Updated:
Rising Tide Foundation
Rising Tide Foundation was established in 2010 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, by Richard Stephenson, founder of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and the...
Rising Tide Foundation
Rising Tide Foundation was established in 2010 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, by Richard Stephenson, founder of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and the Humphreys family, whose wealth stems from Tamko Building Products. It operates as a charitable, non-profit organization with additional investment management offices in Pacifica, California. The foundation's investment strategy spans buyout, fund-of-funds, growth equity, secondaries, distressed debt, general venture, and co-investments. Its holdings include a significant healthcare intellectual property portfolio, a collection of commercial real estate assets across the United States — Embassy Suites by Hilton properties in Rogers, Arkansas; Frisco, Texas; San Marcos, Texas;, Loveland, Colorado, The Rising Tide Center mixed-use development in Beloit and Wisconsin. The venture arm is managed by Ossama Hassanein, who leads fund commitments and direct deals from Pacifica. The foundation maintains a constellation of related philanthropic entities, including Gateway for Cancer Research, the J.P. Humphreys Foundation, and multiple Rising Tide-branded clinical cancer research bodies. Strategic partners include the Atlas Network for libertarian grantmaking and SwissFoundations. A dated operational note: founder Richard Stephenson passed away in 2023, and Chairman Shawn Stephenson now leads the foundation and its affiliated vehicles. Rising Tide's architecture is structurally unusual — a Swiss charitable foundation running venture capital fund management from California, intertwined with a US-based cancer-care fortune. Its grantmaking and investment activities are channeled through a network of separate foundations rather than a single consolidated vehicle, a design that segments public-policy advocacy from clinical research and commercial real estate.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
2010
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Switzerland
City
Schaffhausen
Corporate office
Herrenacker 15, 8200 Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Additional offices
Pacifica, California, United States
Principals
Shawn Stephenson
Chairman
David C. Humphreys
Trustee
Ossama Hassanein
Founder and Chairman of Rising Tide VC
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Rising Tide Foundation?
Venture investments are overseen by Ossama Hassanein, founder and chairman of Rising Tide VC, operating from the foundation's Pacifica, California office. Hassanein brings Silicon Valley venture experience and previously chaired the Philadelphia chapter of YPO. The foundation's broader investment activity, including real-asset holdings, reports to the board chaired by Shawn Stephenson and trustee David C. Humphreys (per Altss research).
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The core wealth originates from the Humphreys family, owners of Tamko Building Products, one of the largest privately held roofing and building-products manufacturers in the United States. The foundation's other key figure, Richard Stephenson, built Cancer Treatment Centers of America, a for-profit hospital network, before establishing the charitable structure in 2010 (per Altss research).
Is Rising Tide Foundation a family office or a traditional grant-making foundation?
It functions as a hybrid. While legally a Swiss charitable foundation making grants in education, public policy, and cancer research, it also runs a venture-capital fund-management arm in California that takes LP commitments from external co-investors like Crescent Enterprises. Its portfolio further includes a substantial collection of US commercial real estate (per Altss research).
What investment stages does Rising Tide's venture arm target?
Rising Tide VC invests across the venture lifecycle — from early-stage venture to growth equity — and also participates in buyout, distressed debt, secondaries, and fund-of-funds commitments. The strategy is disclosed as broadly opportunistic rather than stage-constrained (per Altss research).
Does Rising Tide Foundation maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
Yes. The foundation's philanthropic work is distributed across at least four distinct entities: Gateway for Cancer Research, the J.P. Humphreys Foundation, Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research, and the Stephenson Family Foundation. This multi-foundation architecture separates clinical cancer-research funding from libertarian policy grants managed with the Atlas Network (per Altss research).
How does Rising Tide Foundation source proprietary deal flow?
Venture deal flow is sourced primarily through Ossama Hassanein's network in Silicon Valley, strengthened by his long-standing YPO membership and chairmanship. The foundation's co-investment relationship with Crescent Enterprises provides additional deal access, while its real-estate acquisitions appear to be directly originated and held, including multiple Embassy Suites by Hilton convention-center hotels (per Altss research).
What is Rising Tide Foundation's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The foundation actively engages in co-investment and takes limited-partner positions in external funds. Crescent Enterprises is a known LP in Rising Tide Fund, signaling that the foundation raises capital alongside its own balance-sheet commitments, a structure more typical of a venture-capital firm than a traditional endowment (per Altss research).
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on endowments & foundations?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: