This recent incident is just the latest reminder of the intolerant climate that has been created by the demagogues and fear mongering pundits of the right-wing. To ensure that Tides can respond to other moments, we are launching the Tides Civil Discourse Fund.

This first appeal for the Civil Discourse Fund is an urgent one.

On August 28, 2010, the nation will celebrate the 47th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech delivered by Rev. Martin Luther King at the Lincoln Memorial. In a shameful attempt to co-opt Dr. King's legacy, FOX News personality Glenn Beck will deliver a "I have a plan" address on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to thousands of Tea Party activists.

As a counterpoint to Beck's event, Celebrate the Dream will bring together thousands of people on the National Mall and will feature a striking art installation with the words and images of Dr. King. This beautiful exhibit will honor the true intent of the hundreds of thousands who participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Dr. King's greatest speeches will play throughout the day, and visitors will be able to participate — both on-site and online — by adding their thoughts on "What does the Dream mean to you?" The sponsors of Celebrate the Dream include Campaign for America's Future, Jewish Funds for Justice, the New Organizing Institute, and The Other 98%. Join us in celebrating Rev. King's legacy and celebrate the dream.

To support Celebrate the Dream through the Tides Civil Discourse Fund, donate now.

If you already have a fund at Tides Foundation, please contact your philanthropic advisor to contribute.

Visit www.tides.org/discourse for future appeals and updates as the work of the Tides Civil Discourse Fund grows and evolves.

We are stronger as a sector and society when we respectfully acknowledge our ideological and substantive differences and seek constructive ways to work together versus slurring, maligning or attacking those with a belief system different from our own.  We encourage foundations and nonprofits to join us and publicly uphold freedom of speech with a respect for divergent views.

Media Contact:

Tony Stephens
Communications and
Social Media Manager
office: 202-467-6144
cell: 917-676-5266 (after hours)
tonyS(at)independendentsector.org

We are relieved that no one other than the assailant was hurt seriously in the incident, and we are relieved that he was prevented from carrying out his misguided plans, whatever they may have been.

On occasion, the shadow of violence falls on American civic life and it should never be accepted or tolerated. Often, it is encouraged by partisan voices who label activities of which they disapprove by suggesting they are "anti-American" or some other epithet.

This incident serves to remind us that it should be the obligation of every American, especially those whose voices are amplified by the media, to foster civil discourse and dialogue among those who may disagree about public matters. One does not win an argument by inciting unbalanced people to violence. As Americans, we know we are best at solving problems when we reach broadly across boundaries for the best of ideas. Intolerance that closes our eyes defeats our aspirations.

The Tides organizations support innovative, creative nonprofit work to address social problems. We work for sustainability, better education, solutions to the AIDS epidemic, comprehensive immigration reform, and human rights. We strive to encourage every American to be as involved in public life as they can be, and to resolve differences through the honest exchange of ideas.

SAN FRANCISCO, January 26, 2010 – As nonprofits continue to face an increasingly challenging economic climate, Tides (www.tides.org), one of the country’s leading nonprofit infrastructure providers, today released Shared Services: A Guide to Creating Collaborative Solutions for Nonprofits – a new guide that helps nonprofits increase their operational efficiencies by establishing and operating shared services programs.

Shared services programs help nonprofits consolidate their “back office” operations and administrative functions. Fostering collaboration among multiple organizations allows nonprofits to streamline and minimize overhead costs through shared workspaces, financial and human resources operations, and IT support. This in turn enables nonprofits to increase their purchasing power and operating efficiency, and focus more resources on delivering high-quality services and achieving their missions.

The first publication for nonprofit executives looking to create shared services programs, Shared Services is filled with step-by-step guidelines, case studies, and sample documents. Based on the best practices of professionals across the nonprofit and philanthropic world, the 84-page guide helps nonprofits build their own successful shared services program, achieve greater financial stability in their cost-saving and planning measures, and thrive in changing and uncertain markets.  

