Sierra Club of Canada Foundation

About Sierra Club of Canada Foundation:

Sierra Club of Canada Foundation (SCCF) is the Canadian offshoot of the US-based Sierra Club, founded in 1892 and perhaps the oldest environmental charity in the world. SCCF’s mission is to be a voice for the earth – it works to preserve and protect the natural environment and empower people to be stewards of the earth in their communities. SCCF operates through local chapters as well as the Sierra Youth Coalition. None of the chapters are registered charities, except Sierra Club of British Columbia (see separate report).

Sierra Club of Canada Foundation raises money to fund charitable programs run by its four chapters (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, and Prairies), which are membership-based groups. Key issues SCCF focuses on are climate change, grassroots action, health & wellbeing, sustainability, and wildlife & natural spaces. Major results SCCF reports in its most recent 2015 annual report include the following:

Atlantic: SCCF works to reduce the impact of quarries and mines on the environment, and helps communities address their concerns regarding lack of public consultations, environmental assessments and comprehensive planning for siting quarries. One quarry in Nova Scotia was rejected in 2015 after the province’s Minister of Environment deemed the quarry company did not perform adequate public consultation.

Quebec: The Land Stewardship Committee of the chapter works to protect green space on the island of Montreal, where urban sprawl is a problem. The City of Montreal announced that it would both increase the surface of protected areas on the island from 6% to 10% in 2015, and protect Parc Meadowbrook.

Ontario: The chapter’s work in increasing waste diversion saw success when Peel Region committed to improve its waste diversion rate from 45% to 75%. Because of this commitment, Peel Council cancelled a previously proposed waste to power incinerator.

Prairies: The chapter’s Wild Life Passage Project was successful when chapter members convinced the City of Edmonton to develop a wildlife passage program that would help wildlife move between natural areas in the city. The city has already built one structure through this program: an underpass that goes under a four-lane highway.

Financial Review:

Sierra Club of Canada Foundation is a micro-cap charity with total donations of $453k in F2016. Administrative costs are 18% of revenues and fundraising costs are 14% of donations. Per dollar donated to SCCF, $0.68 goes towards its programs, which falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. The charity’s funding reserves of $156k can cover only 56% of annual program costs, indicating a funding need.

This report is an update that is currently being reviewed by Sierra Club of Canada Foundation. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 21, 2017 by Katie Khodawandi.