MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Christopher Herrera
Tides Foundation
415.561.6400
cherrera(at)tides.org

SAN FRANCISCO, JANUARY 30, 2008 — Tides Foundation announces the winner of the second annual $10,000 Pizzigati Prize. Barry Warsaw, a software developer dedicated to identifying and solving the technological problems that confront social change movements, has won the Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest.

Barry Warsaw is being recognized for his work as the lead developer of GNU Mailman, the open source application that hundreds of nonprofits around the world are now using to manage electronic mail discussions and e-newsletter lists.

The Pizzigati Prize — an award program launched two years ago by Tides Foundation’s Florence and Frances Family Fund — aims to honor individuals who, in the spirit of open source computing, fashion outstanding applications that help nonprofits become more effective in their ongoing social change efforts.

Mr. Warsaw’s free Mailman application, the judges for this year’s Pizzigati Prize observed, has built up a large, experienced base of users who have been more than willing to help new users make the best possible use of the software. And Mailman’s design and development team actively listens to — and interacts with — everyday users.

These interactions reflect Warsaw’s core software development values.  A software engineer for over 25 years, Warsaw emphasizes the importance of healthy communities in software development. “I hope that the Mailman project has served as a good model for open source software development. More than that, I hope that the community of Mailman users reflects my deeply held ideals of how we start by treating each other with empathy, kindness, and respect, and how we create positive social change by sharing those lessons with the wider world around us.”

The Pizzigati Prize honors the brief life of Tony Pizzigati, an early advocate of open source computing who spent his college years at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, where he worked at the world-famous MIT Media Lab and later the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science. Three years after his 1992 graduation, Pizzigati, then 24 and a software consultant, died in an auto accident on his way into Silicon Valley.

The four judges on the Pizzigati Prize judging panel (Allison Fine, George Hotelling, Joseph Mouzon, and Katrin Verclas) have each earned wide respect within the nonprofit computing world.

More information about the judges and the judging criteria appear on the Pizzigati Prize Web site at www.pizzigatiprize.org. Also available on the site: links to the work of this year’s six prize finalists. This Year’s Pizzigati Prize finalists, besides Barry Warsaw, included:

• August Detlefsen, for the Open Architecture Network, the first open source community dedicated to improving living conditions for the world’s poor through innovative and sustainable design.
• Nate Aune, for Plone4Artists, a suite of products for Plone, an open source content management system.
• Heather Cronk, for PledgeBank, a nonprofit Web site designed to get groups of people motivated to meet challenges they otherwise might not undertake.
• Subramanya Sastry, for NewsRack, a Web application that helps researchers and nonprofits more precisely track the news that impacts their work.
• T.J. Downes, for Kalender, an open source application that nonprofits can use for planning and scheduling a wide variety of events.

The deadline for the third annual Pizzigati Prize will be September 1, 2008. Application forms and background information will be available shortly on the Pizzigati Prize Web site.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Vanessa Daniel: 415-561-6302, vdaniel(at)tides.org

SAN FRANCISCO, CA; JANUARY 2, 2008; The Catalyst Fund at Tides Foundation has awarded $800,000 in matching grants to eight local public foundations to support reproductive justice work led by women of color. The Women of Color Working Group of the Funders Network on Population, Reproductive Health and Rights - a group of 15 foundations; created the Catalyst Fund earlier this year to address the shortage of funding to the sector of women who experience the greatest health disparities.

“The Women of Color Working Group believes that organizations led by those women most impacted by reproductive health disparities have the expertise to create solutions and policies that best address their community’s needs.” said Vanessa Daniel, the Tides Foundation Program Advisor who manages the fund.

“The persistent shortage of funding for an entire sector of women is weakening the ability of all women in the US to secure their reproductive rights. As funders we have the power and responsibility to reverse this trend, and with Catalyst, we now have a key opportunity.” said Working Group member Adisa Douglas of the Public Welfare Foundation.

The Catalyst Fund’s first round of grants will result in almost $1.5 million in new funding to women of color led organizations, because each local foundation must match the amount awarded by Catalyst dollar for dollar. The Catalyst Fund will also provide fundraising and strategic communications training to assist local funding partners in successfully meeting the match and in sustaining increased funding for these organizations in the future.

The first round of grantees includes:

• Chicago Foundation for Women $100,000
• New Mexico Community Foundation $100,000
• New York Women’s Foundation $100,000
• Women’s Foundation of California $100,000
• Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee $60,000 
• Women’s Fund of Hawai’i $100,000
• Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade County $100,000
• Women’s Fund of New Jersey $140,000

Foundations represented in the Women of Color Working Group include:

• California Wellness Foundation
• Chicago Foundation for Women
• David & Lucille Packard Foundation
• Ford Foundation
• General Service Foundation
• Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation
• Moriah Fund
• Ms. Foundation
• Overbrook Foundation
• Public Welfare Foundation
• Third Wave Foundation
• Tides Foundation
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• Women’s Foundation of California

About Tides Foundation:
Tides offers an array of services that amplifies the efforts of forward-thinking philanthropists, foundations, activists and organizations to make the world a better place. Tides Foundation, Tides Center and Tides Shared Spaces make up the Tides organizations. Tides Foundation partners with donors to increase and organize resources for positive social change, facilitating effective grantmaking programs, creating opportunities for learning, and building community among donors and grantees. We bring together people, ideas, and resources to actively promote change toward a healthy and just society. For more information, visit www.tidesfoundation.org.

