A New Landscape Analysis Explores the Tower Foundation’s Role in Advocacy
2026 marks an important milestone for the Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation. This year, we’re taking a closer look at how we can use our voice and resources to advance change through advocacy.
For more than three decades, the Tower Foundation has supported nonprofit organizations in Western New York and Eastern Massachusetts working to improve the lives of young people affected by learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, substance use disorder, and mental health challenges. Our grant partners help these young people get the support, services, and opportunities they deserve. But they also see the limits of what any one organization can do when policies, systems, and stigma keep standing in young people’s way.
As we’ve explored how to better support these organizations, our Board of Trustees recognized an opportunity to do more. As funders, we can go beyond supporting direct services to amplify our grant partners’ efforts to address the systemic barriers affecting young people in our focus areas.
That’s why, late last year, we contracted with America Forward, a nonpartisan policy and advocacy organization, to better understand how the broader philanthropic community engages in advocacy and explore how the Foundation can advance meaningful systems change across our four issue areas.
Under a grant agreement with America Forward, now an independent organization, we commissioned the “Tower Foundation Landscape Analysis: Advocacy for Impact.” Over several months, we worked with America Forward to interview more than 60 individuals representing 40 organizations, including current Foundation staff and Trustees, grant partners, and peer funders. America Forward also reviewed federal advocacy regulations
The resulting analysis serves as a practical, adaptable playbook to help us understand the advocacy landscape, reflect on our existing efforts, and identify opportunities to advance systems change.
Five Recommendations to Guide Our Work
The analysis outlines five overarching recommendations for the Foundation to consider as we develop our approach to advocacy:
- Invest in organizations that engage in impactful policy advocacy efforts.
- Invest in “backbone” organizations that effectively lead collective policy advocacy efforts.
- Identify a limited number of actionable advocacy priorities.
- Invest in advocacy capacity-building.
- Deepen the Foundation’s direct role in advocacy.
Together, these recommendations offer a framework for strengthening advocacy capacity, building on existing relationships, and identifying opportunities for collective action.
Why This Work Matters Now
Advocacy is not separate from our mission; it’s an extension of it. Our grant partners and fellow funders have reinforced the importance of engaging in advocacy to influence systems and policies that shape young people’s opportunities. Addressing these barriers requires sustained effort from organizations, communities, and funders alike.
The time for this work is now.
A recent Associated Press analysis reported that more than $177 billion in federal grants had been cut or frozen since January 2025. These funding changes have added pressure on nonprofit organizations, including our grant partners, as they seek alternative funding sources to sustain essential services for young people affected by learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, substance use disorders, and mental health challenges.
At the same time, organizations working to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion are navigating a changing and often hostile environment. Some foundations and other institutions have scaled back public commitments, revised language around racial equity, or withdrawn support for DEI-related initiatives.
The Tower Foundation remains steadfast in our commitment to equity and to the young people and families our partners serve. As we navigate these shifts, we will continue to leverage both our voice and resources in ways that reflect our values.
As the needs of young people affected by our focus areas and the policy landscape continue to evolve, so must the ways we support the organizations working alongside them. This analysis gives us an opportunity to consider how advocacy can complement our grantmaking and how we can continue working toward our vision for all young people to be included, accepted, valued, and confident in themselves.