately $20.8M based on total expenses. The 111% year-over-year jump from 2022 to 2023 marks a clear inflection — the foundation shifted decisively from accumulation to deployment.

Of 26 recorded grants totaling $29.1 million across 15 grantees, the Philanthropic Impact Fund accounts for $18.5M (64%) across three grants. This appears to be a donor-advised fund or philanthropic re-granting vehicle functioning as a pass-through, which substantially obscures the direct charitable footprint. Excluding that vehicle, direct grants total approximately $10.6M across 22 grants to 14 organizations.

Direct grant sizing: The largest single cumulative recipient is the Broad Institute at $7,442,753 (3 grants). The median direct grant is approximately $172,050 (Los Rios Colleges Foundation). The smallest is $5,000 (National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect). Typical direct grant range excluding the Broad Institute outlier: $25,000–$900,000, with an average of approximately $112,000.

Sector breakdown of direct grants by dollar: biomedical/scientific research ~70% (Broad Institute), K-12 education and scholarships ~15% (Success Academy $450K, Meeting Street Schools $900K, Children's Scholarship Fund $200K), higher education ~9% (Northeastern University $710K, Los Rios $172K, Sacramento State $25K), community health and services ~6% (Neighborhood Wellness $200K, CHOC Foundation $25K, Sacramento LGBT Community Center $75K, National Foundation $5K).

Geographic distribution by grant count: New York 7 (27%), Massachusetts 6 (23%), California 6 (23%), South Carolina 3 (12%), Tennessee 3 (12%), Colorado 1 (4%). Importantly, every recorded grant carries a "General Support" designation — no restricted programmatic grants appear in any available filing.

The five asset-comparable peers identified in the foundation's database record all fall within the $140–142M asset range and share the NTEE category "Philanthropy & Grantmaking" — but differ sharply in structure, accessibility, and program focus.

Treehouse is unusual among the peer group in two respects. First, it is by far the youngest — founded in 2022 versus decades of operating history for Howmet, Dohmen, and Mortenson — which means its grantmaking identity is still crystallizing. Second, its concentration in the Broad Institute ($7.4M) represents a level of scientific philanthropy more commonly associated with much larger foundations such as Wellcome Trust or Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Howmet Aerospace Foundation is the most accessible peer, with a transparent application process tied to STEM workforce development near its Pennsylvania and global manufacturing sites. Dohmen and Mortenson are both geographically restricted family/corporate foundations with limited external access. Overlook and Bazar Robin have no public web presence and are functionally closed to unsolicited outreach.

No press releases, foundation news pages, or public announcements specific to Treehouse Family Foundation (EIN 85-4230020) were located during research conducted through March 2026. The foundation does not maintain an active public website — the listed domain treehouse.org redirects to an unrelated community resource in Florence, Oregon — and its WeWork co-working address reflects a minimal institutional footprint consistent with a private family operation.

The most recently available IRS filing covers fiscal year 2023, showing $14,828,330 in grants paid across 13 awards to organizations in New York, Massachusetts, South Carolina, California, and Tennessee. The 2024 fiscal year data (partial, from the 990-PF header) shows total assets of $141,086,989 and total revenue of $24,663,788, with an estimated $20.8 million in charitable disbursements based on expense totals — but the grants paid line item is not yet available, consistent with a filing timeline extending into late 2025.

Leadership has remained stable since inception. David Proctor has served continuously as Director, President, and Treasurer; Sarah Groothuis as Secretary. Neither has received compensation across any available filing year. No new officers, program staff, or advisory board members appear in public records. The c/o address listing as "Treehouse Family Service" at the WeWork location suggests administrative support may flow through a related family services entity rather than foundation-employed staff.

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard — the foundation's largest direct grantee — has continued to be a global leader in genomic medicine and disease research, with major publications and funding announcements through 2025. Its sustained relationship with Treehouse indicates alignment with the principals' long-term scientific philanthropy priorities.

Treehouse Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited applications. This is confirmed by third-party grant databases including GrantExec, Instrumentl, and Grantable, and by the absence of any application portal, grants page, or contact form on the listed website. The following guidance reflects strategies for getting on the foundation's radar — not navigating a formal submission process.

Build from existing grantee networks first. The strongest realistic entry point is a warm introduction from an organization already in the portfolio. Northeastern University, Success Academy Charter Schools, Meeting Street Schools (South Carolina), and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard are the most prominent recurring grantees. Development directors, board members, and presidents at these organizations represent the most valuable relationship nodes for an introduction to David Proctor.

Lead with scientific rigor or educational outcomes. The Broad Institute commitment ($7.4M across three years) is the largest direct investment in the foundation's history. Any organization in biomedical research, life sciences, or evidence-driven social programming should emphasize peer-reviewed methodology, quantified impact metrics, and institutional credibility. For education organizations, documented student outcome data — particularly for low-income or underserved students — aligns with the Success Academy, Children's Scholarship Fund, and Meeting Street Schools pattern.

Frame all communications around general operating support. Every recorded Treehouse grant across all available years is designated "General Support." Do not propose restricted project grants, capital campaigns, or equipment purchases in any initial outreach — unrestricted organizational strengthening is the only documented grant type.

Match geography precisely. New York metro, Cambridge/Boston MA, South Carolina's Bluffton-Hilton Head-Charleston corridor, and Sacramento CA are the confirmed geographic anchors. Tennessee and Colorado appear in the record with three and one grants respectively but likely reflect personal connections rather than programmatic focus areas. Organizations operating primarily outside these five regions face significantly weaker alignment cases.

Keep initial outreach concise and relationship-oriented. With only two volunteer officers and no program staff, Treehouse cannot manage high-volume prospective grantee correspondence. A single, well-crafted introduction letter of one page or less — expressing mission alignment and requesting a 20-minute introductory call rather than immediately asking for funding — is the appropriate first communication. Reference specific shared grantees by name to signal genuine research and alignment, not boilerplate.