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The following 2007 Fellows will receive a $21,000 award over the next three years: Nao Bustamante, Skowmon Hastanan, Rajkamal Kahlon, Ivan Monforte, Jennifer Monson, Clifford Owens, and Swoon.

The Lambent Fellowship in the Arts program supports visual and performing artists in all five boroughs of New York City.  A selection panel of artists and arts professionals made anonymous nominations to the Lambent Fellowship’s selection committee, who chose finalists to be considered by the Tides Foundation Board of Directors.

“The Lambent Fellowship program celebrates and fosters the intersection between art and social change,” explained Michelle Coffey, Senior Philanthropic Advisor at Tides Foundation. “The recipients reflect New York’s rich diversity and their works offer great insights into the role of art in critiquing, shaping and changing our ideas, our communities, and our society.  The Lambent Fellowship program pays tribute to artists who are making exciting and high quality work, while at the same time are in line with Tides Foundation’s mission of creating a positive impact on people's lives in ways that honor and promote human rights, justice, and a healthy, sustainable environment.”

About the Artists:

Nao Bustamante is an internationally known performance and video artist originating from the San Joaquin Valley of California, now residing in New York. Her (often precarious) work encompasses performance art, sculpture, installation and video. Bustamante has presented in Galleries, Museums, Universities and underground sites all around the world. Her work has been exhibited, among other locales, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts, and the Kiasma Museum of Helsinki. In 2001 she received the prestigious Anonymous Was a Woman fellowship and in 2007 named a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow. Currently she holds the position as Associate Professor of New Media and Live Art at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

Skowmon Hastanan, visual artist, creates work from a unique perspective relating to the immigrant experience occurring outside the United States. She moved from Bangkok to New York at the end of the Vietnam War. Her works derive from memories of the American military presence in Thailand and her experience growing up in New York City. The narrative involves the result of the political interaction between the USA and Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and how it directly and indirectly resulted in the establishment of a sex trade, trafficking of person, and the creating of gender and racial stereotypes. Skowmon examines today's media's use of old clichéd Asian mystiques to sell sexual fantasy. Using images of mail-order brides and escort services that appear on the Internet and in classified ads, she explores feminine identity from these found images.

Rajkamal Kahlon, visual artist, interrogates the ideological positions of representation as they are linked to forms of racial and colonial authority. In her dialectical engagement with historical texts she critiques the will to "make" humans implicit in the visual practices backed by repressive regimes of power in part through the use of violent imagery framed by psychedelia and the human body turned grotesque through its traumatic encounters with colonialism, military rule and torture.

Ivan Monforte uses simple gestures and materials, as well as emotional language and content, as strategic tools to address themes of loss and mourning, representations of class, gender, race and sexuality, as well as the pursuit of love.  He often utilizes social sculptures and performance based videos in his work to challenge the viewers' relationship to art viewing, making and collecting.

Jennifer Monson creates dance systems and performances that arise from the confluence of environmental research and in depth artistic process. Her work explores concepts of wilderness in relation to the built and natural environments with a special focus on urban ecologies. Embodying contradictions inherent in the concept of nature, Monson's work re-negotiates relationships between art, environment, power, and place.

Clifford Owens makes art through photography, video, performance, installation and texts. His work has focused on the "social contract" of an art experience within an art institution, and the social function of a studio visit. Clifford was born in Baltimore,  Maryland in 1971 and he lives and works in Queens, New York.

Swoon is an artist whose work begins with figurative drawing, portraiture, and traditional print making techniques and extends to urban interventions and community-based collective experiments. Among other projects she has been wheat pasting an ongoing series of portraits on New York City streets for the past six years, and is currently involved in the Miss Rockaway Armada, a floating experiment in ecologically sustainable living practices, which travels the Mississippi River carrying theater, music, visual art and a variety of workshops. With each of these practices she is attempting to create a free, publicly available, and outward reaching context for the creation of and experience of contemporary art.

• Policy Action Grants are large grants designed to support advocacy, broadly defined, in specific policy areas. 
• Bridge-Building Grants will support projects that foster connections between regional and local advocacy efforts, on the one hand, and work being done in the traditional foreign policy corridor of Washington and New York.  
• Rapid Response Grants are designed to enable organizations to respond to unique, time-sensitive, and unforeseen opportunities for policy change.  Rapid Response Grant proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis, and will be considered promptly, beginning July 2007.

HOW TO APPLY

The Connect US grantmaking fund is managed by Tides Foundation. For detailed information about grants offered through the Connect US Global Security and Cooperation Initiative, or for the complete Request for Letters of Inquiry, visit the Connect US web site at http://www.connect.us. Instructions for the submission of letters of inquiry can be found on the Tides Foundation web site, here. 

This new request for proposals (RFP) follows three previous rounds of grants awarding a total of $3.7 million. The most recent round, awarded in December 2006, funded 44 grantees in 18 states with two-year grants totaling $1.2 million. Syringe Access Fund grants support community-, street- and pharmacy-based syringe access programs, as well as state-level policy education efforts to eliminate legal barriers to this life-saving intervention. Of the $1.2 million awarded in 2006, 80% of funding supported direct services and 20% supported state-level policy work.

