Programs & Services Grants

The Foundation provides direct grants to fund programs and services in our four focus areas of intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health, and substance use disorders. Programs & Services grants support organizations working to improve the lives of children and young adults in our geographic footprint of Erie and Niagara Counties in Western New York and Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, and Nantucket Counties in Eastern Massachusetts.


Strengthening Partner Capacity Grants

The Foundation seeks to fund requests that, “build and/or strengthen the systems, structures, cultures, skills, resources, and power that organizations need to serve their communities.” Strengthening Partner Capacity grants are available for diversity, equity, inclusion; leadership development; mergers and affiliations; network/field-building events; organizational development; professional development; program design and planning; small capital projects/equipment purchases; technology planning/purchasing, and other ideas that help organizations better serve their communities as described above. We accept applications for Strengthening Partner Capacity grants multiple times a year. All other grants in this category are by invitation only.

To learn more contact us.


Community Change Grants

We understand that many issues can be best addressed when communities work together, pooling resources and expertise, and developing collaborative and creative solutions. By funding cross-organizational initiatives, we can help organizations broaden their outlook and their reach.

The Tower Foundation’s Community Change Portfolio consists of grants supporting communities in establishing accessible, holistic, integrated, collaborative services. In keeping with our mission, these are services that benefit children, adolescents, and young adults affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental illness, and/or substance use disorders.

Community Change grants generally support collaborative work intended to effect community-wide and/or systems-level change, such as efforts to eliminate structural barriers that can prevent young people and their families from receiving services. Please note that we accept requests for Community Change grants twice a year. To learn more contact us.

Where We Work

The Tower Foundation is focused on improving the lives of young people in the communities where Tower family members have lived, worked and raised their children including Western New York (Erie and Niagara Counties) and Eastern Massachusetts (Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, and Nantucket Counties).