“In these challenging times, effective infrastructure and operations is not merely a matter of convenience, but a matter of survival for nonprofits,” said China Brotsky, Tides Senior Vice President. “Tides is delighted to serve as a resource to the nonprofit sector and provide this Shared Services guide to help nonprofits increase their operational efficiency, focus on their core competencies and create economies of scale through innovative, long-term strategies.”

Shared Services was developed by The NonprofitCenters Network – a program of Tides – in collaboration with Third Sector New England with support from The San Francisco Foundation and the Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Shared Services: A Guide to Creating Collaborative Solutions is available for purchase at: www.nonprofitcenters.org/shared-services-guide.

The cost for the one-of-a-kind guide is $24.00 for NonprofitCenter Network members and $56.00 for non-members. A special early purchase discount rate is available until February 12, 2010 at $18.00 for NonprofitCenter Network members and $42.00 for non-members. Enter the discount code SSGUIDE2010 at www.nonprofitcenters.org/shared-services-guide. A free 11-page preview of Shared Services is also available for download.

Tides provides grantmaking services, nonprofit management services, and strategic consulting to nonprofits, social innovators and institutional and individual funders across the country and around the globe. Tides is the largest fiscal sponsor in the U.S. offering its 200+ fiscally sponsored projects a comprehensive suite of shared back-office services, a legal framework, and capacity-building support to enable them to operate more efficiently and effectively.  More information about Tides’ nonprofit infrastructure resources and services is at www.tides.org.

More information about the NonprofitCenters Network, which publishes guides, studies, and reports based on best practices gathered from an international community of nonprofit center leaders and shared services providers, is at www.nonprofitcenters.org.
 

About Tides
Tides actively promotes change toward broadly shared economic opportunity, robust democratic processes and the opportunity to live in a healthy and sustainable environment where human rights are preserved and protected. Founded in 1976, we offer an array of services that amplifies the efforts of forward-thinking philanthropists, foundations, activists and organizations to make the world a better place. With offices in San Francisco and New York City, Tides provides fiscal sponsorship for over 200 groups across the country, operates and supports green nonprofit centers, and granted more than $101 million in 2009 alone. For more information, visit www.tides.org.

About The NonprofitCenters Network
The NonprofitCenters Network – a program of Tides – is a community of leaders and professionals from the nonprofit, philanthropic, financial, real estate, and public sectors. Offering training, consulting, educational resources, and connections to help nonprofits create and operate shared facilities and services, our mission is to increase the capacity and effectiveness of the nonprofit sector by supporting the development and ongoing operations of multi-tenant nonprofit centers and other quality nonprofit workspaces. Our vision is a future when every nonprofit organization has access to the workspace it needs to support and sustain healthy, vibrant communities. To find more information, articles, and sample documents, please visit our Resource Center at www.nonprofitcenters.org/resources.

“As Founder and CEO, Drummond leaves a legacy of innovation and capacity to a sector that had historically been fragmented and overlooked,” said Melissa Bradley Burns, Tides Board Chair. “As one of the first ‘social entrepreneurs,’ Drummond has evolved Tides from a great idea to one of the top 100 social sector organizations in the United States.

Bradley continues, “The board is pleased that Drummond remains committed to leading Tides until a new CEO is retained, and the board is also excited about this new opportunity for change and looks forward to working with the senior staff to ensure a successful transition. We expect the change to provide extraordinary opportunities for the organization to reach new levels of excellence.”

While ideas and structural innovations are part of Pike’s legacy, the deep commitment to mission and purpose will most likely be the lasting element to which future leaders of Tides will turn. After his successor is named, the Tides Board hopes that Drummond will agree to a continuing role supporting the organization.

To hear more from Drummond on his transition, read his blog.

Tired of working in an isolated office that doesn’t meet the needs of your organization or constituents? Is rent eating up a disproportionate amount of your nonprofit budget?