> You can find the new RFP for the Syringe Access Fund Here

Background: The Connection Between Injection Drug Use, HIV and Hepatitis C

Injection drug use has accounted for approximately one-third of all adult AIDS cases reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC also estimates that 60% of Hepatitis C cases are linked to injection drug use. Blood-borne infections such as these can be transmitted directly among injection drug users when infected users share syringes or engage in high-risk sexual contact. Women who are infected with HIV through injecting or unprotected sex with an infected injection drug user can transmit the virus to their babies during pregnancy or while nursing.

Access to sterile injection equipment, including syringes, has been proven to reduce the risk of HIV infection without contributing to increased drug use. This is the conclusion of many independent, peer-reviewed studies and evaluations conducted in the U.S. and internationally since the early 1990's, including a 1997 Report to Congress prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services. As an HIV prevention intervention, syringe access is endorsed by such organizations as the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine, the American Public Health Association, National Institutes of Health, and the American Pharmaceutical Association. Most recently, a September 2006 report prepared by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences concluded: "Given consistent evidence that multi-component HIV prevention programs that include sterile needle and syringe access reduce drug-related HIV risks, such programs should be implemented where feasible."

About the Syringe Access Fund

The Syringe Access Fund is a multi-year grant making initiative consisting of the Levi Strauss Foundation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Irene Diamond Fund, the Tides Foundation and the National AIDS Fund (with the addition of a sixth funder - Public Welfare Foundation - in 2007). The Syringe Access Fund was created in 2004 to respond to the deadly connection between injection drug use and HIV, particularly in communities of color and among women.

Since 2004, the Syringe Access Fund has reviewed 242 proposals and awarded 92 grants (to 83 individual grantees) totaling more than $3.25 million. In addition to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, programs in the following states have been awarded two-year grants since 2004: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Washington. The wide range and increasing number of localities that are now implementing syringe access programs reflects a growing awareness of the efficacy of such programs among public health officials nationally.

Despite overwhelming evidence of the effectiveness of syringe access programs, the federal government has prohibited the use of federal funds for such purposes since 1988, and state and local laws related to the sale and possession of syringes may interfere with local programs' ability to provide such services. In addition, private funders may be reluctant to fund such programs given the political controversy that has sometimes surfaced with regard to these programs. The Syringe Access Fund was created to help fill this gap, and consists of a growing number of funders who believe that sound scientific evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of syringe access programs must drive both policy and practice.

Examples of Syringe Access Fund Grants in Action

As examples of funding since 2004, Syringe Access Fund grants have been awarded to support a van for a mobile clinic in Staten Island, and to open a Sunday exchange site in San Francisco where none existed. In Los Angeles, a four-agency partnership used its grant to purchase syringes for exchange through a city-sanctioned and city-funded exchange program that is not allowed to use city funds for syringes. In New Jersey, two separate policy grants supported statewide efforts related to legislation allowing for the creation of up to six pilot needle exchange programs (which Governor Corzine signed into law in December 2006). In Texas, a policy grant is supporting opinion research to identify religious, community and political leaders who will support a building policy education efforts.

Lists of grantees from all three previous funding rounds are available on the Syringe Access Fund page of the Tides Foundation website at: www.tidesfoundation.org/services-strategies/collective-giving/syringe-access-fund.

About the 2007 Round of Grants

The current funding partners are committing more than $1.2 million to this new round of grants in 2007. A Request for Proposals (RFP) has been posted on the Tides Foundation website at www.tidesfoundation.org/services-strategies/collective-giving/syringe-access-fund and project proposals are due June 20, 2007. Two-year awards will be announced by September 2007.

Additional funding partners are invited to join the Syringe Access Fund in support of grants during 2007 and additional years. Interested funders may contact Gary Schwartz at the Tides Foundation at gschwartz@tides.org, and/or Sam Avrett at savrett@earthlink.net.

About the Funding Partners

Since 1952, the Levi Strauss Foundation has funded community-based organizations focused on social change in areas where Levi Strauss & Co. has a business presence. The Foundation was one of the first funders to respond to HIV/AIDS in 1985, and since then, has awarded over $37 million in funding for such programs.

Since its creation in 1992 by Founder and Chairman Sir Elton John, the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) has raised over $125 million for HIV/AIDS programs in 55 countries around the globe. EJAF supports community-based prevention education programs, harm reduction programs, and direct services to persons living with HIV/AIDS, especially populations with special needs.

The Irene Diamond Fund, established in 1994 by the late philanthropist Irene Diamond, focuses on HIV/AIDS, human rights and the performing arts. The foundation, based in New York City, supports a limited number of self-selected projects, and since its inception has provided over $31 million in funding to combat HIV/AIDS.

The National AIDS Fund's (NAF) mission is to reduce the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS by promoting leadership and generating resources for effective community responses. Through its network of Community Partnerships, NAF promotes local planning and provides grants and technical support to as many as 400 service organizations annually. Since 1988, NAF and its partners have invested over $142 million to combat HIV/AIDS.

Since 1976, Tides Foundation has partnered with donors and institutions by offering donor-advised funds, philanthropic advice and management services for progressive social change philanthropy. Tides Foundation provides administrative and programmatic support to the Syringe Access Fund, including coordination of grant review, selection and awards.

