(Photo/Tides Foundation)
In partnership with activist donors and movement leaders and a generous $10 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, Tides awarded grants aim to lower barriers to voting for communities of color, young people, and under-resourced communities.
SAN FRANCISCO – Leading up to the 2024 election, Tides is partnering with a community of doers and donors to move at least $200 million to 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations leading voter engagement and mobilization efforts, particularly among communities of color, young people, and under-resourced communities. Through this initiative, Tides will also support ballot measure campaigns in various states to protect reproductive freedom, raise the minimum wage, and prevent unconstitutional gerrymandering.
As part of this ambitious effort, Tides will leverage its first-ever gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott of $10 million to support community groups this election cycle and invest in long-term pro-democracy infrastructure for years to come. With voters in dozens of states facing new voter suppression laws, a wave of state-level laws restricting basic rights, and ongoing disinformation campaigns targeted at communities of color, young people, and under-resourced communities, the 2024 election represents a critical juncture for democracy in the United States, and Tides is meeting this moment head-on. Tides’ $200 million commitment is part of its goal to grant the majority of its pledged funding by April 30 as a supporter of the All By April campaign.
“The 2024 election is a watershed moment for our democracy,” said Tides CEO Janiece Evans-Page. “We’re facing a political reality that could result in communities of color, young people, and vulnerable communities being stripped of their constitutional right to be active participants in our democracy. At the same time, many in these communities are also in danger of losing access to critical reproductive and community health care. As an organization committed to building a healthy and inclusive democracy in which all people can participate, we are leveraging the full weight of our community to move critical resources early on in this election cycle to ensure community organizers have ample time to educate, mobilize, and build relationships with voters ahead of this pivotal election and beyond.”
Tides is prioritizing funding community organizers in states where there are increasing numbers of people of color, youth, and communities facing barriers to exercising their democratic voice, such as Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. With support from our donor partners and movement leaders in our network, Tides is also resourcing groups focused on stopping voter suppression, protecting the integrity of elections, and building a healthier democracy through nonpartisan strategies that counter mis-and disinformation campaigns with grants ranging from $2,000 to more than $2 million.
“At Tides, we recognize community organizers urgently need funding to mobilize voters early in the election cycle and to get ahead of disinformation,” said Beth Huang, program officer of civic engagement and democracy at Tides. “We believe everyone should be able to cast their ballot and have a say in our nation’s future. We are thankful to MacKenzie Scott and all of our donors whose giving allows us to urgently move money to community organizers engaging and mobilizing people of color, young people, immigrants, and low-income people to participate in the electoral process.”
Since its founding in 2019, the Healthy Democracy Fund (HDF), a pooled fund at Tides, has directed more than 491 grants totaling over $46 million to 211 organizations nationwide. HDF prioritizes funding multi-issue, civic engagement organizations that are community-led and community-driven. With support from MacKenzie Scott and other generous donors and partners, Tides will deepen its work to strengthen the pro-democracy movement.
“At Tides, we are laser-focused on closing the voter engagement gap and removing the barriers to voting for communities of color, young voters, and low-income voters,” said Peter Martin, executive director of Tides Foundation. “Overturning generations of voter disenfranchisement requires a commitment and investment that goes well beyond this November. It requires the collective action of both doers and donors, working in partnership, to challenge policies that exclude communities historically denied power.”
As a public charity, Tides supports 501(c)(3) organizations and the charitable activities of 501(c)(4) organizations.
For more information, visit: www.tides.org.
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