Contact:
Andy Broderick - Andy.Broderick(at)GSDFunds.com
China Brotsky - china(at)tides.org

Workspace: The Constant Crisis

We all know that the power to change the world lies in the ability of people to come together, share ideas, and work to make their visions real. Yet too often Washington-based social change organizations are forced by high rents and a tight real estate market into poor quality space, isolated from their peers and policy makers.

Green Nonprofit Centers: A Long-term Solution

The DC Shared Space Initiative is working to create LEED-certified nonprofit buildings in Washington, DC to house organizations working for positive social change. These green nonprofit centers would provide healthy, quality, mission-enhancing workspace with shared meeting rooms, office equipment and services. More broadly, the planned nonprofit centers will create places where diverse local, regional, and national nonprofits can collaboratively engage in their daily work. These facilities will not only provide accessible, affordable rents for both national and locally-focused organizations, but also the opportunity to own office space within a sustainable nonprofit community building.

Who is the DC Shared Space Initiative?

The DC Shared Space Initiative is a collaboration between Tides Shares Spaces, GreenSpace Development, LLC and a small committee of local philanthropist/activists and nonprofits.

Tides Shared Spaces creates, operates and promotes sustainable workspaces for nonprofits and strengthens nonprofit capacity in the real estate arena. Visit www.thoreau.org to learn more about their successful Thoreau Centers for Sustainability model nonprofit centers in San Francisco and New York.

GreenSpace Developments provides financing and technical assistance to nonprofits and other tax-exempt entities to buy commercial real estate, reposition the assets and convert them into green owner-occupied properties.

Interested?

Tell us about your space needs, the locations, shared services and amenities you would like to see by completing a short online survey: www.tidessharedspaces.org

SAN FRANCISCO, CA; DECEMBER 3, 2008; The NonprofitCenters Network and Tides Shared Spaces released the first in a series of guidebooks today on the economic, environmental and community benefits of shared workspace and services.  Planting a Seed: Foundations Build Communities with Shared Nonprofit Workspace illuminates the benefits and challenges foundations experience in creating mission-focused office facilities for themselves and other nonprofit organizations. The free guidebook showcases foundations that have succeeded and provides concrete examples of the resulting benefits to the nonprofits, communities, and the foundations themselves.

“As the challenges facing the world continue to mount, philanthropic organizations are seizing on new ways to help their communities and the nonprofit organizations within them.  We are fostering nonprofit sustainability through real estate investment and are seeing real benefits from long-term infrastructure cost savings.” --China Brotsky, Senior Vice President at Tides and Managing Director of Tides Shared Spaces.

Especially suited for foundations and nonprofits planning to weather hard economic times, Planting a Seed is an inspirational and practical tool for foundations interested in using their own headquarters or investing in nonprofit building projects to promote healthy, vibrant communities. Nonprofit centers become strategic investments for foundations that reflect their mission and values. Foundations have turned office buildings into community assets by developing diverse spaces providing everything from quality workspace to community conference centers to incubators for social change.

Nonprofit centers also increase long-term savings, create employment opportunities for local residents and support local businesses. These shared workspaces showcase the work of foundations’ tenants and grantees. Set in green spaces and grounded in eco-friendly values, nonprofit centers enhance sustainability by modeling energy efficiency and by using sustainable materials to create healthy workplaces.

The guide includes seventeen profiles of facility projects across the United States which model best practices in providing quality office and community space for nonprofit organizations. Revealing the logistics and inner workings, the guide details key information about their histories, operations and financing.

