Sierra Club
Sierra Club is an Oakland, California–based public charity that supports environmental advocacy, public education, community organizing, and outdoor activities. Its 2025 filing describes support for 64 volunteer-led chapters and approximately 446 groups, alongside communications and outings programs.
Sierra Club at a glance
In short: Sierra Club gave $239K across 7 grants in 2025 (avg $34K), top state New York. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $239,226
- -61.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 7
- -81.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $34,175
- +105.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $28,000
- Total assets
- $152,292,481
- +0.5% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- New York (42% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to Sierra Club
- How to Apply
-
Application details are provided by the local programs; the listed Huplits deadlines have passed. The Tampa Bay page provides a grant application.
- Contact
Mailing address: 2101 Webster Street 1300, Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (415) 977-5500
Website: https://sierraclub.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Sierra Club funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 7 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Women's March Inc ($100K). Together the top 7 received $239K.
Grant Size Distribution
194 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 187 grants of 194 (96%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grants went to recipients in New York, Mississippi, Maryland, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Hawaii, as well as Feria Calle, for which no location is listed. Reported shares of grant dollars included New York (42%), Mississippi (21%), Maryland (15%), Arkansas (12%), and West Virginia (4%). The local grant opportunities described on Sierra Club’s website concern projects in Pennsylvania and the Tampa Bay area.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 7 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How Sierra Club gives
- Giving fell 74% from 2022 to 2025. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $239K (2025) to $1.7M (2020). In 2025 it made 7 grants totaling $239K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Women's March Inc Brooklyn, NY | Environmental Protection | $100,000 |
| Jesus People Against Pollution Columbia, MS | Environmental Protection | $50,000 |
| Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund Takoma Park, MD | Environmental Protection | $35,000 |
| Arkansas Advanced Energy Association Little Rock, AR | Environmental Protection | $28,000 |
| WV Environmental Council Charleston, WV | Environmental Protection | $10,000 |
| Malama Learning Center Honolulu, HI | Environmental Protection | $8,226 |
| Feria Calle | Environmental Protection | $8,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $152,292,481 | $83,752,990 | $84,895,816 | $239,226 | 7 | $2,280,843 |
| 2024 | $151,587,359 | $169,031,870 | $171,800,410 | $615,864 | 37 | $2,786,511 |
| 2023 | $152,083,529 | $173,425,083 | $172,273,486 | $668,640 | 45 | $1,291,819 |
| 2022 | $147,100,565 | $167,540,907 | $169,420,068 | $916,539 | 50 | $2,526,100 |
| 2021 | $144,480,269 | $152,093,074 | $151,559,247 | $775,649 | 55 | $-2,976,683 |
| 2020 | $129,884,022 | $152,278,896 | $153,637,760 | $1,725,518 | 55 | $5,562,493 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
Sierra Club’s mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; promote responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; educate and enlist people to protect and restore the natural and human environment; and use lawful means to advance these aims.
Its 2025 filing describes chapter and volunteer activities that educate the public on climate, environmental, and conservation issues, raise awareness of local and state policies, mobilize members and supporters, and host community events. It also describes environmental education through publications and digital communications, and outdoor activities that connect participants to nature and conservation issues.
The 2025 grants listed in the filing were all designated for environmental protection. Among the recipients, Women’s March Inc. describes its mission as dismantling systems of oppression through nonviolent resistance and building inclusive structures guided by self-determination, dignity, and respect. Malama Learning Center describes its mission as inspiring communities to care for Hawaii through conservation, culture, and sustainability education.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Sierra Club reported 7 grants totaling $239,226. Grant amounts ranged from $8,000 to $100,000, with a median of $28,000. The largest awards were $100,000 to Women’s March Inc. in Brooklyn, New York; $50,000 to Jesus People Against Pollution in Columbia, Mississippi; and $35,000 to Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund in Takoma Park, Maryland. Other listed recipients included Arkansas Advanced Energy Association ($28,000), WV Environmental Council ($10,000), Malama Learning Center ($8,226), and Feria Calle ($8,000).
Sierra Club’s website describes grant opportunities run by local Sierra Club entities. The Allegheny Group’s Huplits program seeks proposals for Pennsylvania projects aligned with Sierra Club’s mission, vision, values, and policies. Its 2026 cycle listed a May 29, 2026 deadline, which has passed. The 2025 Huplits cycle also had a past deadline, June 14, 2025. The 2026 guidelines describe eligible applicants as Pennsylvania Sierra Club entities and outside organizations with Pennsylvania projects; outside organizations are asked to include an IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or one for a fiscal sponsor. Projects may run for 12 or 24 months, with reporting required. Possible legal-action proposals require review and approval by the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program; scientific research proposals require a recommendation letter from an elected Sierra Club chapter or group leader. Lobbying and political expenses are ineligible, as are proposals where most funds would purchase large equipment. Awards are paid as reimbursements for eligible expenses.
