News and Updates

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.

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.

On behalf of our donors, the Sierra Club Foundation expresses its thanks and appreciation to Michael Brune for his leadership of the Sierra Club over the past eleven years. Mike's commitment to addressing the climate crisis, protecting wild places, and advancing environmental justice have played a pivotal role in the Sierra Club's many successes.

We wish Mike all the best as he takes on his next challenge. We are excited that our Executive Director, Dan Chu, is willing to take on the acting executive director role for the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club plans to conduct a national search for a new executive director in 2022.

Gail Greenwald, Chair, Sierra Club Foundation Board of Directors

By Henry Holmes, Senior Director, Programs and Compliance

The Sierra Club Foundation completes biennial organizational effectiveness assessments to make sure the organization is evaluating its policies, processes, work, and progress on a regular basis. The assessment identifies measurable goals and objectives for the Foundation and evaluates activities the Foundation undertook in the past two years to address them. The assessment is reviewed by the board of directors and concludes with recommendations for future actions based on findings to reflect on successes and ensure sustainable growth.

To review the most recent organizational effectiveness assessment for the Sierra Club Foundation, please visit this link. 

This month, Charity Navigator - the world’s largest and most trusted nonprofit evaluator - again awarded the Sierra Club Foundation four stars in its annual assessment, the highest rating a charity can achieve. This marks the twelfth 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. 

By Dan Chu, Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation and Board Chair, Confluence Philanthropy

We are facing the greatest challenges to humanity in our lifetimes from the combined pandemic and climate crises. These two existential threats are tearing apart the fabric of our society and exposing deep inequities and injustice.