Sample visionary nonprofit centers include:

• The Wilson Historic District, which grew from the Meadows family’s desire to combine historic preservation with adaptive reuse of some of the last remaining examples of Victorian architecture in the city of Dallas. Their efforts created a nonprofit campus, revitalized a once deteriorating neighborhood, and served as a model for many other foundations.
• The Knight Nonprofit Center, which was created after Hurricane Katrina to house nonprofit organizations left homeless by the devastation of the storm. Once the renovations are completed in January 2009, the Center will be a stable, state of the art home to 22 organizations working to rebuild the region.
• The Thoreau Center for Sustainability in San Francisco, which was created during the early stages of the green building movement. By living its commitment to a healthy and sustainable environment, Tides was the first foundation to combine a nonprofit center with green design.

Download a free copy of the guidebook at www.nonprofitcenters.org/publications.

About Tides Shared Spaces: Tides Shared Spaces creates, operates and promotes sustainable workspace for nonprofits and strengthens nonprofit capacity in the real estate arena. Tides Shared Spaces is part of the Tides network of organizations which actively promotes change toward broadly shared economic opportunity, robust democratic processes and the opportunity to live in a healthy and sustainable environment where human rights are preserved and protected. Founded in 1976, Tides provides an array of services that amplify 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 together provide fiscal sponsorship for over 200 groups across the country, operate and support green nonprofit centers and have granted more than $600 million since 2000 alone. For more information, visit www.tidessharedspaces.org.

About The NonprofitCenters Network:  The NonprofitCenters Network offers training, technical assistance, consulting, education resources, and connections to help communities develop and manage their own nonprofit centers. Our vision is a future when every nonprofit organization has access to the workspace it needs to support and promote healthy, vibrant communities. The NonprofitCenters Network is a program of Tides Shared Spaces. www.nonprofitcenters.org.

For media inquiries, contact Christine Coleman at 415.561.6354.

Thoreau Center for Sustainability in the Presidio, San Francisco, was selected to participate in next month’s 2008 Architecture and the City Festival. Sponsored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Center for Architecture and Design, the festival highlights work by architects and organizations who see design as a means to creating community-based change, and by doing so positively affect the urban landscape. The 2008 theme Design for Community aims to showcase the way in which buildings impact our streets and neighborhoods, and, more importantly, how they help to shape our communities into better, livable places.

Since opening its doors in 1996, the Thoreau Center, formerly the Letterman Army Hospital, has been a model of historic preservation and environmental design, noted for being one of the first to introduce green building principles to an historical building. Today, the Center houses over 60 nonprofits working for a healthy environment and a just world.

Marsha Maytum of Leddy Maytum and Stacy Architects and Bruce DeMartini of Tides will be conducting tours of the Thoreau Center on September 2 from 3:00pm to 5:00pm. Maytum was lead designer of Thoreau Center, The Bay School and Building 38, in the Presidio.

To learn more, go to www.aiasf.org/archandcity

About Thoreau Centers for Sustainability
Thoreau Centers for Sustainability are green nonprofit centers that house more than 70 nonprofit organizations in San Francisco and New York. The centers serve as models to others interested in starting similar real-estate endeavors.

Thoreau Centers for Sustainability are operated by Tides Shared Spaces, the Tides initiative that creates, operates and promotes sustainable workspace for nonprofits and strengthens nonprofit capacity in the real estate arena.

The Tides vision is a world of broadly shared economic opportunity, robust democratic processes and the opportunity to live in a healthy and sustainable environment where human rights are preserved and protected.

Contact Marjorie Torres at Marjorie.Torres(at)concretestories.com for details.

The LEED for Commercial Interiors is the recognized rating system for certifying high-performance green interiors that support healthier more cost and energy efficient work places and reducing environmental footprint.

By using nontoxic, recycled and sustainbable material, green building practices and continuing to support green facility practices such as the Center's recycling programs, computer area controlled HVAC systems, and green electricity sourcing, Thoreau Center New York and The Nonprofit and Philanthropy Center at 55 Exchange Place have received their LEED Commercial Interiors  (CI) Silver Certification.

