Fiscal Sponsorship

Fiscal sponsorship at Tides is a powerful tool for justice. Our unique fiscal sponsorship offerings provide changemakers with a variety of options. Whether they’re fundraising for a specific initiative or relying on our full infrastructure to run their organization, we help social change leaders fuel their mission-driven work.

Volunteers with Antioch Social Action Ministries hold up a sign to encourage people to vote in Conyers, GA. Photo credit: Vote Early Day, a Tides fiscally sponsored partner A Muslim woman speaking into a mic at the WOC LeadStrong event. Photo credit: LeaderSpring Center, a Tides fiscally sponsored partner A Black Muslim man and woman having a conversation in front of a house. Photo credit: Raising Voices, a Tides fiscally sponsored partner
Volunteers with Antioch Social Action Ministries hold up a sign to encourage people to vote in Conyers, GA. Photo credit: Vote Early Day, a Tides fiscally sponsored partner A Muslim woman speaking into a mic at the WOC LeadStrong event. Photo credit: LeaderSpring Center, a Tides fiscally sponsored partner A Black Muslim man and woman having a conversation in front of a house. Photo credit: Raising Voices, a Tides fiscally sponsored partner

How Does Fiscal Sponsorship Work?

A fiscal sponsor is a nonprofit that extends its legal and 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to efforts that align with its mission. We provide two options to meet our partners’ needs: Model A fiscal sponsorship for full-scale support and Model C fiscal sponsorship primarily for grantmaking purposes.

Model A Fiscal Sponsorship

Model A fiscal sponsorship is built for leaders who are looking to run a mission-driven organization and need finance, legal, and human resource support. Offered through Tides Center, Model A fiscal sponsorship unlocks a toolbox of resources that provide operational efficiencies, cost savings, and compliance support, along with connections to our network of leaders. Today, we’re privileged to serve 130 fiscally sponsored partners through our offerings, including:

  • 501(c)(3) status: Extend our nonprofit status to raise funds for your organization. 
  • Operational guidance: Gain knowledgeable support from a designated advisor and nonprofit and philanthropy experts who share your values.
  • Financial accounting: Track and monitor all revenues and expenditures, with monthly financial reports and annual auditing.
  • Human resources (HR) management: Get full-cycle support to hire, retain, and develop employees, and synchronize key HR functions.
  • Payroll processing services: Tides Center handles payroll and files the necessary compliance returns and reports.
  • Benefits administration: We offer access to top carriers and values-aligned benefit options.
  • Grants management: Tides Center administers all grant agreements and supports reporting.

Model C Fiscal Sponsorship

Model C fiscal sponsorship is an option for leaders primarily interested in fundraising and grantmaking. Also called a single entity fund at Tides, Model C fiscal sponsorship helps changemakers respond quickly to temporary or targeted needs — whether they’re a leader empowering proximate communities or an organization without 501(c)(3) status starting a charitable initiative to provide their programs to people in need. Offered through Tides Foundation, this option connects partners with:

  • Fundraising: Donors can make tax-deductible donations to support your organization’s mission.
  • Grants management: Tides Foundation administers all grant agreements.

 

Learn more about Fiscal Sponsorship at Tides →

Get Started With Fiscal Sponsorship at Tides

Comparing Model A vs. Model C Fiscal Sponsorship

Learn about the different ways fiscal sponsorship can support mission-driven work.

 

Why Tides?

Tides brings deep expertise in nonprofit management and social justice to support our fiscally sponsored partners in amplifying their impact.

Mission

Tides seeks to realize a more just and equitable future by centering the leadership of communities who’ve been historically denied power. Through fiscal sponsorship, we equip our partners with the tools to address challenges within these communities, from climate justice to voting rights.

Expertise

Creating and managing an independent nonprofit or charitable initiative can be expensive, time-consuming, and complex. Tides’ long track record of operational excellence in nonprofit and grantmaking operations supports changemakers in launching new ideas or enhancing existing ones. We manage the behind-the-scenes, so our partners can focus their energy where it matters most: advancing justice on the ground.