The Tampa Bay Sierra Club’s small grant program offers awards of up to $500 to approved individuals, groups, schools, and civic organizations for activities aligned with Sierra Club’s mission and goals. Its page gives examples including community gardens, invasive-species removal, public education events, and educational materials, and excludes political causes, candidate support, and college tuition.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Patrick Murphy as president effective June 2025 and Allison Chin as president through May 2025. It also lists vice presidents Shruti Bhatnagar and Erica Hall; secretary David Scott; treasurer Cheyenne Skye Branscum; and directors Nathan Chan (effective June 2025), Clayton Daughenbaugh, Scott Elkins (effective June 2025), and Rita Harris.
Sierra Club is led by Allison Chin, President since 2023 (on filings since 2022); none of the 27 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Allison Chin
President
Director → President, 2023
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$26K (2023) → $0 (2025)
Patrick Murphy
President
Director → President, 2025
On filings since 2020
30 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ben Jealous
Executive Director
New on the 2025 filing
50 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Meghan Sahli-Wells
Director
Secretary → Secretary & Director, 2024
Secretary & Director → Director, 2025
On filings since 2021
20 hrs/week
$11K (2023) → $0 (2025)
Scott Elkins
Director
Director of Vol & Leader Eng → Director, 2025
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
$217K (2021) → $0 (2025)
Anne Kenney
Director, Finance Anlys, Bdgt Sys & Assistant Secretary
Director of Finance Anlys & Budget Systems → Director, Finance Anlys, Bdgt Sys & Assistant Secretary, 2023
On filings since 2022
50 hrs/week
$155K (2022) → $0 (2025)
David Holtz
Director
On filings since 2023
15 hrs/week
$800 (2023) → $0 (2025)
Clayton Daughenbaugh
Director
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$1K (2024) → $0 (2025)
Aaron Mair
Director
On filings since 2020
7 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rita Harris
Director
Secretary → Secretary & Director, 2022
Secretary & Director → Director, 2023
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Cynthia Hoyle
Director
On filings since 2022
15 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Michael Dorsey
Director
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
David Karpf
Director
On filings since 2024
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Karl Palmquist
Director
On filings since 2024
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Igor Tregub
Director
New on the 2025 filing
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Nathan Chan
Director
New on the 2025 filing
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Sam Kimball
Senior Director Finance Ops & Assistant Treasurer
New on the 2025 filing
50 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Adrienne Frazier
CFO & Assistant Treasurer
Assistant Treasurer & Senior Director of Finance → Assistant Treasurer & Act Chief Finance Officer, 2021
Assistant Treasurer & Act Chief Finance Officer → Assistant Treasurer & CFO, 2022
On filings since 2020
50 hrs/week
$195K (2020) → $0 (2025)
David Scott
Secretary
Treasurer & Director → Director, 2021
Director → Secretary, 2024
On filings since 2020
15 hrs/week
$18K (2024) → $0 (2025)
Cheyenne Skye Branscum
Treasurer
Director → Treasurer, 2023
On filings since 2022
45 hrs/week
$11K (2023) → $0 (2025)
Erica McKinley
Chief Leg Officer & Assistant Secretary
Chief Legal Officer → Chief Legal Officer & Assistant Secretary, 2023
Chief Legal Officer & Assistant Secretary → Chief Leg Officer & Assistant Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2022
50 hrs/week
$190K (2022) → $0 (2025)
Kristin Macklin
Deputy CFO & Assistant Treasurer
Assistant Treasurer & Controller → Deputy CFO & Assistant Treasurer, 2023
On filings since 2022
50 hrs/week
$137K (2022) → $0 (2025)
Michael Parrish
Chief Operating Officer & Assistant Secretary
COO & Assistant Secretary → Chief Operating Officer & Assistant Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2023
50 hrs/week
$209K (2023) → $0 (2025)
Shruti Bhatnagar
Vice President
Director → Vice President, 2024
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$26K (2024) → $0 (2025)
Erica Hall
Vice President
Director → Vice President, 2025
On filings since 2024
30 hrs/week
$500 (2024) → $0 (2025)
Rahel Melaku
Acting CFO
Senior Director Finance Planning, Anlys & Assistant Secretary → Acting CFO, 2025
On filings since 2024
50 hrs/week
$216K (2024) → $0 (2025)
Donna Brown
General Counsel of General Administrator & Assistant Secretary
New on the 2025 filing
50 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (63)
- Former: Antonio Fuller (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Chad Hanson (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Debbie Heaton (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Joanne Spalding (2020–2024) — Legal Director & Environ Law Program
- Former: Loren Blackford (2020–2024) — Senior Advisor & Acting Dep Executive Director
- Former: Ross Macfarlane (2020–2024) — Vice President
- Former: Jeremy Patrick Murphy (2021–2024) — Vice President
- Former: Aida Davis (2023–2024) — Chief People Officer
- Former: Ana Yanez Correa (2023–2024) — Deputy Executive Director
- Former: Benjamin Jealous (2023–2024) — Executive Director
- Former: Eva Hernandez (2023–2024) — Managing Director
- Former: Holly Bender (2023–2024) — Chief Campaign Officer