In 2007, a sixth funder has joined the Syringe Access Fund: Public Welfare Foundation, established in 1948, supports organizations that help people overcome barriers to full participation in society, pursuing a strategy of "service, advocacy, and empowerment" for meeting basic human needs and promoting democratic participation for people around the globe. This year, Public Welfare Foundation will make grants totalling $20 million to address human needs in disadvantaged communities.

Contact Information:

Information about the Syringe Access Fund is available online at:

www.tidesfoundation.org/services-strategies/collective-giving/syringe-access-fund.

For further information, please feel free to contact Sam Avrett at savrett@earthlink.net.

The JBL Awards focused on recognizing individuals that have been integral to the rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast.  The devastating aftermath left by Hurricane Katrina magnifies the long term social, political, and economic policies that have disproportionately hit communities of color and low-income communities.  A successful progressive strategy for rebuilding in the Gulf Coast needs to address the systemic problems affecting those communities.  The need for public infrastructure systems, a social safety-net, environmental monitoring and toxic clean-up, and the crucial element of civic participation to achieve these goals, are some of the issues the JBL awardees incorporated into their work.

This year’s awards were expanded to include seven activists due to the broad range of vital activities going on in the Gulf region.  Tides Foundation is hosting an event in New Orleans on Monday, June 11th, 2007 to recognize and honor these amazing activists, organizers and change agents.

This year marks the 17th anniversary of Tides Foundation’s JBL Awards.  The award is named after Jane Bagley Lehman, one of the founders of Tides Foundation and the Chair of the Board until her death in 1988.  An unconventional philanthropist, her insatiable curiosity was matched by a willingness to take risks. Jane was most intrigued by the approaches and strategies of advocates and organizers and their willingness to challenge traditional assumptions. She also cared deeply that the results of these efforts be translated into the broader area of public policy.

(In no particular order.)

Anne Rolfes

Anne Rolfes grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana and is the founding executive director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.  Since the hurricanes, the major focus of her work has been to help organize the local communities affected by the storms so that they can make informed choices regarding their health and safety. She teaches community members sampling techniques to measure toxic sediments on their homesites located in the footprint of the Murphy Oil Spill and the Katrina disaster.  Anne’s current project is planning a gathering called “Fenceline Neighbor Power Conference.” This conference will bring together dispersed communities facing similar environmental problems to talk and work more collaboratively together. 

Father Vien thé Ngyuen

Father Vien thé Nguyen is the pastor of Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church in East New Orleans. He has been integrally involved in the struggle and rebuilding of Versailles in New Orleans East, home to one of the largest concentration’s of Vietnamese Americans in the United States.  Since saving lives during the storm, he has become known throughout the city and has grown to prominence in the fight and eventual win against the Chef Menteur landfill in New Orleans East.  Father Ngyuen is deeply committed to working to ensure that communities have a strong voice in determining public policies that invest in effective government systems which truly serve people.

Tanya Harris

Tanya Harris was born and raised in New Orleans.  Her family is deeply rooted in the Lower Ninth Ward and have been members of ACORN for over 23 years.  Tanya is currently the head organizer for New Orleans ACORN and since Katrina she has been working tirelessly to organize displaced residents from New Orleans and assist them in rebuilding their lives and communities.  Tanya has organized and recruited thousands of volunteers to help gut homes all across the city, saved thousands of homes from being seized by the city as public nuisance without due process, stopped land grab bills at the state legislature, and won certified water for the entire city. 

Rev. Jennifer Jones-Bridgett

A native of Baton Rouge, LA, Reverend Jennifer Jones-Bridgett is an ordained Baptist Minister and presently the executive director of PICO Louisiana InterFaiths Together (LIFT).  She believes that justice is not just a matter of putting the right policies in place or involving the community in a planning process, it means ensuring that families have the power to also define the agenda and control the future of the Gulf Coast.  It means equipping historically marginalized residents to organize themselves for power.  Reverend Jones-Bridgett strongly believes in community building across lines of race, class and denomination.

Malik Rahim

Malik Rahim, a veteran community organizer, was raised in New Orleans and has been fighting for racial, economic and environmental justice for the last thirty years. In 1970, he co-founded the Louisiana chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP), and the platform of the BPP has remained his guiding principles.  Malik co-founded the Common Ground Collective with Sharon Johnson and Scott Crow on September 5, 2005, only days after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, Common Ground has been working to deliver services and resources to the most marginalized communities in the Greater New Orleans area. Common Ground has initiated 15 program areas that have served over half a million people in the areas of medical care, legal assistance and advocacy, food and water distribution, roof tarping, house gutting, toxic remediation, children’s programs, a women’s center and much more.

Victoria Cintra

Victoria Cintra was born in Cuba and migrated to the United States when she was eight years old.  She is currently the Gulf Coast outreach organizer for the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA), an organization that provides assistance and advocacy for immigrant workers across the state.  Since Katrina, Victoria has spoken forcefully and articulately on the struggle for justice for the thousands of immigrant workers who have come to rebuild the Gulf Coast.  She has become a forceful immigrant advocate with FEMA, the Red Cross, private contractors and state and local governments.  Victoria has been integral in identifying health hazard issues impacting immigrant workers, disparities between ethnic groups, discriminatory practices by both government and non government agencies and testifying before international commissions.

