Sierra Club

What it reported doing in 2025

Outdoor activities: in 2025, sierra club outings offered impactful outdoor experiences that connected people to nature while advancing environmental education and bringing members to the organization's larger conservation campaigns. Through local chapters, groups, and sections, as well as the national outings program and campaign-specific outings, tens of thousands of participants were engaged in ways that deepened their understanding of environmental issues. The inspiring connections outdoors (ico) program, for example, ran 226 trips for 4,265 youth and adults - primarily from underserved communities - providing hands-on environmental education about ecosystems, conservation issues, and the role of public lands in climate resilience. The national outings program offered 78 domestic and 34 international trips to 1,274 participants, integrating learning about local flora, fauna, geology, and conservation history, often incorporating volunteer work like trail restoration to build awareness of how environmental stewardship aligns with sierra club campaigns. Local chapters and groups organized approximately 4,769 outings with 21,000 participants, ranging from nature hikes to advocacy training, educating people on pressing regional issues like water conservation, habitat protection, and climate change, and empowering them to take action. The military outdoors program, as part of outdoors for all and supported by local outings, supported veterans and active military members with therapeutic outdoor experiences that promoted healing, conservation, and advocacy. Across all programs, sierra club outings not only connected members to nature but also instilled environmental values and a sense of responsibility, reinforcing the club's mission to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet through direct education and alignment with sierra club's conservation goals.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 83.1%; rating input score 83
• Program expense ratio: 80.8%; rating input score 81
• Fundraising efficiency: $18.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 5th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 83.7%; rating input score 84; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -1.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.79; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings