Founded in 1969, Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation (Sierra Club BC) works to protect British Columbia’s natural environment from the effects of climate change and deforestation. It advocates for a shift away from fossil fuels to a low carbon economy. Sierra Club BC also runs education programs to inform the public about BC’s ecosystems and biodiversity. According to the charity, the logging industry cuts down old-growth forests at a rate of 15,200 hectares per year in coastal BC and 126,000 hectares per year in interior BC. For context, this amounts to an area of more than 500 soccer fields cut down each day.

Sierra Club BC runs two main programs: Environmental Advocacy and Awareness, and Education K-8.

Environmental Advocacy and Awareness programs made up 78% of program spending in F2018. Sierra Club BC runs awareness campaigns to defend nature and stabilize Canada’s climate through clean energy. Its current campaigns focus on fossil fuels, climate solutions, forests, and sustainable use of the Southern Rockies. In F2018, Sierra Club BC reports that it called on 437 municipal candidates to support old-growth forests. It also coordinated a petition from more than 200,000 people and a letter signed by 223 scientists to call for forest protection.

Education K-8 programs represented 22% of program spending in F2018. Sierra Club BC’s education programs provide outdoor educational workshops for four different age groups, spanning from kindergarten to eighth grade. These workshops teach students about local wildlife, crucial ecosystems, and climate change solutions. In addition, Sierra Club BC offers professional development workshops that encourage teachers and caregivers to educate their students on the environment. Sierra Club BC reports that it engaged more than 4,500 students and 400 teachers through education programs in F2018.

Ci reported Sierra Club BC’s administrative costs from its T3010 filings with the CRA. However, the charity’s F2019 filing was not yet posted at the time of this report. Based on data from only its audited financial statements, Sierra Club BC’s administrative costs may be overstated for F2019.

Sierra Club BC is a medium-sized charity with donations of $1.7m in F2019. Administrative costs are 15% of total revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 32% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 46%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 54 cents go to the cause. This falls outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. Sierra Club BC’s fundraising ratio rose by 12% in F2019 due to higher fundraising costs, up 122% from F2018.

In F2018, the most recent year that administrative costs could be obtained from CRA data, administrative costs were 11% of revenues and fundraising costs were 20% of donations. This resulted in total overhead spending of 30%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 70 cents went to the cause. This fell within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Sierra Club BC’s total funding reserves of $929k can cover roughly one year of annual program costs.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 7, 2020 by Eric Zhao.