How to apply for Senior Counsel, Philanthropy

About Tides

Tides is a nonprofit and philanthropic organization that provides fiscal sponsorship, donor advised funds, grantmaking, and other services to groups working on social justice. It focuses on shifting power to communities of color and others historically denied power. Working here means supporting movement leaders, nonprofits, donors, and foundations through legal and operational infrastructure.

About the role

The Senior Counsel, Philanthropy is a senior individual contributor on the Legal, Risk and Compliance team. You will be the internal authority on charitable and exempt-organization law for Tides' entities, covering donor advised funds, mission- and program-related investments, charitability, partner due diligence, nonprofit tax, and election and advocacy rules for 501(c)(3) organizations. The portfolio emphasizes Tides Foundation's philanthropic and grantmaking work.

A typical day

A typical day might include reviewing a grant agreement for a donor advised fund, advising program staff on whether a proposed grantee activity is permissible under 501(c)(3) rules, and updating risk mitigation policies for partner due diligence. You would also join calls with internal teams across Tides' entities to resolve legal questions that arise in philanthropic services. Because the role is remote, you would manage your own schedule and communicate frequently through written memos and video meetings.

Who Tides is looking for

• Experienced attorney with deep knowledge of charitable and exempt-organization law, including donor advised funds, private foundations, and 501(c)(3) rules on advocacy and election activity.
• Has handled partner due diligence and risk mitigation for grants or investments, ideally in a fiscal sponsorship or philanthropic intermediary setting.
• Can operate with general executive direction and serve as a principal-level resource across multiple entities and activities.
• Comfortable advising on mission- and program-related investments and nonprofit tax issues in a remote, collaborative environment.

Tips for this application

• In your resume, highlight specific matters you handled involving donor advised funds, 501(c)(3) advocacy rules, or charitable due diligence. Use concrete examples, not just areas of law.
• Connect your experience to Tides' focus on shifting power to communities of color. Mention any work with movement leaders, grassroots groups, or social justice philanthropy.
• Address the remote nature of the role. Show you can work independently with executive direction and collaborate across a distributed legal, risk, and compliance team.
• If you have in-house or nonprofit sector experience, emphasize it. Tides needs someone who understands the operational realities of a philanthropic intermediary, not just law firm advice.
• Review Tides' services like fiscal sponsorship and donor advised funds. In your application, note how your legal background supports those specific offerings.

What to cover in your cover letter

Explain why you want to apply charitable and exempt-organization law in a social justice context, not just any nonprofit. Give one or two examples of complex issues you resolved in DAFs, grantmaking, or advocacy compliance. Show you understand Tides' structure across multiple entities and how legal risk is managed in a remote setting. Mention any experience with mission- and program-related investments or partner due diligence.

Research before applying

• Read Tides' website, especially pages on fiscal sponsorship, donor advised funds, and grantmaking, to understand the legal services you would support.
• Look up Tides' recent public statements or reports on social justice, power shifting, and their approach to philanthropy.
• Research common legal issues for philanthropic intermediaries, such as expenditure responsibility, DAF rules, and 501(c)(3) election activity restrictions.
• Find out who leads Tides' Legal, Risk and Compliance team and what their backgrounds are, to understand the team's priorities.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you advise a donor advised fund holder who wants to make a grant that could be seen as supporting election activity?
• Describe a time you conducted due diligence on a grantee or partner and found a legal or reputational risk. How did you handle it?
• What is your approach to balancing charitable mission with legal risk in a fiscal sponsorship arrangement?
• How do you stay current on changes to 501(c)(3) rules for advocacy and lobbying, and how would you train others at Tides?
• Give an example of working with program staff or movement leaders who have less legal background. How do you make complex rules practical?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing a generic cover letter that could apply to any nonprofit legal role. Tides needs someone who knows charitable law in a philanthropic intermediary context.
• Focusing only on law firm experience without showing how you have applied exempt-organization law operationally, such as through due diligence or grant compliance.
• Ignoring Tides' explicit focus on equity and social justice. If your application does not mention how your legal work supports communities of color or movement leaders, it will seem out of touch.