Tides Center

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Tides Center is a non-profit organization in the United States which provides fiscal sponsorship for progressive groups like the Opportunity Agenda. Tides Center is classified a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization by the IRS.

It is administratively linked to but separate from the Tides Foundation. Tides Center and Tides Foundation are part of a family of organizations linked by a commitment to social change, innovation, and responsible stewardship of resources.

Among hundreds of charitable foundations, the Heinz Endowments, of which Teresa Heinz Kerry is Chair, contributed $8 million to Tides Center, mainly for community projects in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Heinz Endowments also gave a total $230,000 to Tides Foundation from 1994 to 1998, but has not given grants to Tides Foundation since.

Tides Center handles administrative functions such as payroll, benefits, insurance, and tax form 990 in exchange for a fee, which varies, and which is taken out of grant monies.

People for the American Way is among the organizations that began as projects of Tides Center.^[1]

The Americans For Gun Safety Foundation, the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, the Rockridge Institute^[2], and the Citizendium Foundation are current projects of Tides Center.

[edit] History

Tides Center’s roots lie in Tides Foundation, which was founded by Drummond Pike in 1976. In 1977, Tides Foundation began working with initiative campaigns, an arrangement that was formalized into the Projects Program in 1979. In 1996, this program became Tides Center, an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since 1996, Tides Center has been fiscal sponsorship to 677 projects with combined revenues of $522.4 million, and has worked with well over 800 projects since the first days as the Projects Program. Tides Center currently manages over 200 projects.