Treetop Foundation

Treetop Foundation is a small, family-directed private foundation (EIN 86-1360130) based in Reno, Nevada, run entirely by three unpaid directors — Luke Clauson, Kari Clauson, and William Clauson — with no paid staff and no program officers. With $2.65M in total assets and a mission to 'identify the needs in the people and organizations they are in contact with,' the foundation operates less like an institutional grantmaker and more like a family giving vehicle that funds people and organizations already inside its network: churches, Christian universities, pregnancy-resource centers, and individuals known personally to the directors (e.g., a $13,000 cumulative gift to an individual, George Fritz, for Bible school tuition and a Kenya mission trip). The database's own preselected_only flag confirms this — Treetop is not built to process a large volume of cold applications. First-time applicants should not expect an RFP, published guidelines, or a competitive review committee. Instead, the realistic path in is a warm introduction: a board member, pastor, or existing grantee who can vouch for the organization, followed by the foundation's own 'Determination of Need' form (name, address, amount requested, date needed, description of need, conflicts of interest) rather than a full narrative proposal. There is no evidence of a multi-stage LOI-to-full-proposal-to-site-visit pipeline; grants appear to be decided directly by the three directors based on personal knowledge of the need. Organizations aligned with the foundation's demonstrated faith-based and pro-life orientation (Salvation Army, South Reno Baptist Church, Life Choices Community Pregnancy Clinic, Generation Life, Arizona Christian University, Luis Palau Association) fit the pattern best. Secular organizations without a health, education, or acute-financial-need angle, or without any existing tie to the Reno/Northern Nevada Christian community, are a weak match. Given the foundation's small size and hands-on family governance, the most productive strategy is relationship-building over cycles rather than a one-time application — several grantees (Generation Life, George Fritz) received repeat, multi-year support once inside the circle.

Treetop Foundation's giving has grown steadily but remains modest in absolute terms. Per its IRS filings: 2020 — $0 total giving ($1.0M in assets, foundation newly funded); 2021 — $8,868 (1 grant); 2022 — $69,235 (grants paid $55,000); 2023 — $118,224 total giving (grants paid $112,500) against $2.7M in assets; 2024 — total giving not yet reported in the DB snapshot, but third-party aggregation shows 14 grants totaling roughly $104,000, an average of about $7,000 per grant. The database's cumulative top-recipient table (16 grants, $223,500 total, $13,969 average) spans multiple years and skews toward a handful of larger gifts: The Salvation Army Golden State Division received $100,000 across 2 grants (44% of the tracked total), South Reno Baptist Church $30,000 in one gift, Life Choices Community Pregnancy Clinic $20,000, and Generation Life $15,000 across 3 grants. The smallest tracked gift was $1,000 (Compassion International). By 2024, per Grantable's independent tally, the pattern shifted toward more, smaller checks — Young Life Asia ($25,000), South Reno Baptist Church ($20,000), and The Master's University ($15,000) topped that year, with the average grant falling to roughly $7,000 as volume rose. Geographically, California and Nevada each account for roughly a third of dollars granted (35% and 34% respectively per Grantable), with the remainder spread thinly across Colorado, Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, and Virginia — consistent with a network of personal and church relationships rather than a defined service region. By program type, funding splits between direct charitable/operating support to churches and nonprofits, individual scholarships and needs-based assistance (the $650 homeschool summer-course scholarship program), and cause-specific gifts to pro-life and faith-based organizations. As a non-operating private foundation, Treetop must distribute roughly 5% of assets annually — an estimated $131,000-$135,000 minimum payout requirement for 2024-2025 — which explains the rising grant count as assets have grown from $1.0M (2020) to $2.65M (2024).

Treetop Foundation sits within a large, undifferentiated cluster of small family philanthropies nationally classified under Philanthropy & Grantmaking, with asset levels within a few thousand dollars of each other — a sign these are comparably-sized closely-held family vehicles rather than a competitive peer set with distinct strategies.

None of these peers publish public websites or grant guidelines in the available data, reinforcing that Treetop — despite having a live website with a named application form — is still relatively more transparent than its closest peer set. Grant seekers should treat all six as low-yield for cold applications and prioritize warm introductions; Treetop's willingness to publish a mission statement and an application form online is a modest differentiator worth exploiting relative to peers with no public presence at all.

No independent news coverage, press releases, or leadership announcements were found for Treetop Foundation in 2025 or 2026 — the foundation does not appear to conduct public communications or issue grant announcements outside its IRS Form 990-PF filings and its own low-detail website. The most current available activity signal is third-party 990 aggregation showing 2024 grantmaking of 14 grants totaling approximately $104,000, with Young Life Asia ($25,000), South Reno Baptist Church ($20,000), and The Master's University ($15,000) as the largest 2024 recipients — a continuation of the faith-based, education, and youth-ministry focus seen in the foundation's earlier grants to Arizona Christian University, Luis Palau Association, and Generation Life. Governance has been stable: the same three directors (Luke Clauson, Kari Clauson, William Clauson) have run the foundation since its 2022 IRS ruling date, all serving without compensation. The foundation's asset base grew from $1.0M at inception (2020) to $2.65M by fiscal 2024, driven by contributions of $1,000,000 (2020), $1,000,000 (2021), $500,000 (2022), and $375,000 (2023) from the founding family, with grantmaking volume rising in step (0 grants in 2020 to 14 in 2024) as the foundation works through its minimum-distribution requirement on a larger asset base. There is no evidence of a new program launch, a strategic-plan announcement, or a shift in geographic or cause focus in the most recent filings — this remains a steady, personally-directed family giving operation rather than one undergoing institutional change.

Treetop Foundation does not run a competitive, publicly-advertised grant program, so conventional cold-proposal tactics are unlikely to work. First, secure a warm connection before applying: nearly every identifiable grantee (South Reno Baptist Church, Life Choices Community Pregnancy Clinic, Generation Life, Arizona Christian University, Luis Palau Association, individual missionary George Fritz) has a direct, traceable tie to the Clauson family's church, geographic community (Reno/Northern Nevada), or faith network — an unsolicited application from an organization with no such connection has little precedent of success. Second, use the foundation's own channel: the application_process field states applicants should submit a 'determination of need' via the Contact Us page or online form at treetopfoundation.org, providing name, address, amount requested, date needed, a description of need, and disclosure of any conflicts of interest — keep this factual and specific rather than writing a traditional multi-page narrative proposal, since the foundation's process appears built for concrete, itemized requests (tuition, a specific program cost, an emergency need) rather than general operating support pitches. Third, align language with the foundation's stated mission — 'support health, education, and/or financial needs that an individual or organization may not have the ability to pay for' — and, where genuine, its demonstrated faith-based and pro-life funding pattern; avoid generic nonprofit boilerplate. Fourth, respect the scholarship-specific cycle: the $650 homeschool summer-course scholarship has an annual deadline around March 21 for the following academic cycle, and is a narrow, specific program (college-bound homeschooled high schoolers), not a general education grant. Fifth, keep the ask modest and specific — the 2024 average grant was about $7,000, and even top recipients rarely exceeded $25,000-$30,000 in a single gift, so requests should be scaled to fill a defined, itemized gap rather than fund an entire large program or annual budget. Common mistakes to avoid: submitting a generic 501(c)(3) proposal packet with no personal connection, requesting general operating support rather than a defined need, and expecting a formal review timeline or written decline — with three volunteer directors and no staff, response times and communication are likely informal and slow.