Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation focuses on organizations that support people with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health problems and addiction.
IP TAKE: The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation’s work supports direct services such as early identification, diagnosis and support, as well as initiatives for community awareness and organizational capacity building. With only a few exceptions, grants support organizations that have a strong impact on communities in Western New York and Massachusetts. This funder has increased its grantmaking for organizations that continued to operate throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
An accessible and collaborative funder, Tower accepts applications for its programs and services, partner capacity and community change grants, and provides guidelines, due dates and application materials on its website. Prospective grantees are invited to schedule an informational call with a program officer or reach out via email with questions. It’s a responsive funder, as well, just make sure to have a clear, succinct idea of what you’d like to communicate. Tower is deeply invested in helping grantees develop their organization’s infrastructure in order to scale and better develop their work.
PROFILE: The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation was founded in 1990 by Peter and Elizabeth Tower and is based in Getzville, New York. Peter Tower ran his family’s business, the C.J. Tower & Sons customs brokerage house, for several decades, eventually selling it to McGraw-Hill in 1986. Elizabeth Tower was a painter whose work was exhibited frequently in the 1960s and 70s. The couple established their foundation to help young people affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health problems and substance abuse. The Towers’ two daughters and sons-in-law currently serve on the foundation’s board, and the foundation continues to make grants in its original areas of interest through three grantmaking programs.
Programs and Services Grants support organizations that provide direct services to children and young adults in select counties in New York and Massachusetts.
Strengthening Partner Capacity Grants support nonprofits working in the foundation’s interest areas with small capital projects, organizational development, program planning and professional development.
Community Change Grants support collaborative efforts to eliminate structural barriers that prevent children and youth from receiving appropriate services. Grantmaking prioritizes organizations in New York and Massachusetts, but recent grants have occasionally supported organizations in other parts of the country. This funder has ramped up its grantmaking for organizations that have maintained operations and services throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
Grants for Mental Health
The Tower Foundation supports mental health across all three of its grantmaking programs. Areas of interest include early identification and diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, family support programs, community support for people suffering from mental illness, addiction services and public awareness initiatives. Recent grantees include the Mental Health Associates of Erie County, University Psychiatric Practice of Buffalo and Roca, a Massachusetts organization that provides youth and young adults with mental health and addiction counseling and services.
Grants for Education
Tower’s education grants focus on special education and accommodations for students with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities and mental health issues. Grantees include service providers, schools and programs that provide support to families and caregivers. In Massachusetts, the foundation has given to the Research Institute for Learning and Development, which helps students with special needs strengthen their executive functioning skills and understand their own learning plans. Another education grantee, Learning Disabilities of Western New York, supports disabled children and adults with services and advocacy for academic and vocational success. Other grantees include the Buffalo City School District, Daemen College, the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Gloucester Education Foundation in Massachusetts.
Grants for Work and Economic Opportunity
Tower has given to several organizations that help disabled people obtain the training, counseling and experience they need to secure employment. Grantees include the Matt Urban Human Services Center of Western New York, Niagara University, the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services.
Grants for Public Health
Public health is a smaller area of giving for the Tower Foundation, with only a few grants supporting healthcare organizations in recent years. Grantees include Boston’s Health Law Advocates, the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and the Duffy Health Center of Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Important Grant Details:
The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation made about $8 million in grants in a recent year. Grants range from $5,000 to $450,000, with an average grant size of about $30,000. Grantees tend to be small- to medium-sized organizations that have a strong, positive impact on the foundation’s priority populations. More than half of all grants support organizations in Western New York and Massachusetts. For additional information about Tower’s past grants, see the foundation’s grant recipients page.
The Tower Foundation accepts applications for all three of its grantmaking programs. The foundation traditionally runs two yearly grantmaking cycles with due dates in April and August but is offering extra rounds of funding for organizations that have continued to offer mental health and addiction services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidelines and due dates for all programs are posted on the application page. Prospective grantees are invited to schedule informational calls with a program officer via online form. General inquiries may be directed to foundation staff via email.
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