¶ Sierra Club
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Sierra Club is an American nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. It raises funds through its sister organization, the Sierra Club Foundation.[1]
¶ History
The Sierra Club was founded in May 1892 by John Muir, a “legendary naturalist” who held openly racist views towards Indigenous and black people.[2] He became the first president and longest serving president, at approximately 20 years in this leadership position.
David Starr Jordan, who was on the club’s board during Muir’s presidency, was a “kingpin” of the eugenics movement, including advocating for the forced-sterilization laws that affected predominantly Black, Latina and Indigenous women. He also co-founded the Human Betterment Foundation, which produced research later taken up by the Nazis.
¶ Commercialization
In 2008, the Sierra Club endorsed a commercial product for the first time in its 116-year history: the Clorox Company’s Green Works™ product line, receiving $1.3 million in exchange.[3]
In September 2014, David Schnare of the Energy & Environment Legal Institute published a report arguing that the Club and its subsidiary, the Sierra Club Foundation, were operating in violation of nonprofit tax law.[4] A follow-up report in July 2015 by the Institute's Executive Director, Craig Richardson, accused the Club of operating as a “front group for donors’ financial interests.”[5][6]
¶ 2020 presidential election
During the 2020 United States presidential election, the Sierra Club joined the Protect the Results coalition in order to respond to any action taken by President Donald Trump “to steal the election.”[7]
¶ Organization
The Sierra Club has been a client of The Atlas Project,[8] the Analyst Institute[9] and Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company,[10] and has previously allied with Indivisible.[11]
¶ Subsidiaries
- Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
- Sierra Club Foundation
¶ Personnel
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| John Muir | Founder[3:1] | - |
| Steve Benjamin | Co-Chair, Mayors for 100% Clean Energy[12] | Third Way, White House Office of Public Engagement |
| Julio Guzmán | Beyond Coal Campaign Representative[13] | Progressive Turnout Project |
| David Starr Jordan | Board member (former)[2:1] | Human Betterment Foundation |
| Alex Morgan | Organizer[14] | Progressive Turnout Project |
¶ Activities
The Sierra Club has provided funding to MoveOn Civic Action.[15]
¶ External links
About the Sierra Club Foundation. The Sierra Club Foundation. Retrieved January 4, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.01.04-191838/https://www.sierraclubfoundation.org/about-scf ↩︎
Jacobs, J. P. (2020, July 22). Sierra Club takes on the racism of founder John Muir. E&E News. https://web.archive.org/web/20230104193737/https://www.eenews.net/articles/sierra-club-takes-on-the-racism-of-founder-john-muir/ ↩︎ ↩︎
Barringer, F. (2008, March 26). Clorox Courts Sierra Club, and a Product Is Endorsed (Published 2008). New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20230104201823/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/business/businessspecial2/26cleanser.html?_r=0 ↩︎ ↩︎
Schnare, D. W. (2014). How the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Foundation Violate Non-Profit Law. Energy & Environment Legal Institute. https://web.archive.org/web/20230104200346/https://eelegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Bootleggers-and-Baptists-The-Sierra-Club-Hucksterism-A-2014-EE-Legal-Report.pdf ↩︎
Johnson, D. (2015, July 20). Sierra Club has become front group for donors’ financial interests. The Washington Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20230104195824/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/20/drew-johnson-sierra-club-has-become-front-group-do/ ↩︎
Richardson, C. (2015). Big Donors… Big Conflicts: How Wealthy Donors Use the Sierra Club to Push Their Agenda. Energy & Environment Legal Institute. https://eelegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Big-Donors-Big-Conflicts-Final1.pdf ↩︎
Ball, M. (2021, February 4). The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election. Time. http://archive.today/2022.12.04-213053/https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/ ↩︎
Our Partners - Organizations. The Atlas Project. Retrieved November 23, 2011, from http://archive.today/2011.11.23-004721/http://atlasproject.net/our-partners/organizations/ ↩︎
Vendor/Recipient Profile: Analyst Institute. (2022, October 23). OpenSecrets. https://web.archive.org/web/20221224054143/https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2022&vendor=Analyst+Institute&year=2018 ↩︎
Causes & Clients. Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company. Retrieved January 12, 2005, from https://web.archive.org/web/20050112094042/http://www.cravermathewssmith.com/clients.php ↩︎
Stand in Solidarity with Charlottesville. Indivisible Guide. Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220110175630/https://act.indivisibleguide.com/event/stand-in-solidarity-with-charlottesville/search/ ↩︎
President Biden Announces Former Mayor Stephen Benjamin as Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement. (2023, February 27). The White House. https://web.archive.org/web/20230927223012/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/02/27/president-biden-announces-former-mayor-stephen-benjamin-as-senior-advisor-and-director-of-the-office-of-public-engagement/ ↩︎
Guzmán, J. (2017, July 25). We Applaud Waukegan for Committing to Paris Agreement Goals. Clean Power Lake County. https://web.archive.org/web/20240729175328/https://cleanpowerlakecounty.org/tag/julio-guzman/ ↩︎
Experience | Alex Morgan. LinkedIn. Retrieved August 7, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.08.07-211312/https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandermorgan/details/experience/ ↩︎
2019 Gift Disclosure. MoveOn: People-Powered Progress. Retrieved March 14, 2024, from http://archive.today/2024.03.14-231328/https://front.moveon.org/2019-gift-disclosure/ ↩︎