Sierra Club Foundation
The Sierra Club Foundation is a public charity based in Oakland, California, formed in 1960. It promotes efforts to educate and empower people to protect and improve the natural and human environment, and supports charitable environmental programs through grants and fiscal sponsorship.
Sierra Club Foundation at a glance
In short: Sierra Club Foundation gave $44.4M across 12 grants in 2025 (avg $3.7M), mostly in California. 67% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $44,369,892
- -48.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 12
- -42.9% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $3,697,491
- -10.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $40,000
- Total assets
- $191,559,701
- -9.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 67% first-time grantees (8 of 12, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- California (99% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Sierra Club Foundation
- Contact
Mailing address: 2101 Webster Street 1250, Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (415) 995-1780
Website: https://sierraclubfoundation.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Sierra Club Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Sierra Club ($43.8M). Together the top 10 received $44.3M.
Grant Size Distribution
90 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 45 grants of 90 (50%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grant-dollar distribution was reported as 99% to California and 1% to Illinois; reported shares for New York, Washington, D.C., and Louisiana were each 0%. The Foundation’s listed 2025 grants also included recipients in states beyond those shares, including Louisiana, New York, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Utah, and Massachusetts.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Sierra Club Foundation open to new grantees?
67%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 12 grantees (67%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $65K; repeat grants $11M. How we count
Medians: $50K first-time, $25K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $44.4M (2025) to $97.6M (2023). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $44.4M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sierra Club Oakland, CA | Promote Environmental Awareness and Education. | $43,795,738 |
| Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago Chicago, IL | Support for the charles e. And deborah frank family fund. | $247,904 |
| For a Better Bayou Lake Charles, LA | Provide info for southwest Louisiana's energy transition and funding opportunities. | $50,000 |
| Atmos Ltd New York, NY | Podcast with experts to educate on a climate transformation. | $50,000 |
| Center for Progressive Reform Washington, DC | Public Education on Zero Emission Heating Equipment Standards. | $50,000 |
| West Virginia Citizen Action Education Fund Charleston, WV | Expand utility justice organizing in areas of low-wealth and communities of color. | $50,000 |
| Confluence Philanthropy New York, NY | Support a network of over 270 foundations for transformative investment. | $30,000 |
| Blue Sky Institute Salt Lake City, UT | Fund Utah youth environmental solutions training for water justice leaders. | $25,000 |
| The Aspen Institute Washington, DC | Support native American youth participation in outdoors alliance for kids week. | $25,000 |
| Tribal Link Foundation New York, NY | Support for resilience circles initiative to enhance well-being of indigenous communities. | $20,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Sierra Club Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
The Foundation’s 2024 filing states that its endowment consists of approximately 58 individual funds and that its investment and spending policies aim to provide predictable program funding while seeking to maintain the purchasing power of endowment assets.
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $191,559,701 | $31,947,339 | $53,130,891 | $44,369,892 | 12 | $2,086,648 |
| 2024 | $210,669,172 | $108,188,731 | $102,142,815 | $86,897,218 | 21 | $4,578,491 |
| 2023 | $199,302,924 | $89,068,739 | $113,468,024 | $97,610,289 | 22 | $2,412,014 |
| 2022 | $207,976,050 | $87,746,859 | $113,448,406 | $96,709,573 | 22 | $3,116,739 |
| 2021 | $273,113,077 | $108,646,694 | $99,059,202 | $84,147,972 | 13 | $6,916,780 |
| 2020 | $244,757,583 | $95,601,203 | $94,298,604 | $79,817,858 | 24 | $1,782,844 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The Foundation’s mission is to “educate and empower people to protect and improve the natural and human environment.” Its stated goals include addressing the climate crisis through a transition to a resource-efficient clean-energy economy; protecting public lands and waters and promoting healthy ecosystems and communities; expanding opportunities for people to get outdoors; and building a diverse, inclusive environmental movement that connects environmental health with social justice. Its website also identifies shifting capital from a fossil-fuel economy toward a restorative, renewable-energy economy as a goal.
The Foundation supports scientific, educational, literary, organizing, advocacy, and legal programs. Programs described in its filing include Beyond Coal, which works with allied organizations toward decarbonizing the electric grid, and chapter and national education projects involving public education, organizing, administrative advocacy, litigation, and work with local communities.
In 2025, grants included support for public education on zero-emission heating standards, utility-justice organizing, youth environmental solutions training, Indigenous community resilience, and coastal habitat restoration. Among the grantees, Center for Progressive Reform describes its work as using law and public policy to promote a healthy environment and just society; Atmos describes its focus as climate and culture, ecological and social justice, and creative storytelling; and Confluence Philanthropy describes its mission as aligning investment capital with sustainability, equity, and justice.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the Foundation reported 12 grants totaling $44,369,892. Grant amounts ranged from $6,250 to $43,795,738, with a median of $40,000. The largest grant was $43,795,738 to the Sierra Club for promoting environmental awareness and education.