Derrick Evans

Derrick Evans is a sixth-generation native of Turkey Creek, a Mississippi Gulf Coast community settled by freed slaves in 1866.  Derrick founded Turkey Creek Community Initiatives to promote sustainable local development that is both environmentally and culturally sensitive.  After Katrina, Derrick maxed out credit cards and loaded up a U-Haul truck with $20,000 worth of water, gas and other supplies to build a volunteer camp in Turkey Creek. Since the storm, he has been a tireless organizer and advocate for the needs and rights of coastal communities.  Derrick was also one of the founding organizers of the Steps Coalition, a collaboration of groups fighting for fair and equal justice in the allocation of resources in rebuilding South Mississippi.

The Reproductive Justice Fund is part of the Reproductive Justice Initiative at Tides Foundation. The RJF is a funding collaborative of individual and institutional donors that supports efforts to broaden the base of the U.S. reproductive justice movement in order to increase its power to effect public policy and public opinion. The RJF funds organizations that use grassroots organizing and policy advocacy to build the power and leadership of historically underrepresented women, including women of color, low-income, young, rural, immigrant and LGBT women. The RJF prioritizes organizations that pull reproductive justice from the margins to the center of progressive political organizing by building effective cross-movement alliances between reproductive justice and labor, environmental, economic justice, criminal justice, civil rights and other social justice concerns.

Learn more about the Tides Reproductive Justice Initiative.

In 2006, Tides Foundation's RJF made grants to 24 organizations:

Bridgeport, CT and San Francisco, CA, Oct. 3, 2006 –   Launched in March 2006, AltruShare specializes in community investment while offering comprehensive and competitive brokerage services including best execution, superior service and value to institutional investors. 

Led by a management team with more than 40 years of domestic and international experience in institutional brokerage and portfolio trading, AltruShare’s agency-only model offers superior brokerage services free of traditional conflict of interests.  Through its “Community Investment Enterprise” business model, AltruShare combines traditional brokerage services with social responsibility without incurring any costs to its clients.  The firm sponsors cutting edge independent research on community investment, including portfolio audits, industry reports, community research; it also offers market analysis and intelligence, block trading, algorithmic trading and direct market access.

Tides Foundation and Underdog Foundation have a combined 40 years experience in community-based investment, which will help AltruShare determine the best ways to reinvest its profits – from the AltruShare Opportunity Funds – in communities where it conducts business.  AltruShare will focus its social responsibility initiatives on revitalizing underserved communities through youth development, education, and economic opportunity.  It has already conducted a “needs analysis” in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  Although AltruShare will work closely with its nonprofit owners, AltruShare is a for-profit venture that will support research and community investment through its own profits.  It does not accept donations and its nonprofit owners will not have a say in the management of the brokerage business. 

“AltruShare competes on best execution, service and value, and uses the latest technology, but what makes us different is that we represent a new partnership between Wall Street and Main Street because AltruShare was created to reinvest in the communities we serve.  We offer superior quality and execution and at the same time reinvest in underserved communities without any cost to the investor,” said Peter Drasher, co-founder and managing partner, AltruShare. 

“Tides and Underdog bring a terrific track record of national expertise, 40 years of experience in community-based investment and philanthropy, and a commitment to innovation.  Our goal is to develop a sustainable source of support for economically disadvantaged communities.  We feel that given the same service and cost, clients will choose a brokerage firm whose profits are reinvested in the community,” said Dawn Edwards, co-founder and president, AltruShare.

Changes in government and the philanthropic sector have been driving the need for innovative approaches to solving the needs of underserved communities.

"We look forward to serving as AltruShare's philanthropic partner as the firm grows and develops its innovative Community Investment Enterprise model, which will – through the AltruShare Opportunity Fund at Tides – support youth, education and economic development in diverse and underserved communities around the country," said Drummond Pike, CEO, Tides Foundation.

The Underdog Foundation will be managing a national community investment program for Altrushare to help communities which are often ignored or forgotten – communities who are considered the underdog. 

“From day one, Peter was clear that he didn’t want giving something back to communities to be the last thing he did in his company; he wanted it to be the first thing.  At the Underdog Foundation, we’ve been lucky to work with people using their companies or investments to innovate and to make the biggest possible difference with their philanthropy.  It’s amazing that Peter found a business model that allows institutional investors a way to get best execution and still know that their trading business is giving back to those communities with the greatest needs,” said David Berge, president, Underdog Foundation.

Read more about AltruShare and Tides Foundation in Pensions & Investments Online.

About Tides Foundation

Since 1976, Tides Foundation has partnered with donors and institutions by offering donor advised funds, philanthropic advice and management services for progressive social change philanthropy.  Tides is committed to strengthening community-based nonprofit organizations and the progressive movement through national and global philanthropy - creating a positive impact on people’s lives in ways that honor and promote human rights, economic justice and a healthy, sustainable environment.  For more information, visit www.tidesfoundation.org.

About Underdog Foundation

The Underdog Foundation works to meet community and environmental needs that cannot be met through simple investments.  The Underdog Foundation, which does not accept unsolicited applications, supports non-profit organizations doing important work in our communities through grant making, community investment, technical assistance, and strategic nonprofit/for-profit partnerships. They have special expertise in applying an array of innovative community investment models to provide effective capital to communities and organizations that have compelling needs but may have been excluded from access to capital.  For more information, visit www.underdogventures.com. 

