Innovative Approaches to Grantmaking in Africa

Photo credit: International Treatment Preparedness Coalition

There are so many exciting and innovative grantmaking approaches focusing in Africa these days. Some foundations are taking the lead in challenging traditional models of grantmaking on the continent and working hard to make sure resources go directly to people in communities who are making change and struggling for equity and justice. In addition, tremendous opportunities have evolved around collaborations between foundations that have...

View from Across the Pond: Nonprofit Space and Infrastructure in the UK

The NonProfit Center of Boston, developed by Third Sector New England

I traveled to London last month on behalf of Tides to speak at a conference. The conference focused on strategies for nonprofit capacity building and what "third sector" (the U.K. term for nonprofit) organizations could learn from international models. I represented the U.S.; other speakers hailed from New Zealand, Cyprus, and East Africa. The conference was sponsored by an organization called Capacity Builders, which ...

Looking for Your Sol Mate?

Solar energy is one of those no-brainer issues for us at Tides, and yet -- even with the triple threats of climate change, job losses, and energy dependence -- it just doesn't get the legislative and political love it deserves.

We work with many groups that either primarily promote clean energy technology and policy, or that work on intersections of the environment and issues like social justice, human rights, and economic development.

For example, Honor the Earth, founded by...

Why Does Infrastructure Matter?

Collage of tiles from the Peace Wall, courtesy CommunityGrows, a Tides project

I am excited to announce the launch of What's Possible: the Tides Blog – written by and for people interested in creating strong infrastructure for the social change sector. In this sector, what we do (the mission work that gets us up every morning for a vision of a just and equitable world) is interwoven with how we do it (the organizations we create to implement our vision). If we don’t pay attention to the...

Giving Leads to Success and Happiness, Therefore…

At the opening plenary of the Council on Foundation’s Family Philanthropy Conference, Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute presented some compelling research that proves that giving and volunteerism contribute to both individual and communal wealth creation and in turn, happiness.   Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the research is that it shows that the connection between giving and wealth are not merely correlative, but causal.  Brooks started out trying to de-bunk the theory that many new entrepreneurs...