2022 was a year of exciting breakthroughs in combating the climate and extinction crises we all face. In our 2022 annual report, we are pleased to share inspiring stories of the Sierra Club Foundation’s catalytic impact on creating a world where people and nature thrive.  

We are excited to welcome Pedro Henriques da Silva as our new director, Shifting Trillions. Pedro joined our staff on May 1st and will leverage the Foundation’s roles as an active asset owner, shareholder advocate, and impact investor to move banks, asset managers, and other companies to transform the extractive fossil fuel economy to a restorative, renewable energy economy.

This past year, we welcomed four new board members: Christian Okoye, Peter Liu, Sanjay Ranchod and Jodi Archambault! All four directors bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in clean energy, impact investing, philanthropy, public policy, and more. We look forward to their leadership in helping guide the Sierra Club Foundation’s work as the public charity fiscal sponsor of the Sierra Club’s charitable programs and grantor to partner organizations, expanding our networks and relationships as influencers to mobilize resources and action on climate change, and in stewarding the Foundation’s assets to lead the shift of trillions in capital toward environmental solutions, justice, and land/water/wildlife protection.

About Christian Okoye:

The Sierra Club Foundation (SCF) recently approved two new catalytic capital impact investments, bringing the total number of new investments in 2022 to three. When combined with our existing investments (2018 to present), SCF now has a total of eight catalytic capital investees, including a mix of investments in Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) led renewable energy initiatives and companies, a clean technology fund, and intermediary organizations that provide innovative financing for clean energy solutions that serve BIPOC communities.  SCF’s primary investment objective for the Catalytic Capital Portfolio is to provide catalytic capital for projects and funds that advance climate solutions, social equity, and justice while striving for return of capital over the long term so that the funds can be redeployed into future catalytic investment opportunities.

The Sierra Club Foundation owns and operates the historic Shasta Alpine Hut, a climbers’ hut located on 720 acres that has long been a popular base camp for climbers and hikers on Mount Shasta at the south end of the Cascade Range in Northern California. The property is popularly known as "Horse Camp," a reference to the days when climbers left the town of Mt. Shasta and rode to the hut to start their climb up the mountain.

To appreciate nature is to fundamentally appreciate the interconnected web of life and all its diversity. As climate disruption and the feedback loops from climate change intensify, touching literally every place and all living things on the planet, more people are coming to realize that the root causes of climate change and environmental degradation are connected. So are the solutions. By bringing an intersectional approach to our work and explicitly addressing the connections between the human and natural environment, and the need for social, economic, and environmental justice and a healthy, functioning democracy, we are seeing the power of transformative change.

Over the past two decades, the U.S. has seen significant investments into clean and renewable energy technology and infrastructure. However, many of these investments have excluded those most at risk for the negative impacts of climate change, including low-income households, communities of color, rural and Indigenous communities, and small businesses.

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.”