The Rising Tide Society: A Year in Review

A Year in Review

If you were to ask us one year ago, we could never have anticipated what the Rising Tide Society would become. We were just four creatives from a small town on the East Coast with a goal to change the industry for the better… 

It started as a hashtag (#communityovercompetition) that turned into a movement on Instagram. Before we knew it, dozens of TuesdaysTogether gatherings started popping up all around the United States and we saw local leaders rising up to the challenge. Thousands of creatives set aside their fears and started opening up about their struggles together… and that’s when the magic happened. 

The beauty of the past year isn’t merely in the growth that we have experienced, but rather in the obstacles that we have overcome together. In the early days of RTS, we experienced some of the harshest criticism that you could possibly imagine. “It will never happen,” they said. “Creatives can’t be friends with their competition,” they told us. “Who do you think you are?” they asked.

There were days that we wanted to give up, moments when the weight of what we had created seemed all too heavy to carry on our own, but we refused to quit. When we started RTS we knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy journey, but we have a responsibility to do our best. 

So rather than giving in to those voices of doubt… we chose to charge towards a future that we wanted for our industry. We launched free gatherings to support creatives in overcoming the loneliness of entrepreneurship. We created free educational content to help small business owners reduce stress and increase their impact. We produced an online event and donated 100% of the proceeds to charity. We worked tirelessly, loved openly, made friendships that will last a lifetime, and learned that creatives are some of the bravest human beings on the planet.

TuesdaysTogether Gatherings

The soul of the Rising Tide Society lives within our TuesdaysTogether leaders and their local chapters. In over 270 locations around the United States and abroad, creatives gather every month to talk about a central topic and spend time together.

When we dreamt up these meet-ups, we had no idea that they would grow so quickly and inspire such loyalty. Seeing social media light up each month with posts of creatives grabbing coffee together, discussing the monthly topic, and reconnecting after a few weeks apart is a magical thing. 

We truly believe that our leaders are the heart of the Rising Tide Society. They are some of the most hardworking, inspiring, and downright brilliant creatives that we have ever known. Every month, they give of their hearts so selflessly and we get emotional when we talk about how much they mean to us.

A Heart for Philanthropy

In our first year as an organization, we raised over $60,000 for charity and led a nationwide philanthropy campaign with thousands of volunteers around the country. Thanks to incredible partners + sponsors, we were able to do even bigger things than we ever thought possible and raise money for causes close to our hearts.

TuesdaysTogether Group in Baton Rouge| Photo by: TahJah of Quaint and Whim

During November’s philanthropy months, our chapters packed over 15,000 meals for the hungry in Orlando, Florida and volunteered at Faces of Hope to photograph portraits for lower income families in Columbus, Ohio. We wrote hundreds of letters to members of our military in Annapolis and letters to the elderly in Bethesda, Maryland. Our Augusta, Georgia chapter shoveled dirt for planters to support a local food movement and urban farm education center in their city. In Greenbay, Wisconsin, our community collected and donated supplies to House of Hope, a shelter for women and their children and formula to Jake’s Diapers, an organization that provides cloth diapers to orphanages and villages around the world. We donated art supplies in Sacramento to Big Brothers Big Sisters and bagged over 2,000 Thanksgiving dinners in Las Vegas for families in need. The list goes on and on.

In May, we hosted Mental Health Month and initiated conversation about anxiety and depression in the creative community. If there is a cause that matters to the RTS Tribe, we are determined to bring awareness and make an impact in any way that we can.

The Rising Tide Society lives to serve creatives around the world and make waves for philanthropic causes that deserve our attention. 

The Leader Retreat

In February, we hosted our very first TuesdaysTogether leader retreat in Charleston, South Carolina. One hundred creatives from around the country (and Canada) flew South for two days of learning + growing together. We can genuinely say that this event was one of the greatest highlights of our first year. 

Created by TuesdayTogether Leader Abigail Wellinghurst‎

Our TuesdaysTogether leaders live out community over competition every single day and getting the opportunity to celebrate them was such a treat. We ate more Southern Food than our skinny jeans could handle and laughed + cried together beneath the low country palm trees. 

If we could have a leader retreat every month we would… It was truly an event that changed the course of this organization forever. 

Photo of the TuesdaysTogether Leader Retreat | Photo by: Lauren Carnes

What’s on the Horizon:

We dream big at the Rising Tide Society and this year holds possibilities that we can only begin to imagine. With support from new partners, enthusiastic leaders, and a rapidly growing tribe of creatives around the world… we cannot wait to make even bigger waves heading into our second year.

The Rising Tide Office in downtown Annapolis is officially open and we finally have the space to begin putting our big ideas into action. Our leaders are already taking the lead in brainstorming new ideas for RTS including educational opportunities and industry topics that need attention. We have two new interns in the office who are taking the lead on exciting new projects.