Thoreau Center for Sustainability New York is an environmentally sustainable workspace shared by twelve nonprofit organizations and programs. Located at 55 Exchange Place in the old JP Morgan Building, across from the New York Stock Exchange, it is the first shared community and conference space for nonprofits in Lower Manhattan. It is also one of the first office spaces in New York City registered for LEED CI (Commercial Interiors) certification. LEED is the national benchmark for certifying high-performance green interiors which reduce environmental impact, are less costly to operate and provide healthy and productive work spaces.

Tides is pioneering social investment opportunities in creating green nonprofit centers by offering values-based investors an opportunity to earn a strong financial return while supporting dozens of nonprofit groups. Bridge financing for Thoreau Center New York was provided by Wells Fargo Bank with long term financing from Calvert Foundation, Tides Foundation and tax exempt bonds issued by New York City Industrial Development Agency (IDA).

“Green nonprofit centers help increase efficiencies in the nonprofit sector and reduce nonprofit organizations’ exposure to rental market fluctuations,” said Gita Rao, Investment Officer, Calvert Foundation.  “We are pleased to be a part of the Thoreau Center real estate project conceived and developed by Tides Shared Spaces. We have been able to rely on their experience and competency to deliver a finished project with both social and environmental benefits.”

“Nonprofits have an especially hard time finding affordable office space,” said China Brotsky, Vice President at Tides and Managing Director of Tides Shared Spaces.  “That’s why we both create shared spaces for nonprofits and have a program dedicated to helping others start their own green nonprofit centers. Together, groups can gain real purchasing power to access higher quality workspace, infrastructure and technology; and they also expand their network, gaining access to new ideas, potential partners and opportunities.”

Thoreau Center for Sustainability New York houses Tides’ East Coast office and eleven other organizations, some of which also use Tides for their grantmaking and fiscal sponsorship needs. Tides sophisticated financial and management tools help nonprofits focus on their vision and have greater efficiency and impact in their work.

“By buying and renovating Thoreau Center New York, Tides Shared Spaces made it possible for us to acquire a long-term home and a conference center to serve our community,” said Lillian Rodriguez Lopez, Executive Director at Hispanic Federation. “Knowing we have such a partnership makes our capital campaign donors comfortable with giving.”

NYC Nonprofits Want Green Shared Spaces:
Thoreau Center for Sustainability New York fulfills important needs for nonprofits. In response to dozens of inquiries about leasing the highly desirable Thoreau Center space, Tides Shared Spaces conducted a survey of New York City nonprofits to learn more about their needs. The survey results showed that there is a critical need for more centers to house the thousands of nonprofit organizations in New York City. Half the respondents reported that their current workspace is inadequate and 43 percent of respondents rated green buildings as an important or crucial aspect of choosing an office space. Nonprofit centers give New York nonprofits the opportunity to lease or buy quality space in important areas where nonprofits are often priced out of the rental market, and Thoreau Center for Sustainability ensures that nonprofits are part of the mix of residential and business space in Lower Manhattan. For more information about the survey, please visit http://www.tidessharedspaces.org.

Thoreau Center for Sustainability New York Opening Event:
An opening celebration for Thoreau Center for Sustainability New York will be held on Wednesday, October 3, 2007. For more information about attending the event or a tour of the facility, please call 212-509-1049.

For inquiries about Tides’ services or Thoreau Center for Sustainability in New York, please contact 212-509-1049or nyinfo(at)tides.org.

About Tides
The Tides vision is a world of broadly shared economic opportunity, robust democratic processes and the opportunity to live in a healthy and sustainable environment where human rights are preserved and protected. Tides is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 and provides 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 have collaborated with over 15,000 individuals and organizations that have touched millions of lives across the country and around the globe. With offices in San Francisco and New York City, Tides provides fiscal sponsorship for over 200 groups across the country, operates and supports green nonprofit centers and has granted more than $500 million since 2000 alone.

