Sierra Club

“Any person interested in advancing the purposes of the sierra club may become a member. There shall be several classes of membership: regular, like, and such other special classes as the board of directors may establish.”

“All actions requiring a vote of the membership shall be decided by written ballots provided for in bylaw 4, section 8, and bylaw 11. A quorum for any ballot or for any meeting of the members shall be five percent (5%) of the membership on the date of record set by the board of directors in accordance with law. Each person who is a renewed member on the date of record shall be eligible to vote and shall have one vote on any issue presented to the membership except as provided in paragraph 5.7. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted. All regular and life members of record on january 31 shall be sent ballots for the annual election of directors, as provided in the bylaws. Each such individual member shall be sent one ballot; joint memberships shall receive two ballots.”

“In accordance with corporation law section 5057, the only membership rights of members of the club are the rights specifically provided by the articles, bylaws, and the corporation law. All other privileges or opportunities granted to members of the club under its standing rules, policies, or the bylaws or rules of club sub-entities are not rights of membership in the club for purposes of corporation law section 5057.”

“A draft of the form 990 is reviewed by the finance department and assistant secretary. After review, a copy is sent to the audit committee who meets with the finance department and tax preparers to review the 990. The draft is then sent to the board of directors prior to filing.”

“Board of directors and other senior volunteers must complete and sign a written disclosure form annually. For employees (current and former) plus independent contractors are responsible for disclosing any potential conflicts of interest related to their club activities. The policy is included in the employee handbook. In-house legal counsel will investigate complaints of violations. When a potential conflict is disclosed by an employee, the human resources department makes a determination regarding the appropriate action in order to comply with the club's policies.”

“Compensation of directors, if any, is reviewed and approved by the board of directors utilizing external data from like organizations, the rationale for which is documented. The executive director compensation is determined by the board of directors after an evaluation of performance and interviews with appropriate parties. Compensation is based on external data from like organizations. A documented performance evaluation is maintained. Executive director salary is determined by the board executive committee. The committee reviews the salaries and yearly increases. It also establishes budgeted increase rate for all management personnel. The committee has comparative salary data available from human resources department. Annual performance reviews are conducted and documented. With respect to all officers and key employees, the human resources department conducts a salary practices. This includes the executive director's salary. Salaries for officers and key employees other than the executive director are determined according to the club's established procedure and guidelines for annual merit raises, as administered by the human resources department, and approved by the board of directors. The executive team, the executive director, and the director of human resources must approve specific raises.”

“The organization's articles of incorporation, bylaws, and standing rules (which contains the conflict of interest policy) are available on its public website www.sierraclub.org. Portions of the audited financial statements along with a link to the full audited financial statements are published in sierra magazine (nov.-dec. Issue).”

“The sierra club is the oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization on the planet. Its mission remains to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives. As john muir said, "when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." the sierra club believes that all people deserve a healthy planet with clean air and water and a stable climate. All people also deserve equal protection under the law, educational and economic opportunity, a voice in our democracy, and the right to live their lives free of discrimination and violence. These issues are not separate. Indeed, we believe that working toward a just, equitable, and transparent society is not only morally necessary, but also exactly what we need to confront the unprecedented environmental challenges we face. This commitment to fighting for social justice has shaped our work over the last year.”

“Through its educational and non-direct lobbying programs, the sierra club informs the public and decision-makers about pressing issues and cultivates awareness and activism at the local, state, and national levels. With staff in nearly every state and volunteers in every congressional district and media market, we are able to mobilize activists through email alerts and personal contacts. State and national lobbyists represent us in washington, d.c., and in almost every state capitol. Through our award-winning website, sierra magazine, national reports, many local and regional publications, and our outings programs we are able to reach beyond members to educate and inspire new constituencies. Additionally, our environmental law program extends the fight for sound environmental policy to the courts directly with our staff lawyers and through the training and mentoring of all of our legal partners. The sierra club's environmental law program is more important than ever, as our nation's air, water, and land are increasingly under attack. In 2017 alone, we launched more than 200 legal actions to challenge the fossil fuel industry's destructive effects on our water and climate. We also filed more than 100 actions to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency and organized attorneys and expert witnesses to attend state public utilities commissions across the country to advocate for a transformation in the electric sector. To further leverage our power, since 2010, we have trained more than 300 attorneys from our allied organizations, showing them how to confront the fossil fuel industry and win. States, cities, and institutions are now at the forefront of clean energy progress. In 2016, our ready for 100 campaign was active in less than 15 locations; by the end of the first quarter in 2017, the campaign had grown to have a presence in more than 100 u.s. Towns and cities. This network of sierra club staff and volunteers has already had tremendous success both in making clean energy a major story nationwide, and in securing concrete commitments - 150 mayors have signed onto the campaign and pledged to power their communities with 100 percent clean, renewable energy. As a result of almost a decade of tireless advocacy from our beyond coal campaign, 57 percent of the u.s. Coal boilers (33 percent of the capacity) have retired or committed to retire, leaving just 273 coal plants. In 2017 alone, 5,472 mw of coal generation retired and 6,490 mw was proposed to be retired. Our remarkable, iconic successes during the last year include victories that were years in the making to retire polluting coal plants in ohio, kentucky, and new jersey. The our wild america campaign has seen a tremendous surge in public support for protecting shared wild spaces as they come under increasing attack. After the recently issued executive order to "review" 27 national monuments, including newly designated bears ears, we have been nonstop organizing to demonstrate that the american people want to keep public spaces public. We organized a call-in day to the department of the interior, and activists are continuing the nationwide campaign to generate public comments supporting full protection of monuments, with 200,000 comments already submitted. Keeping dirty fuels in the ground is building a grassroots movement powerful enough to secure national energy policies that keep dirty fuels in the ground, protect our lands and communities, and create a safer climate future for all. Together with our partners, we delayed $4.2 billion in proposed fracked gas pipeline infrastructure-highlights included the withdrawal of the access northeast pipeline in new england and the denial of a water quality certification for the penneast pipeline in new jersey. Sierra student coalition volunteers and staff deepened the campaign's focus on the youth-led seize the grid campaign, which calls for a just transition to 100 percent clean energy in communities across the united states. I”

“Fees & concessions: program service expenses 16,132,609. Management and general expenses 982,373. Fundraising expenses 352,662. Total expenses 17,467,644. Consultants: program service expenses 2,670,008. Management and general expenses 396,020. Fundraising expenses 797,035. Total expenses 3,863,063. Staff training/search: program service expenses 340,727. Management and general expenses 29,294. Fundraising expenses 50,266. Total expenses 420,287.”

“Pension related charges -635,000. Segregated fund eliminations -58,550.”