Back in 1995, when Emily Tow became the first full-time staff member at the Tow Foundation, a family philanthropy founded in 1988 by her parents Leonard and Clare, its annual grantmaking was $190,000. By 2025, under her leadership, the foundation had a grantmaking budget of $50 million, funding criminal justice reform, arts and culture, public health, civic engagement and more. 

The Tow Foundation is something of a case study in successfully growing and professionalizing a family foundation, now employing a staff of 16 to take on some of the most complex challenges facing the sector. Last year, the foundation dove head first into an important and underfunded issue area, committing $10 million to youth mental health and well-being. 

One of the mantras that guides Tow is to approach the work with questions, not answers—to “lead with curiosity, not certainty,” she says. By asking early grantees about solutions that don’t receive enough funding, for example, the foundation learned that Connecticut, where much of its grantmaking was focused, was the leading per-capita incarcerator of children in adult prisons in the U.S. This led Tow to develop its largest funding area, criminal justice reform, supporting both policy change and direct services supporting those impacted by the system.   

“Look around and see where the biggest need is, and start learning where your money—whether it’s a small amount or fairly significant—can uniquely make a difference,” she says.