Tides Foundation is an American
public charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ch ...
and
fiscal sponsor working to advance progressive causes and policy initiatives in areas such as the environment, health care, labor issues, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women's rights and human rights. It was founded in San Francisco in 1976. Through
donor advised fund
In the United States, a donor-advised fund (commonly called a DAF) is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a public charity created to manage charitable donations on behalf of organizations, families, or individuals. To participate in a don ...
s, Tides distributes money from anonymous donors to other organizations, which are often politically progressive. It manages two centers in San Francisco and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
that offer collaborative spaces for social ventures and other nonprofits.
Since 1996, Tides has overseen the Tides Center, which is an
incubator
An incubator is anything that performs or facilitates various forms of incubation, and may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Incubator (culture), a device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures
* Incubator (egg), a de ...
for smaller progressive organizations. In 2004, Tides formed the Tides Shared Spaces offshoot which specializes in renting office space to nonprofit tenants. As of 2008, the umbrella organization for these entities was the Tides Network.
History
Tides was founded in 1976 by
Drummond Pike
Drummond MacGavin Pike (born October 11, 1948) is an American philanthropist and Progressivism in the United States, progressive political activist. He founded the Tides Foundation in 1976 and served as its president until 2010. He currently serve ...
, who worked with Jane Bagley Lehman, heir to the
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and headquartered at the RJR Plaza Building. Founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the second-largest tobacco comp ...
fortune.
In the chapter entitled "The Givers" in his 2017 publication by the same name, ''The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age'', which is a more recent edition of his 2010 book, ''Fortunes of Change: The Rise of the Liberal Rich and the Remaking of America'',
David Callahan
David Callahan (born 1964/1965) is an American writer and editor. He is the founder and editor of ''Inside Philanthropy'', a digital media site, and Blue Tent Daily, which offers in-depth reporting on progressive organizations and the Democratic ...
wrote that Pike was an "entrepreneurial activist" and that Pike and his "wealthy friends" teamed up" to create Tides which "used donor-advised funds to direct resources to progressive causes."
Callahan, who is the co-founder of the think tank
Demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming)
...
, contrasted this with a similar approach taken by
Donors Trust
Donors Trust is an American nonprofit donor-advised fund. It was founded in 1999 with the goal of "safeguarding the intent of libertarian and conservative donors". As a donor advised fund, Donors Trust is not legally required to disclose the id ...
, an American
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
donor-advised fund
In the United States, a donor-advised fund (commonly called a DAF) is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a public charity created to manage charitable donations on behalf of organizations, families, or individuals. To participate in a don ...
that was founded in 1999 to safeguard the "intent of libertarian and conservative donors".
Lehman served as the chair of the organization from its founding to her death in 1988. Tides was conceived as a nationally oriented community foundation, and founded out of Pike's frustration with established philanthropy's perceived neglect of progressive issues. He envisioned using
fiscal sponsorship
Fiscal sponsorship refers to the practice of non-profit organizations offering their legal and tax-exempt status to groups—typically projects—engaged in activities related to the sponsoring organization's mission. It typically involves a fee-b ...
for progressive political activism. Fiscal sponsorship uses a
tax-exempt
Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
charity to provide financial support to a non-exempt project or organization, therefore lending it tax exemption as long as the charity retains control of the way its funds are spent. He served as its CEO until he was replaced by Melissa L. Bradley in 2010.
Pike founded a Canadian version of the organization, Tides Canada, in 2000. Tides Canada, which is based in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, makes grants through its foundation and has a charity that supports environmental and social justice projects. It consists of the Tides Canada Foundation and the Tides Canada Initiatives Society.
By 2009, Tides allocated $75 million per year in donor money, most of which went to fund progressive political causes.
In 2011, Tides received about $90 million in funding, and awarded about $96 million to various individuals and organizations.
Services
Tides makes charitable contributions through donor-advised and collective action funds and provides consulting, investment, fiscal management services, and collaborative workspaces for their partners in their New York City and San Francisco offices.
Donations
Organizations that began as projects of Tides include
Campaign to Defend the Constitution Campaign to Defend the Constitution (DefCon) was an American online organization founded in September 2005 to support the separation of church and state and to oppose what it perceived as the growing influence of the religious right. It was a proje ...
,
Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) is a non-profit consortium of higher education institutions in the United States.
About HERC
The first HERC was established in Northern California in 2000 with Stanford, Berkeley, and the Un ...
,
People for the American Way,
Pew Internet and American Life Project,
Rockridge Institute
The Rockridge Institute was an American non-profit research and progressive think tank founded in 1997 and located in Berkeley, California from 2003 until April 30, 2008. Its stated goal was to strengthen democracy by providing intellectual suppo ...
,
Social Venture Network
Social Venture Network (SVN) is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1987 by Joshua Mailman, Thomas H. Stoner Jr and Wayne Silby, SVN.
Events
Social Venture Network hosts two annual conferences, one on the West Coast in Spring and one ...
,
Urgent Action Fund
Urgent may refer to:
* Urgent (American band), a 1980s band from New York City
* Urgent (Canadian band)
Urgent was a Canadian rock band formed in 1982 in Toronto, Ontario.
History
Sharing the name of a band from New York, the Canadian band Ur ...