Partnership

Tides Center is more than a fiscal sponsor — we’re a partner at every step of the journey toward social justice. Our team works closely alongside our partners to provide the back-end infrastructure for their work, including managing day-to-day operational functions, strategic advising and capacity-building, and flexible and responsive grantmaking. 

Transparency

Though our partners can use fiscal sponsorship to receive donations and reduce the burdens of administration and compliance, our Model A fiscal sponsorship option means partners don’t have the flexibility to choose some of their own services, like insurance carrier, bank, or benefits. We’ll always explain these details fully and honestly, so our partners can make informed decisions.

Community Stories

Celebrate the ingenuity and tenacity of the bold visionaries working with Tides to foster change.

  • The Transformational Prison Project, partnered with Tides to access the operational infrastructure it needed to address harms and strengthen the communities most impacted by the prison system. TPP has helped countless people, building momentum for its goal to achieve criminal justice reform.

    Learn More
    Armand Coleman (third from left), Executive Director of the Transformational Prison Project, a fiscally sponsored project of Tides Center, with three men from the program's leadership team. Photo credit: Transformational Prison Project
A Latine woman and girl potting plants together. Photo credit: East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Frontline Justice Fund grantee A Black mother and son at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights' community hub's soccer field and playground. Photo credit: Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a Tides Immigrants Belong Fund grantee A group of people with Native Renewables standing in the desert next to a solar panel. Photo credit: Native Renewables, Women’s Environmental Leadership Fund grantee
A Latine woman and girl potting plants together. Photo credit: East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Frontline Justice Fund grantee A Black mother and son at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights' community hub's soccer field and playground. Photo credit: Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a Tides Immigrants Belong Fund grantee A group of people with Native Renewables standing in the desert next to a solar panel. Photo credit: Native Renewables, Women’s Environmental Leadership Fund grantee

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.

Connect with Tides

Frequently Asked Questions

Categories

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.

Share This

Our organization is made up of five Tides entities: Tides Center, Tides Foundation, Tides Two Rivers Fund, Tides Inc., and Tides Network. Our unique structure helps us connect changemakers in new ways, bringing together their diverse resources and experiences to realize a just and equitable future. 

Our Organizational Structure
Tides Network is our “home office.” It provides executive leadership, HR resources, financial management and accounting, legal and compliance, communications, and administrative services to advance the programming of the other Tides entities.

Tides Foundation
Tides Foundation leads Tides’ philanthropic work. The goal of the foundation is to advance social justice by partnering with funders to more quickly move their resources to social change leaders from communities historically denied power. Tides Foundation focuses on grantmaking and philanthropic services to doers and donors, including donor advised funds, collective action funds, and strategic advisory services. Tides Foundation also invests funds in social impact opportunities to support charitable activities in line with the Tides mission. Tides Foundation’s charitable funding comes from grants and donations received through a wide variety of sources, including individuals, families, foundations, and corporations.

Tides Center
Tides Center supports social change leaders, connects diverse people and organizations, and powers solutions that come directly from communities historically denied power, including women, economically disadvantaged communities, and communities of color. We offer comprehensive fiscal sponsorship — including financial, compliance, insurance, governance, and human resources support — as well as management, consulting, and grantmaking services. 

Tides Converge: Tides Inc. and Tides Two Rivers Fund
Tides Converge is a shared workspace that brings together a diverse community of leaders and organizations, linking sectors and crossing boundaries in the pursuit of social justice. Tides Inc. and Tides Two Rivers Fund hold and manage Tides Converge collaborative work and event spaces in San Francisco and New York City, respectively.

Tides Advocacy
Tides Advocacy is a separate 501(c)(4) organization.

Share This

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

Share This

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.

Share This

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.

Share This

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.

Share This