Annual Intellectual Disabilities Grant Guidelines

Download the PDF Version (113KB) (complete guidelines, instructions, and letter of inquiry face sheet)

The Tower Foundation seeks to enhance service delivery for children, adolescents and young adults to age 26 with intellectual disabilities.

How Does the Foundation Define Intellectual Disability?

The Tower Foundation defines intellectual disability as:

A disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18.

Intellectual functioning refers to general mental capacity, such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving.

Adaptive behavior comprises three skill types:

Conceptual skills (e.g., language and literacy; money; time; number concepts; self-direction)

Social skills (e.g., interpersonal skills; social responsibility; self-esteem; gullibility; naïveté; social problem solving; ability to follow rules/obey laws and avoid being victimized)

Practical skills (e.g., personal care; occupational skills; healthcare; travel/transportation; schedules/routines; safety; use of money; use of telephone)
(American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011)

What Does the Foundation Want to Accomplish?

The Foundation has identified four goals it will pursue through its intellectual disabilities funding. Grants will be awarded to projects that show the greatest promise of advancing one or more of these goals:

Children with intellectual disabilities are identified early and receive services that meet their evolving needs.
Young people with intellectual disabilities are engaged in meaningful social, vocational, and educational pursuits.
Families understand intellectual disabilities and secure needed supports.
Communities embrace persons with intellectual disabilities and provide them with a full-range of supports and opportunities to engage in community life.

Who Can Apply for a Grant?

Organizations primarily serving residents of the following areas are eligible to receive Tower Foundation grants:

Massachusetts:

Barnstable County
Dukes County
Essex County
Nantucket County

New York:

Erie County
Niagara County

The Tower Foundation makes grants to:

not-for-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation that are not private foundations or described as 509(a)(3) organizations,
not-for-profit public benefit corporations,
public and diocesan school districts,
private and charter schools.

What Types of Projects Will the Foundation Consider?

Projects must focus on children, adolescents, or young adults (up to age 26).
The Tower Foundation encourages multi-year grants. Budgets typically range from $25,000 to $75,000 per year.
The majority of grant funds should be for expenses that are new to the organization as a result of the proposed project.

While open to a range of projects that have the potential to advance its four intellectual disabilities-related goals, the Foundation will give preference to projects focusing on the following:

Screening and assessment: Programs designed to identify individuals with intellectual disabilities and connect them to appropriate services.

Community-Based education and supports:

Individual education and supports: Programs that enrich the lives of young people with intellectual disabilities; programs that promote the development of life skills and independence; programs that focus on achieving career and other personal goals.

Family education and supports: Programs that promote family member understanding of intellectual disabilities; family peer networks and programs that offer direct support to parents.

Professional education: Professional development for individuals that work with young people with intellectual disabilities in healthcare, educational, counseling and therapeutic settings.

Transition/service navigation: Programs to help individuals and families navigate available services and take advantage of opportunities in the community, particularly relating to life transitions.

What Won’t the Foundation Fund?

The Foundation does not fund programs or projects that:

provide private benefits for any grant recipient or affiliated person,
attempt to influence legislation or intervene in any political campaign,
contribute to capital improvements or capital campaigns,
consist of scholarships, services, or treatment for specific individuals,
consist largely of general operating support.

How Does My Organization Apply for a Grant?

The first step in applying for a grant is submitting a letter of inquiry not to exceed five pages (see outline included in the directions). Letters of inquiry must include the cover sheet provided with the application* The Foundation will review each letter of inquiry to determine whether to request a more detailed proposal. The Foundation will accept only one letter of inquiry per organization.

To be considered for a grant in 2013, letters must be received by 4:30 p.m. on June 19, 2013.

Send Letters of Inquiry to:

2013 Intellectual Disabilities Annual Cycle

Attention: Nick Randell

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation

2351 North Forest Road – Suite 106

Getzville, NY 14068

E-mailed or faxed copies will not be accepted.

The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.

Applicants will be notified by August 9, 2013 as to whether the Foundation is requesting a full proposal. A request for a proposal is not an indication of likely support. The deadline for grant proposals, if requested, is September 18, 2013.

Timeline

2013 Intellectual Disabilities Annual Cycle
Letters of Inquiry Due	June 19, 2013
Proposal Invitations Mailed	August 9, 2013
Proposals Due (If Requested)	September 18, 2013
Proposal Decisions Mailed	December 20, 2013
Grant Funds Available	January 2014

Complete Instructions and Application Information

All of the requested information must be received in order to be considered for an Intellectual Disabilities grant. *For complete guideline information, instructions, and letter of inquiry face sheet, click here.

Foundation Contact Information

If you have questions about the Foundation’s Intellectual Disabilities Guidelines, please contact:

Nick Randell, Program Officer

ngr@thetowerfoundation.org

(716) 689-0370 x205

Notice for Prospective Applicants

By submitting this proposal to the Foundation, you, as the applicant or its duly authorized representative, hereby agree and consent that the Foundation may disclose to any employee, trustee or professional representative of the Foundation, or to other potential funding sources or their representatives for possible collaboration, this proposal and all supporting materials which have been or will be submitted in connection therewith, including but not limited to the applicant’s letter of inquiry.