By Dan Chu, Executive Director, and Henry Holmes, Director of Grants and Compliance

In March, we attended Confluence Philanthropy’s 9th Annual Practitioners Gathering. The event took place in Brooklyn, New York, and over 300 people attended representing a diverse group of foundations, family offices, and investment advisors and managers.

Confluence Philanthropy is a community of foundations and investment managers intent on advancing mission-aligned investing. Collectively, these members hold over $70 billion in philanthropic assets under management and $3.5 trillion in managed capital. Each year, Confluence hosts a gathering to share perspectives on challenges and opportunities in the field and emerging areas of work. The theme of this year’s gathering was “Truth and Transparency.”

By Dan Chu, Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation

This month, Charity Navigator again awarded the Sierra Club Foundation four stars in its annual assessment, the highest rating a charity can achieve. This marks the tenth straight four-star rating for the Foundation, an honor we attribute to the principles of transparency and accountability that guide all areas of our work.

Michael Thatcher, in a letter to the Sierra Club Foundation recognizing this achievement, wrote: “Attaining a 4-star rating verifies that Sierra Club Foundation exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in your area of work. Only 1% of the charities we evaluate have received at least 10 consecutive 4-star evaluations … This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets Sierra Club Foundation apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.”

By Dan Chu and Simba Ndemera, Executive Director and CFO, Sierra Club Foundation

We are fortunate that in challenging times, places like the Horse Camp at Mount Shasta, California, which is owned and maintained by Sierra Club Foundation, serve as respite from the tumult. Public lands and outdoor spaces bring us closer to nature and let us connect across boundaries in ways that our national discourse cannot. However, we often gloss over the hard work done behind-the-scenes to maintain these cherished places.

By Dan Chu, Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation

For centuries, what is now known as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge existed harmoniously as Indigenous peoples stewarded the lands of Northeastern Alaska alongside roaring rivers, steep mountainous slopes, and abundant flora and fauna. And since 1960, when this region was federally protected by the Department of the Interior, the Sierra Club and Sierra Club Foundation have steadfastly defended the region from natural resource extraction and oil development.

By Dan Chu, Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation

By Dan Chu, Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation

The Sierra Club Foundation is excited to announce the hire of our new Chief Financial Officer, Simba Ndemera, who comes to the Sierra Club Foundation with more than twenty years of experience in the financial and nonprofit worlds. He is replacing Ginny Quick, who is retiring after a nine year tenure leading the Foundation’s Finance Team. Ginny led the Foundation’s fossil fuel divestment strategy and guided the Foundation to an exciting new phase of mission-aligned investing.

Simba previously worked as Chief Financial Officer for One Bread Foundation, Inc. and has served on multiple boards of organizations like the Regroup Foundation and the Connections Counseling Center. Additionally, he is a chartered accountant with extensive work experience at a number of major public accounting firms and SEC registered companies.

By Ting Lee, Grants and Compliance Manager, and Henry Holmes, Grants and Compliance Director

On March 19-21, we were fortunate to attend the PEAK Grantmaking Conference in Orlando, Florida for three days of exploring new ideas to apply toward the Sierra Club Foundation’s grantmaking practice. For the first time since the conference started 13 years ago, a diversity, equity, and inclusion learning track was included in the program, and this commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion showed at all three of the plenary sessions. This was a welcome conversation and learning experience to share with grantmaking colleagues from around the country given Sierra Club Foundation’s own commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice.

By Eric Lombardo, Administrative Coordinator, Sierra Club Foundation

On March 1, 2018, Charity Navigator awarded the Sierra Club Foundation four stars in its annual assessment, the highest rating a charity can achieve. The Foundation is honored to have received a four-star rating every year since 2010. This recognition affirms our longstanding commitment to transparency, accountability, and strong financial health.

By Dan Chu, Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation

Last month, I had the opportunity to represent the Sierra Club Foundation at the most recent Investor Summit on Climate Risk, co-hosted by the United Nations and the Ceres Investor Network in New York City on January 31, 2018. This was the eighth biennial gathering, drawing over 450 international leaders, funders, and investor groups.

On November 16 and 17, the Sierra Club Foundation Board of Directors gathered in Oakland, California for our quarterly meeting. At our headquarters office, we reviewed top Foundation priorities for 2018 and discussed clean energy and climate affairs domestically and internationally.