- Former: Kevin Harris (2023–2024) — Dep Mgn Director & Chief Comms Officer
- Former: Kia Brown (2023–2024) — Chief of Volunteer Experience
- Former: Phillip Radford (2023–2024) — Chief Strategy Officer
- Former: Shabina Bahl (2023–2024) — Chief Advancement Officer
- Former: Mikaela King (2024) — Chief of Membership Growth
- Former: Nadine Wilburn (2024) — General Couns Employ & Senior Director Labor Rel
- Former: Whitney Pearson (2024) — Deputy Field Director
- Former: Hop Hopkins (2020–2023) — Director of Org Trans
- Former: Marion Klaus (2020–2023) — Vice President
- Former: Natalie Lucas (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Ramon Cruz (2020–2023) — President
- Former: Byron Ramos-Gudiel (2021–2023) — Chief Program Officer
- Former: Robert Cutler (2021–2023) — Assistant Treasurer
- Former: Gabe Gonzalez (2022–2023) — Chief Advisor & Act Cen Reg Field Director
- Former: Gary Reinecke (2022–2023) — Assistant Secretary & Sen Director
- Former: Salena Jegede (2022–2023) — Chief Adv Officer
- Former: Deb Pasternak (2023) — Chief Field Officer
- Former: Heather Wilson (2023) — Deputy Chief Comms Officer
- Former: Eva Hernandez-Simmons (2020–2022) — Managing Director
- Former: Mike O'Brien (2020–2022) — Treasurer
- Former: Oliver Bernstein (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Brian Gomez (2021–2022) — Vice President
- Former: Dan Chu (2021–2022) — Acting Executive Director
- Former: Juliette Hirt (2021–2022) — Acting General Counsel
- Former: Katrina Bernard (2021–2022) — Dep Counsel, Labor & Empl
- Former: Michael Bosse (2021–2022) — National Program Director
- Former: Ari Trujillo-Wesler (2022) — Director Grassroots Powerbuilding
- Former: Deepa Alli (2022) — Chief Digital Officer
- Former: Hun Taing (2022) — Director of Organizational Effectiveness
- Former: Lina Francis (2022) — Chief of Communications
- Former: Michelle Epstein (2022) — Dep Chief Adv Officer & Director Resp Fundraising
- Former: Jennifer Trahan (2020–2021) — Chief Operat. Officer
- Former: Jesse Simons (2020–2021) — National Program Director
- Former: Kathryn Ansje Miller (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Lucy Mayo (2020–2021) — Deputy Executive Director
- Former: Maggie Kash (2020–2021) — Chief of Committee
- Former: Margrete Strand Rangnes (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Michael Brune (2020–2021) — Executive Director
- Former: Patrick Gallagher (2020–2021) — Legal Director
- Former: Philip Eager (2020–2021) — General Counsel
- Former: Deepa Kunapuli (2021) — Director of Digital Strategies
- Former: Peifeng Wu (2021) — Senior Director Advancement Finance & Administrator
- Former: Bruce Hamilton (2020) — National Policy Director
- Former: Hamilton Leong (2020) — Controller
- Former: Jim Dougherty (2020) — Director
- Former: Kerry O'Donnell (2020) — Human Resources Director
- Former: Lindi Von Mutius (2020) — Chief of Staff
- Former: Louis Barnes (2020) — Chief Financial Executive
- Former: Mary Anne Hitt (2020) — Director Beyond Coal
- Former: Nellis Kennedy-Howard (2020) — Director, Eq, Incl & Justice
- Former: Peter Sargent (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 $464K, to Eva Hernandez (Managing Director (Thru 3/24)). 29 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Sierra Club
How much does Sierra Club give each year?
Sierra Club gave $239K across 7 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $616K across 37 grants.
What is Sierra Club's typical grant size?
Sierra Club's median grant in 2025 was $28,000, and its average grant was $34,175, across 7 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Sierra Club give grants?
Sierra Club's top state is New York, with 42% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were Mississippi (21%) and Maryland (15%).
Does Sierra Club give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 7 grants with a stated purpose on Sierra Club's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Environmental Protection" (7 grants).
Who are Sierra Club's largest grantees?
Sierra Club's largest 2025 grantees include Women's March Inc ($100,000), Jesus People Against Pollution ($50,000) and Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund ($35,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 77% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Sierra Club?
Sierra Club reported $152.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $83.8M.
What does Sierra Club fund?
Sierra Club’s mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; promote responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; educate and enlist people to protect and restore the natural and human environment; and use lawful means to advance these aims. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Sierra Club?
Application details are provided by the local programs; the listed Huplits deadlines have passed. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Sierra Club's EIN?
Sierra Club's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 94-1153307. 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 15, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 15, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 14, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 12, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 27, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Sierra Club's focus areas in our free grants database
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Sierra Club down — hundreds of funders to go?