301 - 2994 Douglas Street
Victoria, BC V8T 4N4
Executive Director: Hannah Askew
Board Chair: Jordan Watters

Charitable Reg. #:11914 9797 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 4/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.

A-

RESULTS REPORTING

Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.

n/r

DEMONSTRATED IMPACT

The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.

NEED FOR FUNDING

Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.

53%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 53 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Sierra Club BC:

Sierra Club of British Columbia is a 4-star charity. The charity is financially transparent and has an above average results reporting grade. However, it has high overhead spending.  

Founded in 1969, Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation (Sierra Club BC) works to protect BC from climate change and deforestation. The charity partners with Indigenous communities, government officials, and the general public. It advocates for a shift away from fossil fuels. According to the charity, to keep global warming below 2°C by 2100, at least 80% of fossil fuels must stay in the ground. It is important to keep below 2°C to prevent irreversible damage to the planet.  

Sierra Club BC runs three main programs: Environmental Advocacy and Awareness, Educational K-8 Programs, and Indigenous Knowledge.  

In F2021, the Environmental Advocacy and Awareness program made up 82% of program spending ($1.1m). Sierra Club BC runs campaigns to defend nature and promote clean energy. Its current priorities are fossil fuels, climate solutions, and forests in British Columbia. In F2021, Sierra Club BC released Intact Forests, Safe Communities, a report to help the government improve forestry practices. The charity’s campaigns led people to send over 15,700 letters to the government asking for climate action. Sierra Club BC also made a video to raise awareness about Site C, a harmful dam project. This video received 87,000 views in F2021.  

In F2021, Educational K-8 Programs represented 11% of program spending ($142k). Sierra Club BC provides outdoor workshops to teach students about wildlife, ecosystems, and climate change solutions. The charity also offers development workshops to encourage teachers and caregivers to educate their students about the environment. In F2021, Sierra Club BC led 274 workshops and educated over 5,500 people.  

In F2021, the Indigenous Knowledge program received the remaining 7% of program funds ($94k). Sierra Club BC works with and learns from Indigenous communities in the province. The charity states that projects that harm the environment often also infringe on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Sierra Club BC does not provide specific outputs for its Indigenous Knowledge program.

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Results and Impact

In F2021, Sierra Club BC’s advocacy led the government to declare 2.6 million hectares of old-growth land in need for deferrals. This is the first step to making the land protected. Additionally, the Nanaimo City Council voted to oppose logging of at-risk old-growth forests. Sierra Club BC found sensitive environmental features in a region where mining was planned. This discovery stopped the mining process and made the land protected. Overall, in F2021, over 1,600 new stories shared information about Sierra Club BC’s work. 

Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Sierra Club BC’s results and impact. This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).

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Finances

Sierra Club BC is a medium-sized charity with donations of $2.3m in F2021. Administrative costs are 32% of total revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 15% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 47%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 53 cents go to the cause. This falls outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. The charity’s administrative costs more than doubled in F2021 compared to F2020. 

Sierra Club BC has $2.1m in reserve funds. The charity can cover around one year and nine months of annual program costs with its current reserves. 

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 July 6, 2023 by Clive Stevens.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December
202120202019
Administrative costs as % of revenues 31.7%12.2%5.5%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 15.1%10.9%31.5%
Total overhead spending 46.8%23.2%37.0%
Program cost coverage (%) 172.1%151.5%85.1%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $s
202120202019
Donations 2,289,3012,577,7191,695,969
Government funding 188,699384,775161,662
Investment income 1,0001,8050
Other income (89)19,9495,308
Total revenues 2,478,9112,984,2481,862,939
Program costs 1,206,0471,367,1651,092,251
Administrative costs 785,188365,049101,954
Fundraising costs 344,883281,343534,323
Other costs 3,2852,3952,860
Total spending 2,339,4032,015,9521,731,388
Cash flow from operations 139,508968,296131,551
Capital spending 8,67237,92316,959
Funding reserves 2,076,1252,070,770929,203

Note: To report on a cash basis, Ci adjusted donations by changes in deferred revenue and deferred capital contributions. This affected total revenues by ($4k) in F2021, $427k in F2020, and $29k in F2019. Ci reported investment income from the charity’s available filings with the CRA and removed the amounts from other income. Ci adjusted administrative costs from the charity’s financial statements to match the amounts reported in CRA filings. The differences in administrative costs were reallocated to program costs. Ci removed service and interest charges from administrative costs and reported them as other costs. Sierra Club BC’s F2020 CRA filing did not break down total expenditures into program costs, administrative costs, and fundraising so the differences could not be calculated.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 12

Avg. compensation: $68,323

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
2
$40k - $80k
8
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2021

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

Charity Contact

Website: www.sierraclub.bc.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 250-386-5255

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