Other 2025 grants included $247,904 to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago for support for the Charles E. and Deborah Frank Family Fund; $50,000 to For a Better Bayou for information on Southwest Louisiana’s energy transition and funding opportunities; $50,000 to Atmos Ltd for a climate-transformation podcast; $50,000 to Center for Progressive Reform for public education on zero-emission heating-equipment standards; and $50,000 to West Virginia Citizen Action Education Fund to expand utility-justice organizing in low-wealth communities and communities of color.
The Foundation uses a pre-approved grant relationship fiscal-sponsorship model for the Sierra Club’s charitable programs. It states that it also provides charitable grants to other organizations, but does not provide fiscal sponsorship to non-Sierra Club organizations.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Robin Mann as chair, Eva Kathleen Schulte as vice chair, Kathleen Simpson as treasurer, Rebekah Saul Butler as secretary, and Mark Walters as member-at-large. Directors listed were Allison Chin and Christian Okoye (both through May 30, 2025), Sanjay Ranchod (through March 7, 2025), Gabe Gonzalez, and Peter Liu.
Sierra Club Foundation is led by Dan Chu, Executive Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 21 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Dan Chu
Executive Director
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$266K (2020) → $0 (2025)
Robin Mann
Chair
Treasurer → Chair, 2022
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Agana Moreno
Director of Finance
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$122K (2020) → $0 (2025)
Jennie Palmer
Director of Administrator & Board Relations
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$100K (2021) → $0 (2025)
Allison Chin
Director
Chair → Director, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Paul Rissman
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Steph Speirs
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christian Okoye
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Peter Liu
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sanjay Ranchod
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gabe Gonzalez
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jon Carson
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mahlet Getachew
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Patrick Murphy
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ross Macfarlane
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stacey Faella
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kevin McGahan
Chief Financial Officer
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$224K (2020) → $0 (2025)
Eva Kathleen Schulte
Vice Chair
Director → Member-At-Large, 2021
Member-At-Large → Vice Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rebekah Saul Butler
Secretary
Director → Secretary, 2022
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mark Walters
Member-At-Large
Director → Member-At-Large, 2024
On filings since 2021
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kathleen Simpson
Treasurer
On filings since 2024
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (17)
- Former: Henry Holmes (2020–2024) — Senior Director, Pgrms & Comptroller
- Former: Jessica Sarowitz (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Joel Sanders (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Pedro Henriques Da Silva (2022–2024) — Director & Shifting Trillions
- Former: Ting Lee (2022–2024) — Assistant Director, Programs & Compliance
- Former: Claire Broido Johnson (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Donnel Baird (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Jill Soffer (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Ramon Cruz (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Jodi Archambault (2023) — Director
- Former: Darren Aronofsky (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Gail Greenwald (2020–2022) — Chair
- Former: Loren Blackford (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Bill Weihl (2020–2021) — Secretary
- Former: Myke Bybee (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Flavia De La Fuente (2020) — Director
- Former: Stephanie Stuckey (2020) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2024 filing was $322K, to Dan Chu (Executive Director). 7 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Sierra Club Foundation
How much does Sierra Club Foundation give each year?
Sierra Club Foundation gave $44.4M across 12 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $86.9M across 21 grants.
What is Sierra Club Foundation's typical grant size?
Sierra Club Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $40,000, and its average grant was $3,697,491, across 12 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Sierra Club Foundation that year got $65K on average.
Where does Sierra Club Foundation give grants?
Sierra Club Foundation gives mostly in California: 99% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (3 grants) and Washington, DC (2 grants).
Does Sierra Club Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 12 grants with a stated purpose on Sierra Club Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support.
Who are Sierra Club Foundation's largest grantees?
Sierra Club Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Sierra Club ($43,795,738), Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago ($247,904) and For a Better Bayou ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 99% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Sierra Club Foundation?
Sierra Club Foundation reported $191.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $31.9M.
What does Sierra Club Foundation fund?
The Foundation’s mission is to “educate and empower people to protect and improve the natural and human environment.” See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Sierra Club Foundation?
Sierra Club Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check sierraclubfoundation.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Sierra Club Foundation's EIN?
Sierra Club Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 94-6069890. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 10, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS October 26, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS October 18, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS October 8, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS September 25, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 1, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Sierra Club Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Sierra Club Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/sierra-club-foundation-morg_fce43354c03f457e8f45026bcf5149df
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_946069890_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Sierra Club Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/sierra-club-foundation-morg_fce43354c03f457e8f45026bcf5149df},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-12. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Sierra Club Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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