Foundation News

Election Day is imminent and the national attention is riveted in anticipation of the outcome. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, The Sierra Club Foundation cannot engage in or support partisan political activity, but like all public charities we can still support non-partisan civic participation in the electoral and policy-making process. That is why we are supporting Sierra Club’s Building a Better Democracy Project, which is working with allied organizations to ensure broad participation in the American political process by minimizing the influence of money in politics and ensuring that all voters have the opportunity to make their voices heard. This is not strictly an “environmental issue” any more than it is strictly a “public health” or “civil rights” issue. It is a “democracy” issue that affects how we participate in making change across a range of issues that are interconnected by how they affect the social, economic, and ecological well-being of all our communities and our planet.

Through our fiscal sponsorship and grantmaking support of the Climate Recovery Partnership, we are supporting cross-movement building efforts to transition to a healthful, just and prosperous green economy that better serves people and nature in the face of volatile global climate change. The only way we can achieve this goal is by working with allies addressing multiple pieces of the social change and democracy puzzle. We are witnessing an unprecedented amount of corporate campaign expenditures flood our electoral process in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United, including advertisements funded by corporate polluters from the oil, gas, and coal industries. These corporations know no party affiliation, but have a vested interest in maintaining a regulatory structure that protects shareholder profits at the expense of clean air, clean water, and environmental protection. With The Sierra Club Foundation’s combined support of the Building a Better Democracy Project and the Climate Recovery Partnership, we are strategically advancing environmental protection by limiting the electoral influence of industries that pollute our environment and by holding polluting industries accountable using the force of democratic laws.

Historically, the efforts to oppose these forces have been functionally separate, with people-of-color civil and voting rights organizations fighting back against voter suppression and mainstream reform organizations seeking to reduce the influence of money on politics. If we are to be successful in restoring true democracy, these two movements must weave together their efforts and push forward with combined strength. The environmental movement must be an integral part of this work to keep our democracy democratic.

The Sierra Club Foundation recognizes that this will require a multi-year effort. By fiscally sponsoring Sierra Club’s Building a Better Democracy Project and its non-partisan Get Out the Vote social media organizing to resist specific anti-democratic measures proposed for the 2012 election, while simultaneously building relationships and establishing trust among staff, members, supporters, and volunteers at all levels of the organization and across organizations, we are helping lay a foundation to achieve long-term movement goals. Only in a participatory democracy can the people truly have a voice in decisions that affect the health of our environment.

Philanthropy has a vital role to play in supporting civil society’s participation in the democratic process. This work does not stop during the election season. Within the parameters of federal and state law, public charities can help ensure the active political participation of citizens in our political system without being partisan or engaging in electioneering. The Sierra Club Foundation is proud to do its part during this election and beyond.

Henry Holmes, Grants and Compliance Director