About AltruShare Securities

Launched in 2006, AltruShare Securities, LLC, is the first institutional brokerage firm specializing in community investment, and the only nonprofit owned brokerage firm.  AltruShare combines comprehensive and competitive institutional brokerage services, a unique research product, an experienced management and trading staff.  A for-profit venture, AltruShare’s profits support the AltruShare Opportunity Funds, which benefit locally based community programs addressing youth development, education, and economic opportunity.   For more information, call 203-330-8100 or visit www.AltruShare.com.

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What does H.R. 4 Mean for Me?

The Pension Protection Act of 2006, commonly referred to as H.R. 4, was signed into law August 17, 2006. The new law creates a new definition and new rules for donor advised funds-some of which take effect immediately, and some of which will take effect in the coming months. Below we provide some detailed Questions and Answers on these new regulations and how they affect our donors and our community. Tides Foundation has been following this legislation as it has evolved in Washington, and we are already taking steps to make sure that we remain in complete compliance with the law.

However, it is safe to say that the vast majority of grantmaking at Tides Foundation will not be affected by these new regulations. Grants to vital nonprofits recommended by donors through Tides funds will continue as they have for 30 years.

One key fact to keep in mind is that prior to this law the phrase "donor advised funds" was simply a commonly used business term and appeared nowhere in the Internal Revenue Code. This new law actively defines donor advised funds and outlines what is and is not allowed under the new definition, and what is allowed under other types of grantmaking funds.

With this new law, Congress has decided to apply many of the constraints applicable to private foundations to donor advised funds and supporting organizations. These include strict rules regarding self-dealing, excess business holdings, and certain taxable expenditures. As with any new legislation, there is much to be learned from the regulations that eventually will be put forward by the Treasury Department.

Below are a list of questions and answers on this new legislation. We will be updating this information as new information presents itself.

Please remember: This information is not intended to substitute for legal or tax advice. If you have further questions, we invite you to contact your Tides Foundation advisor or your own tax or legal counsel.

New Rules: Definitions of a donor advised fund

1. What has changed for donor advised funds?
2. How do I receive my tax deduction for a contribution to my DAF?
3. What exactly is a donor advised fund under the new legislation?
4. What is NOT a donor advised fund under the new legislation?

Taxable Expenditures: Limits on permissible grants and expenses

1. What grants are no longer permissible from my donor advised fund?
2. Can a DAF make grants for legislative lobbying, or to a 501(c)(4) organization?
3. Scholarships: What is necessary to operate a program that makes grants to individuals?
4. Penalties: What are the penalties if a DAF violates any of these new rules?
5. Can I still make international grants from my a donor advised fund?
6. When are these new Taxable Expenditure rules effective?

Insider Transactions: Tightening of restrictions on self dealing and direct reimbursements

1. May I be paid from my DAF for services related to my grantmaking?
2. What about payments from a grantee organization?
3. May I receive a loan from my donor-advised fund if I re-pay it with interest?
4. May I submit grant-related expenses for reimbursement from my donor-advised fund?
5. Is a fund advisor not related to me eligible to receive compensation from the DAF?
6. Can my fund buy services from my company?
7. When do these rules about Insider Transactions become effective?

Business Interests:

1. My donor advised fund currently holds an interest in a business enterprise. What do I do now?
2. Can I make a gift of appreciated securities this year?
3. What if my DAF currently holds real estate, or if I wanted to make a future gift of real estate to my DAF?
4. When are these new rules about Business Interests effective?

Miscellaneous

1. What if I have my own private family foundation or sit on the board of a private family foundation? Were any changes made that affect private foundations?
2. Can a supporting organization still make grants to a donor-advised fund?
3. I have heard about the new rules allowing tax-free distributions from IRAs. Can I make a distribution to my DAF?

New Rules:

1. What has changed for donor advised funds(DAFs)?

In general, the new rules ushered in by this new law cover three areas of note to donors and advisors to donor advised funds:

• The law has imposed many of the same rules that apply to private foundations to donor advised funds, specifically on permitted expenditures (this change is discussed more fully below under "Taxable Expenditure Rules").
• The law includes donors and fund advisors as "disqualified persons" for purposes of the insider transaction prohibitions. This basically prohibits 'self dealing' (this change is discussed more fully below under "Insider Transactions").
• The law extends the private foundation "excess business holding" rules to DAFs. These rules prevent a DAF from holding a substantial portion of the equity in a business enterprise (this change is discussed below under "Business Interests").

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2. How do I receive my tax deduction for a contribution to my DAF?

The donor must now have a receipt or gift acknowledgement from Tides Foundation that explicitly affirms that Tides has exclusive legal control over the contributed assets (which has always been the case for Tides DAFs). Our contribution acknowledgements at Tides Foundation will be revised to explicitly confirm this fact.

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3. What exactly is a donor advised fund for these purposes?

Keep in mind that before these new rules were adopted, the term "donor advised fund" was not mentioned in the Internal Revenue Code and the term was used in philanthropic circles to refer to many types of fund arrangements. Only those funds which fall within the new definition are subject to the new, more stringent rules.

There are funds at Tides that are not "donor advised funds" as defined by the new rules; these funds will not be affected by the new rules (see "What is NOT a donor advised fund", below).

The new definition of donor advised fund includes only funds or accounts where all of the following conditions apply:

• A donor, or a person appointed or designated by the donor, has or reasonably expects to have advisory privileges with respect to distributions or investments;
• The fund is separately identified by reference to contributions of a donor;
• The fund is not described in any of the exceptions (see "What is NOT a donor advised fund," below).

