Facebook's IPO: Social Network, Meet Social Innovation

Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO)—and the wealth it will soon produce—has been generating considerable buzz among the diverse individuals, organizations, and investors who helped make the company such an extraordinary success. As Tides Director of Impact & Innovation Chad Bolick comments, while the coming IPO will no doubt result in short-lived pursuits, the most compelling and hopeful outcome will also endure: social change powered by a new crop of emerging philanthropists.

Knowing What You Don't Know: A Case Study in Flexible Leadership

The Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund Flexible Leadership Awards (FLA) Program, a Tides Center project, recently released a video case study of our work with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). The video highlights the importance—and the impact—of investing in social justice leadership.  The video tells the story of how NCLR, in a very short time, grew from a well-respected but relatively small nonprofit to the forefront of the movement for marriage equality. And it shows how—lacking the time or knowledge to create a broader culture of leadership or a solid structure for decision-making—NCLR leaders Kate Kendell and Shannon Minter felt pressure to do it all themselves.

New Year, New Tides

We are so excited to kick off this year with new and exciting programs and initiatives aimed at better supporting our clients, partners and the field.  Last year Tides spent a great deal of time revising internal systems to support organizational sustainability and improve service delivery to our partners and clients. This year we are poised to continue to offer our current services to donors and activists as well as explore new opportunities to support positive social change.  We look forward to partnering with you to make 2012 a record year for Tides and the communities we serve.

Announcing the 1% Campaign

This month, one of our newest board members, Anne Mosle, kicks off the 1% Campaign.  The campaign is designed to engage Tides donors in support of Tides’ vision for social change. By investing 1% of her DAF back into Tides, Anne is supporting many of the new and exciting programs and initiatives.  Join Anne and other Tides’ donors in this effort by contacting your fund advisor—think of this as the social change 1% that will yield real positive results.

Launching the Tikkun Olam Fund

The Tikkun Olam Fund is launching at Tides this month with the goal of creating a vehicle to support the work of progressive organizations and efforts within and on behalf of the Jewish community. There are many Jewish organizations that are deeply mission aligned with Tides and are doing exemplary work in the social justice sphere. They speak to and for the American Jewish community on issues as diverse as economic justice, gender equity, environmental sustainability, LGBT equality, and immigration rights.

Racial Justice at Tides

It's an exciting time at Tides. Not only do we have a wonderful CEO in Melissa Bradley, who has just completed her first year of service with Tides, we have been building our capacity to build Black donor engagement and increase our support to Black communities. Tides has long been committed to racial justice. This is an important time for Tides to build it's relationships with communities of color broadly.

Fiscal Sponsorship: Proving Potential, Sustaining Impact

Those of us, who care deeply about the nonprofit community, find ourselves working overtime to navigate this period of economic, social, and political uncertainty.  While moments of uncertainty can cultivate confusion, I believe they can also breed a level of clarity and vision that produces tools for sustainable change.  There are significant opportunities to strengthen our sector and deepen the positive impact we make every day in our communities.  It is in this context, that the concept and practice of fiscal sponsorship should be discussed amongst the nonprofit and philanthropic communities—fully embracing the concept will prove to be a wise investment in sustaining and scaling the social sector.

Tides Applauds Social Citizen Ambassadors

Tides is pleased to join the Case Foundation in congratulating its inaugural cohort of Social Citizen Ambassadors, ten Millennial generation leaders whose passion and engagement in cross-sector work is truly innovating the social change sector.  As the Case Foundation highlights, all of the Ambassadors demonstrate "an appreciation for openness and transparency, a passion for technology, a strong desire to collaborate in new and innovative ways – and all are having a transformative impact in their respective fields."  We couldn't agree more.

Creating Shared Value in the Real Estate Industry

“You gotta spend money to make money.” It’s a familiar phrase, and whether you’re a company spending millions on advertising or a nonprofit paying a full-time grant writer, new income comes at a price.  But what if we replace the word “spend” with “give”? Imagine the resources that would be unleashed if philanthropy became an integral part of profitable commerce, rather than simply an afterthought.  Investing In Communities' model allows real estate professionals to replace traditional business development costs with client-directed philanthropy.

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.