, and
V-Day. The Tides website lists 130 current grantees. As Tides is a public charity, it allows sponsors to donate money to different organizations—including for-profit as well as nonprofit entities—through donor-advised funds. Donor-advised funds are funds held in accounts by nonprofit organizations, like Tides, that then make grants to third-party entities on the donor's behalf. Organizations that have partnered with Tides to setup these funds include
Girl Rising
Girl Rising is a global movement for girls' education, based primarily around a 2013 feature film, ''Girl Rising''.
Film
The movie ''Girl Rising'' was produced by Kayce Freed, Tom Yellin and Holly Gordon at The Documentary Group in partnership w ...
and the
Humble Bundle
Humble Bundle, Inc. is a digital storefront for video games, which grew out of its original offering of Humble Bundles, collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and t ...
.
In 2000, Tides launched a program called "Bridging the Economic Divide." It focused on funding living wage campaigns and economic justice coalitions. Tides also launched the Tides Death Penalty Mobilization Fund, which supports the anti-death penalty movement. The Michigan Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence was founded with support from Tides.
Tides has received at least $3.5 million from liberal financier and political activist
George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
.
From 2003 to 2012, Tides gave around $4.4 million to media advocacy organization
Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Res ...
. It has stated that it supports the Occupy Wall Street movement. The CEO of Tides, Melissa L. Bradley, stated in a blog post in October 2011 that the movement "represents the best of American ideals and ingenuity."
In 2021, Democratic Senator
Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 ...
described the Tides Foundation as an instance of "Democratic dark money", which he said mirrored – and had caught up with – similar organizations exercising covert influence on the Republican side.
Advocacy Fund
Tides is affiliated with the Tides Advocacy Fund (also known as Tides Advocacy), a liberal lobbying group. In the 2012 election cycle, the Advocacy Fund gave $11.5 million to
501(c)(4) organizations, including $2 million to the
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...
, $1.8 million to
America Votes America Votes is a 501(c)(4) organization that aims "to coordinate and promote progressive issues." America Votes leads national and state-based coalitions to advance progressive policies and increase voter turnout for Democratic Party candidates.
...
and $1.3 million to the
Center for Community Change
Community Change, formerly the Center for Community Change (CCC), is a progressive community organizing group active in the United States. It was founded in 1968 in response to civil rights concerns of the 1960s and to honor Robert F. Kennedy. Th ...
.
The Advocacy Fund has also supported the environmentally-focused groups
Bold Nebraska
Bold Nebraska is a progressive political advocacy group founded by Jane Fleming Kleeb in 2010 in the state of Nebraska.
Background
Bold Nebraska began as a progressive website, and it has been a vocal opponent of the Keystone XL Pipeline
Th ...
,
National Wildlife Federation Action Fund,
NRDC Action Fund, and the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
.
In 2008, the Advocacy Fund contributed to campaigns opposing
Colorado Amendment 46
Amendment 46, also known as the "Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, was a proposed initiative on the Colorado ballot for 2008. If ratified, Article II of the Colorado Constitution would have stated:
The State shall not discriminate against, or gr ...
,
Colorado Amendment 47
Amendment 47 was a proposed initiative on the Colorado ballot for 2008. It was defeated.
The initiative was proposed jointly by Ryan Frazier of Aurora, Colorado, Aurora and Julian Jay Cole of Golden, Colorado, Golden. According to the Blue Book, ...
,
Colorado Amendment 49
Amendment 49 was a proposed initiative on the Colorado ballot for 2008. It was defeated.
Goals
According to the Blue Book, the state-provided ballot guide, Amendment 49 "proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to: prohibit any public employee ...
and
Colorado Amendment 54. The Advocacy Fund distributed $11.8 million in grants in 2013 to groups promoting mass amnesty for illegal immigrants, increased worker protections, chemical safety legal reform, and increased investment in the solar energy industry.
Wikimedia Foundation
The
Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., or Wikimedia for short and abbreviated as WMF, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California and registered as a charitable foundation under local laws. Best kno ...
, the non-profit organization which manages
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
, has worked with the Tides Foundation since 2016. The multimillion-dollar
Wikimedia Endowment was created in 2016 to support the Wikimedia projects, and is managed by Tides. In 2019, Wikimedia's incoming general counsel,
Amanda Keton
Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, “she who must (or is fit to) be loved”. Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much b ...
, had previously served as the general counsel of the Tides Network, the head of Tides Foundation, and the CEO of Tides Advocacy. In 2020, Wikimedia established a $4.5M donor-advised fund, the Wikimedia Foundation Knowledge Equity Fund, at Tides Advocacy.
See also
*
2010 Oakland freeway shootout
The Oakland freeway shootout occurred on July 18, 2010, when two California Highway Patrol officers on Interstate 580 (California), I-580 in Oakland, California, attempted to stop Byron Williams, whose speeding pickup truck was seen on westbound I ...
*
George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
*
Open Society Foundations
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a Grant (money), grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the wo ...
*
Thoreau Center for Sustainability
Tides' Thoreau Center for Sustainability are green nonprofit centers that house more than 70 nonprofit organizations in San Francisco and New York City. Thoreau Centers for Sustainability are operated by Tides Shared Spaces, a Tides initiative.
H ...
References
Further reading
:
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:
:
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1976 establishments in California
Charities based in California
Fiscal sponsorship organizations
Non-profit organizations based in New York City
Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco
Organizations established in 1976
Progressive organizations in the United States
Wikimedia Foundation