About Tides Shared Spaces
Tides Shared Spaces is the Tides initiative that creates, operates and promotes sustainable workspace for nonprofits and strengthens nonprofit capacity in the real estate arena. Tides Shared Spaces operates Thoreau Centers for Sustainability in San Francisco and New York. These green nonprofit centers house the Tides offices and more than 70 other organizations. In addition, Tides Shared Spaces directs The NonprofitCenters Network, a program that provides education and peer networking for people who run nonprofit centers, those who are in the process of creating one and their philanthropic and real estate partners.

About Thoreau Center for Sustainability New York
Thoreau Center for Sustainability New York is a green nonprofit center with twelve tenants in Lower Manhattan. It was modeled on the success of Thoreau Center for Sustainability in San Francisco, a thriving 150,000 square foot nonprofit center with over 60 tenants. Both centers are operated by Tides Shared Spaces and serve as models to others interested in starting similar endeavors. Thoreau Center New York’s renovation used an environmentally sustainable architectural plan incorporating elements such as recycled building materials, non-toxic paints and energy efficient mechanical systems. Aspects of the center’s sustainable operations include the use of clean renewable energy, nontoxic cleaning products and extensive recycling programs.

For more information, visit www.tides.org and www.tideshsaredspaces.org.

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Copyright © 2007, Tides, Tides Center, Tides Foundation, Tides, Inc., Tides Shared Spaces, Thoreau Center for Sustainability, The NonprofitCenters Network. Other names used in this press release may be trademarks of their respective owners.

BOMA members consider not only the best commercial recycling programs, but evaluate building’s energy and water conservation efforts, air quality and toxics reduction programs, support for public transportation, and effective use of tenant education programs geared to promoting sustainability practices in commercial office buildings. The Environment Committee has created this new award as an opportunity for BOMA members to consider the entire spectrum of programs and practices that constitute an effective sustainability program for office buildings including what policies and procedures should be adopted that can help move a property toward becoming "green."

First place went to the recently renovated, historical Ferry Building downtown. And third place was awarded to the historical U.S. Mint building on 5th and Mission streets. The old Mint was recently remodeled and opened as a museum. We are proud to be considered among these high visibility buildings that were recently remodeled with new technologies. Judges recognized our challenges at Thoreau Center and lauded our grassroots conservation efforts.

In addition, Thoreau Center for Sustainability, a multi-tenant nonprofit center, was honored with a first place CORY Award at the 6th Annual Commercial Recycler of the Year Awards in San Francisco on April 27, 2006. Thoreau Center placed first last year in the same category. The Commercial Recycler of the Year Awards pay tribute to outstanding office buildings, food establishments and hotels committed to the environment through their recycling programs, leadership, policies and innovations.

The award program is hosted by Building and Office Managers Association (BOMA) San Francisco, in conjunction with the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling Company.

Thoreau Center for Sustainability received first place in the Small Building category and was chosen for its extensive recycling programs, which include the recycling of batteries, cell phones, light bulbs, printer cartridges, tennis shoes, and keys, in addition to the usual paper, glass and aluminum recycling. Thoreau Center uses post-consumer waste paper products, green janitorial cleaning products, and composts its kitchen waste in office spaces and at the onsite Acre Café. It also has an education program about recycling for its tenants and posts in public spaces its environmental policy stating Thoreau Center’s commitment to promoting sustainable practices in all its operations.
 
“It’s an honor to win this award and a direct reflection of the hard work of our staff and the tenants of Thoreau Center to make our recycling program a success,” said Becky Bacon of Equity Community Management Services, Thoreau Center’s building manager.

About Thoreau Center for Sustainability
Located in the historic Letterman Hospital buildings of San Francisco’s Presidio National Park, Thoreau Center for Sustainability is a highly successful multi-tenant nonprofit center. This 12-building facility houses over 60 organizations and 400 employees working for social and environmental sustainability, as well as two community-oriented art galleries. Thoreau Center has incorporated green design and historic preservation in its buildings and is an operating model for other multi-tenant nonprofit centers.

