Corporate Giving

Tides partners with businesses to create high-impact corporate giving and community engagement initiatives that bolster their commitment to justice.

Enhance Your Corporate Social Impact

Driving meaningful corporate social impact requires an unwavering commitment to advancing social justice. This commitment recognizes that historically excluded communities hold the knowledge necessary to imagine and realize a just future. 

Through Tides Foundation, we work alongside corporations to: 

  • Identify grantees and facilitate grants that strengthen the power of proximate leaders
  • Test, design, and deliver ethical and impactful corporate giving programs
  • Reduce the complexities of grantmaking while achieving key corporate social responsibility goals at scale

Ways to Partner

Tides’ funds and initiatives for businesses pave the way for more effective and equitable corporate giving.

  • Donor Advised Funds

    Donor advised funds (DAFs) at Tides help our corporate partners drive genuine social impact, fueled by our connections to proximate leaders, our dedicated expert advisory support, and creative solutions such as partnerships with employee giving match programs.

  • Collective Action Funds

    Collective action funds (CAFs) are a grantmaking solution Tides created to empower multiple businesses or organizations to combine their resources and amplify their giving.

  • Single Entity Funds

    Corporations also come to Tides to partner in powering their own movements. Single entity funds are a tool Tides uses to support specific charitable programs within different types of entities, including for-profits.

  • Strategic Advising

    Our partners collaborate with us to tackle their biggest philanthropic priorities, whether that’s launching an employee giving program, reducing the burden of RFP management, bringing community voices into social impact work, or reimagining an entire corporate giving program.

Why Tides?

Businesses come to Tides to enhance their ability to deliver corporate social responsibility programs that shift power to communities who have faced systemic barriers, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other historically marginalized groups.

Partnership

Tides is a true partner and problem solver, working seamlessly alongside CSR teams to forge a path to meaningful social impact. Through customizable and dedicated support, we help corporations develop philanthropic strategies that channel their vision into substantive change on the ground.

Creativity

Our designated advisors connect our corporate partners’ priorities with tangible social justice impact through a broad range of grantmaking options, including global grantmaking, grantmaking to all types of domestic entities, rapid response grants, partnerships with employee matching platforms, and support for private sector solutions.

Connections

Tides Foundation is the meeting ground for a vast network of mission-minded leaders across the social sector and social justice space. We thoughtfully connect our corporate partners to fellow business leaders, grantees, and social change leaders, opening up new possibilities for corporate giving and impact. 

Impact

Through Tides, our partners are meaningfully answering the call of justice around the globe. In 2022, Tides Foundation contributed nearly $750 million in funding to 4,000 grantees in 95 countries worldwide.  

Interested in Partnering with Tides?

There’s no greater force than the collective power of people united for justice. Join us to fuel lasting change.

Get Started

Frequently Asked Questions

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Tides provides grantmaking and other support to social change leaders to help build a world of shared prosperity and social justice.

A Tides Collective Action Fund (CAF) is a purpose-driven fund that relies on an independent advisory committee to  make recommendations to Tides for grants in support of a specific charitable purpose.

How does a CAF work?

  • The independent advisory committee (IAC) is composed of individuals committed to the fund purpose and with expertise or experience to support the achievement of that purpose.  
  • The committee reviews grant requests, then makes recommendations to Tides that align with the CAF’s charitable purpose and goals.
  • Tides reviews the recommendations for legal compliance and support of Tides’ mission and values and then makes a final decision on the grant request. 

CAFs can accept charitable contributions from a variety of sources, including individuals, donor advised funds, private foundations and corporations.

Do grants from the CAF support political candidates or campaigns?

No. Tides Foundation is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and CAFs are prohibited from funding partisan political activity. 

Can Tides overrule the recommendation of the Independent Advisory Committee?

CAFs benefit from the input of the independent advisory committee. The intent is to follow its recommendations. However, Tides may reject recommendations that are  inconsistent with the CAF’s purpose, don’t support Tides’ charitable mission, or are not in compliance with applicable law.

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Tides does not provide funding or fundraising assistance to our fiscally sponsored projects.

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Tides offers a wide range of fund options to meet philanthropic objectives across the globe. Fees can range from 1% on standard donor advised funds to 5% for funds supporting a single domestic or  international project or organization. Tides staff can review your proposed fund activity and give a clear assessment of potential fees.

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Opening a fund at Tides generally takes 2-3 weeks upon receipt of a completed fund application. Please note that any complexities or clarifications uncovered during the application review process may prolong the timeline to open a fund.

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No. Funds at Tides must be opened with a minimum of $100,000 of committed funding for US-based activity or $50,000 for funds supporting a single domestic or international project or organization.

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The first step in opening a fund at Tides is determining mission alignment. If The Tides Approach aligns with your vision, reach out to us via the Partner With Us form, and Tides staff will contact you for an initial assessment.

Once ready to open a fund, you’ll receive a short online application to collect necessary information for opening a fund and for final assessment of fit with Tides.

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