Funds will be subject to the new rules only if they meet all of the above criteria.

Keep in mind that a donor does not have "advisory privileges" if the donor's role is limited to designating the fund's purpose in the fund agreement. Similarly, the donor does not have "advisory privileges" if the donor's role is limited to recommending a category of individuals with expertise, based on objective criteria, to advise with respect to investments or distributions. For example, some funds utilize activist advisory panels to make grant recommendations.

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4. What is NOT a donor advised fund for these purposes?

Tides Foundation will continue to hold funds that do not qualify as donor advised funds under the new definition. These funds, which are not affected by the new rules are detailed below. Grantmaking by such funds will be unaffected by the new rules:

• Single Entity Funds: A fund or account that makes distributions only to a single identified organization or governmental entity is not a donor advised fund.
• Scholarship Funds: A scholarship fund operated in accordance with specific criteria is not a donor advised fund (see "Scholarships" below for more details).
• Independent Committee Funds: A fund that the Secretary of the Treasury has determined to be exempt from treatment as a donor advised fund if the fund is advised by a committee not directly or indirectly controlled by a donor, fund advisor, or person related to a donor or fund advisor is not a donor advised fund.
• Exempted Funds: A fund that the Secretary of Treasury has determined to exempt from treatment as a donor advised fund if the fund benefits a single identified charitable purpose. To fall within this exemption it appears that a special application to the IRS will be required.

For the latter two exceptions, it is not clear whether safe harbor guidance will be provided, or whether organizations will need to seek private rulings from the IRS in order to take advantage of them.

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Taxable Expenditure Rules:

In general, donor advised fund grantmaking is now limited to grants to publicly-supported charities described in IRC Section 170(b)(1)(A). This definition of publicly-supported charities includes grants from DAFs to the general fund of the organization of which the DAF is a part (Tides Foundation, for example), and/or to another donor advised fund.

1. What grants are no longer permissible from my donor advised fund?

Under the new rules, the following types of transfers or distributions from a donor advised fund are not permitted:

1. Any transfer to an individual.
2. Any transfer for any purpose other than a charitable purpose, unless the granting organization (such as Tides Foundation) exercises "expenditure responsibility" over the transfer, and
3. Any transfer based upon the advice of a donor, fund advisor, or a person related to either of them, that results in any such person receiving, directly or indirectly, a more than incidental benefit.

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2. Can a DAF make grants for legislative lobbying, or to a 501(c)(4) organization?

Generally speaking, a DAF can no longer make a grant to an organization that is not described in IRC Section 501(c)(3), unless the grant is restricted to charitable purposes. Accordingly, in most cases a grant to a Section 501(c)(4) organization to fund a lobbying activity will not be permissible. However, a grant to a Section 501(c)(4) may be permitted if the grant agreement expressly limits the use of the funds to charitable and educational activities and expressly prohibits the use of the funds for legislative lobbying.

Under the Treasury Regulations that have applied to private foundation grants, general support grants to other public charities described in IRC Section 501(c)(3) that lobby are permissible. Similar rules are expected to be adopted for grants by DAFs to public charities that lobby.

Tides Foundation will continue to support important 501(c)(4) advocacy work as we always have. We will also be following developments in the implementation of the legislation so that we can support these important efforts in a manner that complies with the new regulations.

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3. Scholarships: What is necessary to operate a program that makes grants to individuals?

A fund can make grants to individuals for travel, study, or other similar purposes, but only if all of the following requirements are met. If all these criteria are met, the fund is a Scholarship Fund and not a donor advised fund.

1. the donor's or fund advisor's advisory privileges are performed exclusively by such donor or fund advisor in such person's capacity as a member of a committee all of the members of which are appointed by the sponsoring organization,
2. no combination of a donor or fund advisor or persons related to such persons, control, directly or indirectly, such committee,
3. all grants from such fund or account are awarded on an objective and nondiscriminatory basis pursuant to a procedure approved in advance by the board of directors of the organization, and such procedure is designed to ensure that all such grants meet the requirements that apply to private foundation scholarship grants.

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4. Penalties: What are the penalties if a DAF violates any of these new rules?

Stiff penalties will apply to Tides Foundation, its managers, and, in the case of an impermissible private benefit, the donors and fund advisors for violating these new rules.

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5. Can I still make international grants from my donor advised fund?

Yes.  In general, international grantmaking at Tides Foundation will not be affected by the new law; however, grants to foreign organizations from donor advised funds require additional recordkeeping and pre-grant due diligence.  Thus, these types of grants will be charged additional fees and will require longer processing times.

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6. When are these new Taxable Expenditure Rules effective?

These changes are effective on January 1, 2007, for Tides DAFs.

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Insider Transactions:

In general, the new law prohibits any grant, loan, compensation, reimbursement, or other similar payment to donors and fund advisors, and "35% controlled entities." Covered entities, generally speaking, include any corporation, partnership, or limited liability company as to which the donor and fund advisors and their family members have voting control of 35% or more of the voting interests in the entity.

1. May I as the donor or as the fund advisor be paid from my donor advised fund for services I provide that are related to my grantmaking?

No. This is clearly prohibited.

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2. What if I and/or a family member are compensated by a grantee organization that is a recipient of a grant from my donor advised fund?

