A message from Tracy Sawicki, Executive Director
THE TOWER FOUNDATION MISSION & VALUES
As grantmaker, partner, and advocate, the Tower Foundation strengthens organizations and works to change systems to improve the lives of young people with learning disabilities, mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual disabilities.
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Diverse Voices
We listen to and learn from those with different points of view and perspectives. We seek to be proximate with the communities we serve – continually engaging in respectful conversation and incorporating what we hear into our work.
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Collaboration
We understand that to make progress, we must build relationships with our partners and share knowledge, resources, expertise, and strategies.
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Innovation
We embrace change and are willing to take risks, recognizing the potential for transformative effect. We look for opportunities to try new and creative strategies and encourage others to do the same.
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Perseverance
We recognize that change work can be slow and challenging. We are committed to the long-term improvement of organizations and communities
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Equity
We pay close attention to the convergence of our focus areas with systemic issues of racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and more, because living at the intersection of multiple identities is a reality that factors importantly into our grantmaking.
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Diverse Voices
We listen to and learn from those with different points of view and perspectives. We seek to be proximate with the communities we serve – continually engaging in respectful conversation and incorporating what we hear into our work.
-
Collaboration
We understand that to make progress, we must build relationships with our partners and share knowledge, resources, expertise, and strategies.
-
Innovation
We embrace change and are willing to take risks, recognizing the potential for transformative effect. We look for opportunities to try new and creative strategies and encourage others to do the same.
-
Perseverance
We recognize that change work can be slow and challenging. We are committed to the long-term improvement of organizations and communities
-
Equity
We pay close attention to the convergence of our focus areas with systemic issues of racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and more, because living at the intersection of multiple identities is a reality that factors importantly into our grantmaking.
A testimonial from Mollie Byrnes, Trustee
A testimonial from Mollie Byrnes, Family Trustee
LIVING OUR VALUES
Supporting Nonprofits in a Tough Year
The Tower Foundation entered 2025 expecting grantmaking to go just as it had in previous years. For a while, that was true. We ran our first capacity-building cycle. We ran our first programs and services cycle. Then, everything fell apart.
On February 19, 2025, the federal government suddenly terminated thousands of grants and contracts for nonprofits across the country. The rationale was to save taxpayer dollars by eliminating waste and fraud and dismantling “racist” diversity, equity, and inclusion…
Improving Emergency Responses
The Tower Foundation is pleased to be a partner and contributor to the Crisis to Care (CTC) Collaborative.
A first-of-its-kind initiative spearheaded by the Patrick P. Lee Foundation, this groundbreaking initiative unites municipal and county government, law enforcement and emergency services, healthcare and behavioral health providers, advocates, and people with lived experience…
Enhancing Access and Quality of Care
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) and the Children’s Mental Health Campaign (CMHC) set out, with support from the Tower Foundation, to better understand what gets in the way of timely and effective care for young people with both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and mental health needs—and to find places to make improvements. They talked with families, service providers, researchers, and state leaders—and what they heard was consistent: the systems meant to help these young people are disconnected, slow to respond, and hard to navigate, leaving families waiting months for services and feeling like they have to fight for their children alone. This work became the foundation for the E4 Project, and a set of recommendations calling for a system that:
- Intervenes early and responds quickly when parents raise concerns
- Is easy to navigate so families can actually access the services they need
- Provides effective treatment designed for kids with more than one diagnosis
- Is grounded in equity, so that race, income, and geography don’t determine who gets help
Now, MSPCC and its CMHC partners are taking those recommendations from the page to practice—working toward the policy, funding, and systems changes that would make this vision real.
Going Deeper on DEI
Continued learning about diversity, equity, and inclusion remains a priority for the Foundation—both in our day-to-day operations and in our work with grant partners. In this spirit, the Foundation convenes a DEI Learning Network that brings together nonprofit leaders who are working to champion equity within their organizations. The Network fosters peer support and peer-driven learning on equity issues across organizations, while also serving as a critical touchpoint that keeps the Foundation informed of equity work taking place…
Youth Voice and PGM
In 2025, we partnered with Buffalo’s Get Fokus’d Productions to produce a video celebrating the work of the young adult grantmakers that make up our Community Experts Team. Enjoy their story!
Learn more about Get Fokus’d Productions.
Assessing Our Work
Funders, quite rightly, have reasonable expectations that their grant partners make effective use of the dollars we invest in their work. But it’s only fair that we, in turn, assess whether our own house is in order. In 2025, we completed two internal assessment initiatives. In the first instance, we commissioned a third-party evaluation of our participatory grantmaking body, the Community Experts Team. On the second front, we looked at the overall effectiveness of our grantmaking and the degree to which grant partners met objectives they set for themselves.
