Sierra Club of Canada Foundation

About Sierra Club of Canada Foundation:

Sierra Club of Canada Foundation (SCC) is the Canadian offshoot of the US-based Sierra Club, perhaps the oldest environmental organization in the world, founded in 1892. From its original roots focused on the protection of western ecosystems, Sierra Club today is a major advocacy group dealing with a wide range of issues. In Canada, Sierra Club operates through a series of local chapters, which are membership-based groups. None of these chapters is a registered charity, except for Sierra Club of British Columbia (see separate report).

Fundraising for charitable activities is handled by SCC, which allocates funds to the chapters. SCC must ensure that any such funds meet the criteria for charitable activities. The key issues focused on by SCC are climate change, energy policy, water quality and endangered species. It is difficult to assess the impact that Sierra Club advocacy has made on public policy in many of these areas.

Financial Review:

In F2012, SCC’s administrative costs were high at 45% of revenues, while fundraising costs were 6% of donations. From F2011 to F2012, SCC’s administrative costs have increased significantly, while program expenditures and fundraising costs have decreased significantly. SCC has funding reserves of $269k, which cover 94% of annual program costs.