News and Updates

At our February 2021 board meeting, we welcomed a new board member, Mark Walters! Mark Walters is a Research Associate at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine where he conducts translational research on brain cancer. He is a long-time Sierra Club volunteer and past chair of the Florida Chapter. He is a founding trustee of the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, established by the City of Miami to protect the historic landmark. Located on a barrier island in Biscayne Bay, the park is a living record of the rich legacy of Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities’ connection with southern Florida since the 1920s. Mark currently resides in Miami, FL.

Sierra Club Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of two staff members to leadership positions with Confluence Philanthropy and EarthShare, organizations with which the Foundation has had enduring and rewarding relationships over many years. Confluence Philanthropy’s mission is to transform the practice of investing by aligning capital with our community’s values of sustainability, equity, and justice. EarthShare represents the Sierra Club Foundation and over 500 other environmental nonprofits in workplace giving campaigns across the country and fosters employee engagement partnerships to help individuals and organizations engage in impact-focused opportunities that protect the health of people and the planet.

By Henry Holmes, Senior Director, Programs and Compliance

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global uprising against systemic racism and state-sponsored violence, and a climate crisis that continues to intensify, reflecting on what we accomplished in 2019 and the work that remains unfinished is both hope-inspiring and daunting. With a recalcitrant federal administration bent on rolling back the progress we have made on climate change and environmental protection, the Sierra Club Foundation continues to support people and programs that are making a difference despite the odds. Our 2019 Annual Report highlights work across the US that is fundamentally shifting our power systems – both the way we generate electricity to turn on the lights and the way we generate people power and momentum to make sweeping change.

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 eleventh 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. 

This post was written by Sierra Club Foundation Director Bill Weihl for ClimateVoice, a nonprofit that works to mobilize the voice of the workforce to urge companies to go “all in” on climate, in both business practices and policy advocacy. Reposted with permission.

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.”

This post was written by Sierra Club Foundation Director Paul Rissman for Rights CoLab, a nonprofit that advances environmental and human rights through social enterprise, technology, and finance. Reposted with permission.

In late 2018, Chief Investment Officer Magazine announced the winners of their 2018 Industry Innovation Awards. The award in the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) category was given to the Sierra Club Foundation (SCF), led by Executive Director Dan Chu. (Sierra Club Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity, is the fiscal sponsor of the Sierra Club’s charitable environmental programs.)

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.