Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation

What Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation does

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, doing business as The Tower Foundation, is a private 501(c)(3) family foundation headquartered in Getzville, New York. It was established by Peter and Elizabeth Tower after Peter's death, with roots tracing to the founders' meeting at Cornell University in 1938 and their subsequent life in Western New York. The foundation's mission is improving the lives of children, adolescents, and young adults, with an explicit equity lens, and it concentrates grantmaking on organizations serving young people affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health challenges, and substance use disorders. Its geographic scope is tightly bounded to Erie and Niagara Counties in Western New York and Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, and Nantucket Counties in Eastern Massachusetts.

The foundation operates four grantmaking tracks: Programs & Services, Strengthening Partner Capacity, Community Change, and GetSET — an invitation-only organizational resilience initiative co-created with the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York and replicated in Massachusetts. Grants are disbursed through a website-based application portal, with public communications handled via e-newsletter, blog, annual highlights, and impact stories. Notable awards include $100,000 to the Buffalo Together Fund (2022), $350,000 to the Community Foundation for Nantucket for the Nantucket Behavioral Health Initiative (2023), and $20,936 to Housing Assistance Corporation of Cape Cod for COVID-19 response (2020).

In April 2025, the foundation announced it would suspend its three regular grant cycles for the remainder of the year and reallocate approximately $4.9 million into emergency response grants — general operating support (~$2.7M), systemic response (~$1.2M), shared services (~$500K), and a reserve (~$500K) — in response to federal funding uncertainty affecting the populations it serves. The foundation is governed by trustees and staffed by a small team including Tracy Sawicki, Kathy Andriaccio, Chuck Colston, Megan MacDavey, Don Matteson, and Nick Randell. It does not operate a technology product, mobile app, or AI-driven offering; its competitive posture rests on regional density, co-funding partnerships, and reputational capital rather than proprietary technology.

Name

Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation

Legal name

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation

Website

https://thetowerfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) family foundation that grants funds to nonprofit organizations serving children, adolescents, and young adults affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health challenges, and substance use disorders in Western New York and Eastern Massachusetts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Family foundation grantmaking
• Nonprofit capacity building
• Youth disability services
• Philanthropic grant programs
• Emergency response funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Getzville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Grantmaking (Disbursements): The Foundation operates as a private grantmaking foundation, distributing funds to eligible nonprofit organizations serving children, adolescents, and young adults affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health challenges, and substance use disorders.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation is a private family foundation that provides grantmaking services to nonprofit organizations serving children, adolescents, and young adults affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health challenges, and substance use disorders. Its core offerings are structured grant programs (Programs & Services, Strengthening Partner Capacity, Community Change) and the GetSET organizational resilience initiative. For the remainder of 2025, the Foundation has shifted to emergency response grantmaking following federal funding uncertainty.

Product overview

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation is a family foundation that provides grantmaking services to support organizations serving children, adolescents, and young adults affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health, and/or substance use disorders. The foundation operates grant programs including Programs & Services, Strengthening Partner Capacity, Community Change, and GetSET (an organizational resilience initiative). The foundation does not offer a technology product or software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Programs & Services Grants Grants to nonprofit organizations providing direct program services for children, adolescents, and young adults affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health, and substance use disorders in Western New York and Eastern Massachusetts.
• Strengthening Partner Capacity Grants Grants to help nonprofit partner organizations strengthen their organizational capacity, sustainability, and ability to serve their mission.
• Community Change Grants Grants supporting community change efforts related to the Foundation's focus areas, including advocacy and systemic response.
• GetSET (Sustainability, Efficiency, and Transformation) Program An invitation-only capacity-building program for mature, mid-sized nonprofit organizations experiencing rapid growth, designed to strengthen organizational structure, strategic planning, communications, leadership, and sustainability so they can better meet their mission and attract funding.
• 2025 Emergency Response Grants Emergency grant funding provided to nonprofit grantees serving the Foundation's focus populations, comprising general operating support, systemic response funding, and shared services support for the remainder of 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participating organizations report improved organizational structure, strategic planning, and sustainability

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• United Way of Buffalo & Erie CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnered to establish the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund following the May 14, 2022 racist mass shooting at the Tops grocery store. The Tower Foundation contributed $100,000 to this joint response fund along with the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.
• Health Foundation for Western and Central New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Co-created the GetSET (Sustainability, Efficiency, and Transformation) program model. The Health Foundation for Western and Central New York and the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, along with other local foundations, funded organizations to participate in this invitation-only program designed to strengthen organizations to better meet their mission.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Klarman Family Foundation: Private family foundation with a strong focus on mental health and well-being. Comparable to the Tower Foundation in structure (private family foundation) and in targeting mental-health-related grantees, though operating at national scale.
• Health Foundation for Western and Central New York: Western and Central New York-based private health foundation that co-created the GetSET program with the Tower Foundation. Most direct comparable peer — similar geography, similar focus on vulnerable populations, and an active grantmaking partner.
• John R. Oishei Foundation: Large Western New York private foundation with a focus on health, education, and community services. Directly comparable peer in mission scope and regional footprint, though with a broader and larger grantmaking portfolio.
• Margaret L. Wendt Foundation: Western New York private foundation that funds human services, education, and youth programs in the same regional ecosystem as the Tower Foundation. Comparable in scope, structure, and geographic focus.
• The James H. Cummings Foundation: Buffalo-area private foundation supporting youth, education, and health initiatives. Comparable to the Tower Foundation in geographic focus, mission area, and grantmaking approach.

Broad incumbents

• The Boston Foundation: Large community foundation serving Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, overlapping with the Tower Foundation's MA geography. Comparable as a regional funder but with much broader scope, deeper resources, and a wider programmatic portfolio.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Large national health-focused foundation with grantmaking in mental health and substance use, areas that overlap with the Tower Foundation's four focus conditions. Comparable in mission (health grantmaking) but operates at vastly greater scale and scope.

Regional players

• Cape Cod Foundation: Community foundation serving the Cape Cod and Islands region of Massachusetts, directly overlapping with the Tower Foundation's Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket County service area. Comparable as a regional funder addressing similar vulnerable populations.
• Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo: Community foundation serving Western New York and a Tower Foundation grant recipient (received $100,000 in 2022 for the Buffalo Together Fund). Comparable regional funder operating in the same geography with overlapping mission areas.
• United Way of Buffalo & Erie County: WNY-area social-services funder that partnered with the Tower Foundation on the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund in 2022. Comparable as a regional funder channeling resources to vulnerable populations and emergency response.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/towerfdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/thetowerfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/towerfdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation