In Memoriam: Kimo Campbell

Sadly, we have lost one of our own. James Kimo Campbell, long-time activist and leader of the  Pohaku Fund , a donor advised fund supporting environment protection, civil rights and Hawaiian sovereignty housed here at Tides since 1987, passed away on February 16th from complications due to Lou Gehrig’s disease. Kimo was a fighter, an activist who surprised people due to his fiscal responsibility. Known for not only his passion in righting what he believed to be wrong, Kimo shared his intelligence, fairness and his canny ability to work through complicated issues to insure successful solutions.

Why Is Black History Month Important To Tides?

My grandfather was the first, and only, black man to own a small gas station in Elkton, Maryland.  His business development strategy involved hiring a young white man from the community to play the role of “boss” while he worked in the gas station as “the mechanic.”  My cousin was the first black judge in Wilmington, Delaware.  His image was burned in effigy in the town square during the 1960s.  And then there is cousin Grace, devoted mother, wife, and deaconess at the oldest Baptist church in the city. She rose through the ranks of the state correctional system to become one of the first senior level African American wardens in the state. I am proud of my family, and the many “firsts” they accomplished throughout their lives. Their stories are a part of my black history.

Facebook’s IPO Part 2: You are a Philanthropist

The San Francisco Chronicle estimates that the Facebook IPO has created approximately 900 millionaires. Many believe the ongoing tech boom and tentative resurgence of the US economy are likely to create more millionaires across the country in the coming decades. Against this backdrop, The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently reported that as controversy over the yawning income inequality gap in the US persists, the wealthy are digging deeper to support a more just society at home and abroad. We are heartened by this development given the outsized toll public sector budget cuts and high unemployment are exacting on underserved communities—particularly communities of color.

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.

The Future of Tides

I am excited to share some good news as the Tides family of people and programs is growing. We have added over 30 new clients to the Foundation since last year and increased grants processed through the Center by over $1.5M since 2010.  Over the course of the past year we have made important decisions because our world needs Tides more than ever. We are committed to building the most effective social change platform and delivering the most effective services and programs in pursuit of that vision.

Building Momentum at Tides

Innovation and impact are words that we hear more and more often these days in the nonprofit world.  The truth is, we need more of both in an era of stagnant foundation endowments and besieged individual donors reeling from recession. Yet innovation and impact are imprecise terms that are hard to both qualify and quantify. What distinguishes innovative from interesting?  To jumpstart the conversation, I am delighted to announce the inaugural issue of Momentum, a new quarterly publication of Tides dedicated to advancing thought leadership and action in support of progressive social change.

The Future of Tides

With major political and economic changes around the globe Tides is needed even more than ever before. Therefore, we have a moral, political and economic mandate to be a strong and stable organization to support such important work. We are poised to address these new and difficult challenges of the sector by building on our history with new staff, new ideas, new partners and a new structure.

A Time for Change

It is hard to believe but it has been one year since I came to Tides as Chief Executive Officer. This past year has seen some major changes and we’ve also had some major successes in our efforts to remain sustainable, competitive and innovative.  When I arrived at Tides, 35 years after its founding, the organization was faced with increasing competition, rapidly declining interest rates and systems pressures to update antiquated IT systems. Over the past several months, we have been working diligently to improve client service, create career pathways for staff, expand our geographic focus and improve the overall sustainability of Tides.