At the moment, the answer is unclear. Tides' donors should contact their philanthropic advisor if they have specific questions on this matter. A restricted grant from a DAF to a grantee organization that compensates a donor or fund advisor to that DAF (or any of their family members), pursuant to a grant agreement which prohibits the use of that grant to compensate any of them, may be permitted. The specific facts of the situation should be discussed with your philanthropic advisor.

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3. May I as the donor or as the fund advisor receive a loan from my donor-advised fund if I re-pay it with interest?

No.

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4. Periodically I incur expenses such as going to conferences or purchasing supplies related to my charitable grantmaking. May I submit these expenses for reimbursement from my donor-advised fund?

No. These rules are effective August 17, 2006, so any expenses incurred prior to that date but processed after August 17 will not be eligible for reimbursement.

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5. If I have appointed someone not related to me to act as an advisor to the fund, are they eligible to receive compensation for services, loans, or expense reimbursement?

No. That person is still a fund advisor, and subject to the same prohibition.

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6. My company is in the business of providing services to charities. Can my fund buy services from my company?

No, if you or the fund advisors, or the family members of each, have voting control over 35% or more of the entity's voting interests, no compensation for any kind of services can be paid to the company. It is not clear whether the same rule will apply for purchases of goods from a 35% controlled entity.

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7. When do these rules about Insider Transactions become effective?

These rules are effective as of August 17, 2006.

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Business Interests

1. My donor advised fund currently holds an interest in a business enterprise. What do I do now?

The new rules apply the private foundation rules to business holdings of donor advised funds. As a practical matter, after January 1, 2007, donor advised funds will not be permitted to purchase interests in a business if, together with all "disqualified persons," the aggregate ownership interests in the business enterprise exceed 20%. These rules are exceedingly complex, and there are some exceptions.

If a DAF holds an interest in a business enterprise on the effective date of the new law (January 1, 2007), then the DAF must dispose of the interest in 10, 15, or 20 years, depending on the aggregate percentage interest of the holdings of the DAF and all disqualified persons. The DAF will have to dispose of the interest for fair market value, and a redemption by the entity or a purchase of the interest by disqualified persons may be problematic. Accordingly, the advisors to the DAF should consult with the sponsoring organization's counsel as soon as possible to determine an appropriate exit strategy.

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2. I was planning to make a gift of appreciated securities this year. Am I out of luck?

You should still consider the gift with the help of your counsel, and counsel to the sponsoring organization, for several reasons. First, if the gift is made before January 1, 2007, the 10, 15 or 20 year transition rule described above (See Previous Question and Answer) will still apply to the gift, so that there will be a long time period for disposition of the interests. Second, there are some exceptions to the general rule described above, the most important of which is the exception for a de minimis holding by the DAF: if a DAF (and any related private foundations) holds 2% or less of the voting interests, the holding is permitted. Third, these rules generally consider only voting securities. Fourth, if another person actually controls the business enterprise, the permissible aggregate holdings are increased to 35%. And finally, some entities are not "business enterprises' at all (see following Question and Answer).

After January 1, 2007, if an interest in a business enterprise is given to a DAF, the DAF will generally be required to dispose of it not later than 5 years after the gift, subject to an extension of time if the IRS approves. This means that although such gifts are not prohibited, a clear and realistic exit strategy should be developed before such a gift is made.

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3. What if my donor advised fund currently holds real estate, or if I wanted to make a future gift of real estate to my DAF? Is this permissible under the new legislation?

Possibly. A "business enterprise" does not include a business if at least 95 percent of the gross income is derived from passive sources, which generally includes rental income. Thus, a voting interest in an entity which holds rental real estate, or appreciated undeveloped or vacant real property, may not be a business holding at all. Similarly, a gift of an interest in real property held by you directly (rather than through an entity), is not subject to the prohibition on excess business holdings.

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4. When are these new rules effective?

The changes to the rules applicable to excess business holdings are effective on January 1, 2007 for Tides DAFs.

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Miscellaneous

1. What if I have my own private family foundation or sit on the board of a private family foundation? Were any changes made that affect private foundations?

Yes. The new rules may affect grants from a private foundation to a donor advised fund but only if the DAF is operated by a "Type III" supporting organization that is not "functionally integrated" with the supported public charity. Tides is not a "supporting organization," so there is no limitation on the ability of the private foundation to make a grant to one of its donor advised funds.

The new rules also increase the excise tax penalties for self-dealing, failure to distribute income, jeopardizing investments and taxable expenditures by private foundations. The calculation of net investment income for private foundations has also been modified to expand the definition of gross investment income.

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2. Can a supporting organization still make grants to a donor advised fund?

Yes.

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3. I have heard about the new rules allowing tax-free distributions from IRAs. Can I make a distribution to my DAF?

No. To take advantage of the new rule, which allows a tax-free distribution from an IRA to a charitable organization, the distribution must be to a public charity, but not to a DAF or a supporting organization.

Keep in mind, however, that a distribution to a field of interest fund at a public charity is allowable. In some circumstances, the tax-free distribution can be made to a private foundation-check with your tax advisor about whether your private foundation can receive a distribution from your IRA. The maximum amount of tax-free distributions from an IRA under these new rules is limited to $100,000 per year.

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The information in these FAQs is summary in nature and is not intended to substitute for legal or tax advice. Grantmakers, donors and fund advisors should consult with their own counsel to determine the impact of this legislation on their particular circumstances. Any tax advice contained in this communication was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matter addressed herein.