News and Updates
Sierra Club Foundation Releases 2017 Annual Report, Partnering for Progress
By Dan Chu, Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation
New Chief Financial Officer, Simba Ndemera, Joins 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.
Grants and Compliance Team Attends the PEAK Grantmaking Conference
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.
Sierra Club Foundation Earns Ninth Consecutive Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
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.
Sierra Club Foundation Attends United Nations Investor Summit on Climate Risk
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.
SCF Board Meets in Oakland to Discuss Clean Energy For All, 2018 Priorities, and More
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.
80 Tribes Sign “Reclamation of Independence” Treaty
On July 4, 2017, 80 Tribes came together to sign a “Reclamation of Independence” treaty addressing two critical issues shared among Tribal communities: Keystone XL and grizzly bear delisting. Nellis Kennedy-Howard, Sierra Club’s Director of Equity, Inclusion and Justice, shares her experience attending the convening in a powerful blog post.
In solidarity with Native communities, the Sierra Club Foundation provides support for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, working to stop the construction of dangerous, polluting pipelines like Keystone XL and Dakota Access, and the Sierra Club’s Our Wild Greater Yellowstone Campaign, which will continue to advocate for the protection of Yellowstone grizzly bears despite their delisting from the endangered species list.
2016 Annual Report now available!
We had a momentous year in 2016. Our supporters went “All In” to protect our environment and advance social justice in equitable and inclusive ways ...
Pueblo, Colorado and Moab, Utah Commit to 100% Renewable Energy
In February, Pueblo, Colorado, and Moab, Utah became the 22nd and 23rd cities in the United States to commit to transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy. The Pueblo City Council approved a resolution committing to power the community entirely with renewable sources of energy like wind and solar by 2035. One day later, the Moab City Council approved a resolution committing Moab to 100 percent renewable energy by 2032.
Two New National Monuments to Ring in the New Year
On December 28, the Obama administration announced the designation of two new national monuments, Gold Butte in Nevada and Bears Ears in Utah, totaling 1.6 million acres of permanently protected public lands. The new monuments safeguard cultural and historic resources from looting and destruction as well as spectacular landscapes and wildlife.
At the start of President Obama’s second term, the Sierra Club set a goal to compel the President to protect six million acres as national monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906 by the time he leaves office. With this announcement, the President has designated a total of 26 new sites and 5.6 million acres.