Thoreau Center is a program of Tides Network through its nonprofit real estate initiative, Tides Shared Spaces. Tides is a group of nonprofits that shares a common vision for a healthy society. For more information, visit www.tidessharedspaces.org.

Copyright 2006, Thoreau Center for Sustainability, Tides Network, Tides Shared Spaces, Tides Foundation. Other names used in this press release may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Two nonprofits received financing assistance for new projects from the New York City Industrial Development Agency (IDA) in September. IDA authorized the sale of about $19 million in bonds on behalf of Tides Two Rivers Fund, as well as a mortgage recording tax waiver of $531,000. Tides Two Rivers Fund, a San Francisco-based non-for-profit organization that develops infrastructure projects for other not-for-profits, will buy an office condominium at 15 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan to create space for a multi-tenant nonprofit center known as the Thoreau East Project. The project cost is expected to be about $23 million. Thoreau East will use the 40,000 square-feet of space to create workspace for community organizations and build a cultural center for the area.

“This project is the latest example of the diversification of the Lower Manhattan economy and the changes taking place Downtown,” said Steven Berzin, IDA Executive Director. “Lower Manhattan is increasingly becoming home to companies from outside the financial services sector, thereby broadening our economic base. With the forward-thinking help of the Tides Two Rivers Fund, the Thoreau East Project exemplifies the kinds of initiatives that will preserve and expand not-for-profit occupancy in the financial district.”

In a separate transaction, Sponsors for Education Opportunity (SEO), a not-for-profit organization that helps underprivileged children with academic and career services, plans to buy and renovate about 15,000 square feet, also in 15 Broad Street. IDA authorized the sale of about $6.3 million in bonds on behalf of SEO, as well as a mortgage recording tax waiver of about $234,000. The organization plans to consolidate its three existing Manhattan office locations to reduce costs and facilitate service coordination. The $10.6 million project will allow SEO to stay in Manhattan and bring its 46 employees Downtown.

The award program is hosted by Building and Office Managers Association (BOMA) San Francisco, in conjunction with the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling Company.

Thoreau Center for Sustainability received first place in the Small Building category and was chosen for it's extensive recycling programs which include the recycling of batteries, cell phones, light bulbs and printer cartridges, in addition to the usual paper, glass and can recycling. Thoreau Center uses 100% post consumer waste paper products, green janitorial cleaning products, and composts its kitchen waste in office spaces and at the onsite Acre Café. It also has an education program about recycling for its tenants.

"It's an honor to win this award and a direct reflection of the hard work of our staff and the tenants of Thoreau Center to make our recycling program a success," said Becky Bacon, Thoreau Center Building Manager, ECB Management Services. "We intend to keep up our efforts to support a clean and healthy environment for everyone in the city of San Francisco."

The Thoreau Center buildings were renovated from their former dilapidated state as the Letterman Hospital buildings in 1996. The renovation incorporated green building principles using recycled building materials and an energy efficient design; and the Center's mission is to live in harmony with nature.

About Thoreau Center for Sustainability

Located in the historic Letterman Hospital buildings of San Francisco's Presidio National Park, Thoreau Center for Sustainability is a highly successful multi-tenant nonprofit center. This 12 building facility houses over 60 organizations and 400 people working for social and environmental sustainability as well as two community-oriented art galleries. Thoreau Center has incorporated green design and historic preservation in its buildings and is an operating model for other multi-tenant nonprofit centers.

Thoreau Center is a program of Tides, through it's nonprofit real estate initiative, Tides Shared Spaces. Tides is a group of nonprofits that share a common vision for a healthy society. Tides includes, Tides Foundation, Tides Center, Tides, Inc., Groundspring.org and Community Clinics Initiative. For more information, visit www.thoreau.org, www.nonprofitcenters.org or www.tides.org.

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