Sierra Business Council

Fundraise

$8,775 raised by 35 donors

73% complete

$12,000 Goal

For 30 years, Sierra Business Council has identified the region's most difficult problems and applied new ideas, methods, and partnerships to solve them. We have seen success in many endeavors and occasional setbacks. Our core strategy has never wavered: identify problems that need solving and systems in our region—social, environmental, and economic—that require intervention, and chart a new path. 

Sierra Business Council’s approach has yielded remarkable success. We’ve worked on more than 600 community improvement projects, directly and indirectly leveraging billions of dollars of new investments in the region, and creating cross-sector partnerships to drive positive change.

As we look ahead to the next 30 years we know our region faces significant challenges–from achieving sustainable economic growth, creating good jobs for working families, protecting communities from wildfire and climate risks, to making a clean energy transition–but we also know that our region’s residents are committed to a better future, and are willing to work for it. 

Sierra Business Council fills a unique but essential need, working to build trust, advocate for, design, plan, fund, and implement projects that promote sustainable growth, support businesses, solve rural issues, and address climate change. Our initiatives include economic empowerment through direct technical assistance and development strategies, climate action programs that improve community safety, enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, and regional advocacy to elevate the Sierra’s interests in policy discussions. 

On behalf of the region we love, we are once again looking to our network to support SBC and join in the work. Our goals for this region are ambitious, and as we look toward the future of the Sierra Nevada and Sierra Business Council, your contribution will help our organization sustain this necessary growth and expand our services. 

We hope you will join us in our work and make it yours.

Sincerely, 

Steve Frisch, President

Allan Pietrasanta, Board Chair

View our 2024 Impacts Here







Giving Activity

Mission

Sierra Business Council demonstrates innovative approaches and proactive solutions to increase community vitality, environmental quality, economic prosperity, and social fairness in the Sierra Nevada.

Needs

Sierra Business Council is largely funded through program-restricted grants, which limits our ability to increase staff and program capacity. By donating to our general fund, you are increasing our ability to scale our economic empowerment operations, offer financial and direct support of small businesses and entrepreneurs, support climate resilience and forest management projects, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, bridge the digital divide and bring reliable broadband access to the region, solve regional housing solutions, and create a thriving Sierra.

Here's what we will use your donation for:

Small Business Support/Community Resilience: Provide critical economic emergency support and resources to businesses in the Sierra, some of which are still recovering from the COVID-19 crisis. Provide access to capital for Sierra small businesses by providing information about the federal and state resources available to them. Foster a renewed entrepreneurial ecosystem through no-cost one-on-one consulting to small business owners, helping their businesses start, grow, and thrive.

Forest Health and Wildfire Mitigation: Reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire while improving forest health and fostering rural economic development through ecologically based forest thinning, biomass utilization, stewardship education, habitat protection, and emissions reductions.

Regional Advocacy: Improve awareness of the Sierra Nevada's integral value to the state, including our water supply, recreation opportunities, and ecosystem services. Increase funding available to the region's communities and environment by engaging in the legislative process.

Climate Change: Engage with local champions of climate resilience throughout the Sierra to increase the pace of climate action in their communities, develop a climate vulnerability assessment for the region, and empower communities to take ownership of their climate action plans.

Equity Statement

SBC works to increase economic, community, and environmental resilience for all the region's residents and visitors. We prioritize investments that generate sustainable high-road jobs and opportunity for historically marginalized groups in disinvested communities whenever possible. We work with local organizations and community stakeholders, and strive to be inclusive, equitable, transparent, multi-lingual, and data-informed in our work.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Sierra Business Council

other names

SBC, Sierra SBDC

Year Established

1994

Tax id (EIN)

68-0397204

Mission Category

Community Improvement, Capacity Building

Operating Budget

$1,000,001-$5 million

Organization Need

Funding: Unrestricted, Funding: Program

Demographics Served

Low-income individuals/families, General population

Local Counties Served

El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento

Equity Statement

Equity Statement

Address

PO BOX 2428
TRUCKEE, CA 96160

Service areas

Sierra County, CA, US

El Dorado County, CA, US

Placer County, CA, US

Nevada County, CA, US

Amador County, CA, US

Phone

(530) 582-4800

Email

jsanford@sierrabusiness.org

Website

http://www.sierrabusiness.org

Social Media