Tides Foundation
Overview
Mission
Tides is a partner for justice in the social sector, working closely with doers and donors to build the power of historically excluded groups who face systemic barriers. We provide fiscal sponsorship, donor advised funds, impact investing, and a variety of grantmaking solutions to advance social justice and equity.
What it reported doing in 2024
Tides foundation makes grants and operates collective action, donor-advised and other grantmaking funds for charitable and educational purposes that help to make the world a better place. Grants are made to eligible domestic and qualified foreign charitable organizations for these philanthropic purposes. Tides foundation also provides philanthropic support and creates opportunities for learning, increases capacity for mission-aligned activities, and builds community among donors and grantees.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 99% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 510198509
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2021
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, CA, United States
- Phone
- 4155616400
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Public Foundations
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 97
- Transparency & Controls: 69
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 95%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: $300.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Pass
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Pass
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.4%; rating input score 99; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -27.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.14; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $445.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $861K · 16 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.8M reported
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 9 annual filings from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2112 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2116 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- JANIECE EVANS-PAGE (CEO): $861,260 total reported compensation
- JAMES LUM (TREASURER AND CFO (THRU 9/24)): $615,755 total reported compensation
- SUNEELA JAIN (SEC & CHIEF LEGAL & COMP OFFICER): $501,540 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.