Through its Community Change funding, the Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation seeks to forge equitable relationships and more just power dynamics among different constituencies relating to young people and their families affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health challenges, and/or substance use disorders.
Donor Name: Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation
State: Massachusetts, New York
County: Barnstable County (MA), Dukes County (MA), Essex County (MA), Essex County (NY), Nantucket County (MA), Niagara County (NY)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: All Time
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Community Change projects must be aligned with the Tower Foundation’s goals and involve multiple, diverse stakeholders – especially those most directly harmed by existing conditions and practices – working together towards common ends.
Such work can include (but is not limited to) initiatives that:
- challenge existing beliefs, assumptions, and entrenched practices involving these populations;
- supplement, coordinate, or more effectively resource relevant continuums of care;
- employ creative approaches to workforce recruitment and development that enhance the availability of and access to high-quality, culturally relevant services;
- support coalitions and networks built on community assets; and/or
- employ innovative approaches to creating equitable relationships and practices among elements within and across systems.
Funding Information
- The Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation has not made a discrete budget allocation for 2026 Community Change grants, though they anticipate having approximately $1 million available to award in this portfolio for the year.
- Owing to their community-wide or systems-level focus, Community Change grants may be larger than those seen through Programs & Services portfolio (which typically range from $40,000 to $70,000 per year).
Eligibility Criteria
- They will only make grants to organizations currently providing services in one or more of these regions:
- Massachusetts: Barnstable County, Dukes County, Essex County, Nantucket County
- New York: Erie County, Niagara County
- At a minimum, grant applicants must currently provide prevention, treatment, and/or recovery services to people aged 26 years or younger from at least one of these populations:
- It’s easiest for us to accept grant applications from:
- Not-for-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation that are not private foundations;
- Not-for-profit public benefit corporations;
- Public or diocesan school districts; or
- Private or charter schools.
- The ideal grant partners serve one or more of the populations listed above who also have intersecting identities as members of historically marginalized communities (e.g., Black/AfricanAmerican, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/Indigenous Peoples, disability, housing insecure, immigrant/refugee, LGBTQIA+)
For more information, visit Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation.


