Program Related Investments: Changing Business as Usual for Philanthropy

Last week Tides attended the Mission Impact conference in Seattle, to continue to explore the best way to leverage program-related investments in Tides’ signature MRI Pooled Fund, and to learn more about the changes afoot in the philanthropic investors community. At the conference, More for Mission and PRI Makers Network announced they have joined forces to become Mission Investors Exchange, an organization dedicated to helping philanthropic investors increase the impact of their capital.

Predictive Philanthropy: Driving Data Towards Collective Action

Rapidly growing community needs and opportunities outpace the progress of programs and services, heightening the urgency to find ways to bring more people, money and other resources together in concert.  As such, Tides is launching predictive philanthropy, a process for driving collaborative, data-based funding decisions focused on the development of local leadership and assets.

Dispatches from the Field | Silicon Valley, Meet Silicon Savannah

For the past week, I have participated on a learning journey in Kenya organized by London-based Leaders’ Quest on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation. Twenty leaders from around the world joined the Quest to explore opportunities for impact investing in Africa. Participants include such diverse individuals as the domestic investment manager of China’s sovereign wealth fund, the Chairman of UK-based Sustainability, the CFO of the Rockefeller Foundation, the CEO of Bangalore-based Rural Shores, and many more.

Can America Spare Some Social Change?

What the ‘Bush Tax Cuts’ Mean for Communities of Color. I live in Kingsbridge Heights, a working class residential neighborhood located in the northwest Bronx of New York City. Kingsbridge Heights has a population of 35,000, with a high concentration of Dominicans, especially in the southern and central section of the neighborhood.  In these two areas over 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.  But, if you ask any low-income resident New Yorker, Kingsbridge Heights is considered a high-end neighborhood as compared to most low-income communities in New York City.  After all, our high school and college graduation combined rate is 31 percent; our unemployment rate is 12.4%, as compared to 19% in other black/latino neighborhoods; and our murder rate is only three times as high as the national average.  Moreover, none of my neighbors, or most of my neighborhood, have any worries about the Bush-Tax Cuts.

Budget Breakthroughs: Nonprofit Strategies for Resolving a Funding Crisis

When faced with a funding crisis, you might panic, or ignore it. You might blame others, yourself, or the economy. You might throw yourself into organizing a big event or apply for every grant possible.

Toward a Two-Generation Strategy: Voices of American Families

As America struggles to regain its economic footing, the nation’s most vulnerable families—parents of young children who live at 200% of poverty or less—express strong feelings of frustration and disappointment with their lives today.  But they are working hard to ensure that their children have better lives.  Anne Mosle shares a new report from the Ascend program at the Aspen Institute that examines the experiences, perspectives, and needs of low-income families.

The Story of Broke

We’re not really broke—our public money has just been hijacked.  Annie Leonard talks about her new film, The Story of Broke, which shines a light on the choices our leaders are making with our money: handing out tax breaks for oil companies reaping record profits; paving public roads that only go to one place—a new Walmart; granting permits to mine public lands at prices set in 1872; cleaning up toxic messes made by giant chemical companies; and offering public funds for corporations building nuclear reactors and other risky ventures.

Beyond Politics: Navigating a New Reality

Earlier this month, the Tides Learning Community hosted a call with Greenlining Institute's Samuel Kang and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' Ellen Nissenbaum about the ongoing debt ceiling and deficit reduction talks, and the upcoming deadlines from the joint congressional committee.   In addition to providing historical background and fiscal context, Nissenbaum warned of the dangers of possible outcomes that rely too heavily on spending cuts without generating new revenue.

Why We Support the #OccupyWallStreet Movement

#OccupyWallStreet is clearly a people’s movement.  However, the media has attempted to undermine its legitimacy by minimizing its goals and effectiveness, and they have missed the power of this movement in addressing various issues and becoming a force in various cities, sectors, and elections.  As CEO Melissa L. Bradley comments, Tides is proud of #OccupyWallStreet and looks forward to the future of the movement.

We're Just Getting Started: Preventing Massive Budget Cuts

Remember the nasty national deficit debate back in August? The fight is not over. President Obama and Congress punted the issue to a committee charged with reducing the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade.  The most critical questions the Gang of Twelve must address is how much more cuts can Americans bear? What are the alternatives to massive cuts?  In an effort to shed more light on this issue, Tides and the Greenlining Institute will co-host the first of a series of conference calls, “Beyond Politics: Navigating a New Reality,” with keynote speaker Ellen Nissenbaum, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities.