Tides Signs on to Philanthropy's Promise
April 20, 2011
Tides is a values-based, social change platform that leverages individual and institutional leadership and investment to positively impact local and global communities. Since its founding in 1976, Tides has worked with over 15,000 individuals and organizations, including foundations, donors, corporations, social entrepreneurs and investors, nonprofit organizations, government institutions, and activists.
In 2010, Tides granted over $143 million, fiscally sponsored more than 200 nonprofits, and engaged over 3,000 cross-sector leaders and professionals in our NonprofitCenters Network. To date, Tides has awarded more than $1 billion in grants across many issue areas, including the environment, education, health, civic participation, international development, and community and economic development.
Tides pursues its mission and core values of equality, justice, and freedom by empowering underserved communities through social justice grantmaking and strategically partnering with leaders in the social change sector. A compelling and growing body of research validates that social justice grantmaking promotes philanthropic effectiveness, and Tides is well positioned to leverage its expertise and relationships to continue and expand upon this work.
As such, Tides pledges to meet the following grantmaking goals for at least the next three years:
1. Provide at least 50 percent of grant dollars to benefit underserved and disenfranchised communities, domestically and internationally, including:
- Economically disadvantaged persons;
- Racial, ethnic and/or religious minorities;
- Women and girls;
- People with HIV/AIDS;
- People with disabilities;
- The aging, elderly, and senior citizens;
- Immigrants and refugees;
- Undereducated and underemployed persons;
- Crime or abuse victims;
- Offenders and ex-offenders;
- Single parents; and/or
- LGBTQ persons.
2. Provide at least 50 percent of our grant dollars for social justice grantmaking, a category that includes advocacy, policy reform, community organizing, civic engagement, risk prevention, capacity-building, and other strategies promoting equity and helping empower the disadvantaged.
Publicly available data on the Tides website will verify fulfillment of these goals. Tides will take appropriate steps to ensure that these data accurately reflect our grantmaking and are part of aligning all of the organization’s social justice work.
As a responsible steward of resources for the public good whose grantmaking and other work affects the public, Tides makes its goals as transparent as possible, which is one reason for making this public statement. Tides also hopes this statement contributes to the discussion within philanthropy and the larger social change sector about how we, collectively, can best promote the public good.
Download Tides CEO Melissa Bradley's letter as a PDF >
Learn More about Philanthropy's Promise >
