Strength & Sustainability

This issue's Strength & Sustainability column is based on an interview with Allison Justice, Foundation associate for the Clif Bar Family Foundation. Clif Bar produces a variety of energy bars and other foods targeted at people with active lifestyles. The Clif Bar Family Foundation recently made a $5,000 contribution to the Sierra Club Bay Chapter's Tuolumne River campaign through the Chapter's Strength & Sustainability major-gifts program. The Foundation's generosity prompted us to invite Allison to tell us a bit more about Clif Bar, its owners and company philosophy, and how they chose to support the Bay Chapter.

I've worked for Clif Bar for about five years in promotions and also in the company's Foundation office for about seven months. Before joining the Clif Bar staff, I ran a business called Aspiring Heights that provides marketing services for the outdoor industry. Clif Bar was one of my clients.

Why did I take the full-time position? I've always had a high respect for Gary Erickson, Clif Bar's founder, and his wife Kit. When Gary started the business in 1990, philanthropy was already part of the vision. He didn't wait until he had extra money to give away - he built giving into the business model. A lot more companies are doing that now, but it wasn't so common back then.

From the beginning Clif Bar has made donations of time, product, and cash. In 2006 Gary and Kit decided to set up our Foundation - to formalize our giving and facilitate larger "impact" gifts, in particular to grassroots groups working in areas like environmental conservation and restoration, people's health, youth, and sustainable food and agriculture.

Environmental causes have always been a priority. All his life Gary has hiked with his family in the Sierra. He has been an avid biker and climber for decades. The environment was part of his upbringing. Since he and Kit have been together, they've continued the tradition of family backpacking trips. The appreciation for the environment has always been there.

Kit too has brought a special leadership to the company's culture of giving. Take last fall when Project 2080, our employee volunteer program, sent 13 staff to New Orleans to build houses. One day the weather wasn't very good for house-building, and so they all went to a women's shelter instead. It turned out that a contractor had walked away with all the shelter's money and equipment__the hammers and tools, even the toaster oven. Other people might have decided to come back when the people in need were more prepared. But not Kit. She and a couple of employees went off to Home Depot and bought supplies. They filled up three shopping carts. She just did what needed to be done to make things happen. It's part of who she is, and it sets the tone for the way we do things at Clif Bar.

The Foundation is a more formal mechanism to help nonprofits that focus their resources on practical, positive actions. It targets projects that are well-informed, with clearly defined objectives and strong community ties. The Foundation director and I work together to screen all the proposals. We also have an ecologist on staff as an advisor. Once we've selected the proposals we believe have the greatest potential for impact, Kit makes the final decisions.

Our focus is on preserving and protecting communities. When we analyzed the Bay Chapter's Tuolumne River campaign, we saw it as a great example - with the power to make a huge community impact right here in the Bay Area. The Chapter's drive to promote water conservation represents a smart and sustainable alternative to taking more water from the Tuolumne.

It's important for businesses to support local community organizations. As a national company Clif Bar supports a lot of national projects, but with our headquarters in Berkeley, we have a special concern for the Bay Area. It's important to have an appreciation, not just for the distant environment, but also for the environment just outside our doors. Both as individuals and as a business, it's important to invest back into the community that makes us successful.

This leadership comes from Gary and Kit's core values. It's part of who they are. They're very good and generous people. The environment, and all these other causes they support - if something interests them, they just do it.

We've long recognized and respected the Sierra Club's strength as a powerful voice for the environment. I had always appreciated the Sierra Club calendars that depict awesome and beautiful environmental images, but I didn't have a clear sense of the Club's mission, goals, or specific projects.

Being asked to support the Strength & Sustainability campaign gave us a chance to ask tough questions, and now we've had the opportunity to deepen our understanding of the Club's scope and its power to make significant, positive impacts. We see the Tuolumne River project as having the potential to be attractive to many, many people, including other businesses and foundations, and we'd love to see widespread support for it. Our contribution is our way of showing that we care and we're willing to stand up for what we believe in. We hope others will join us in taking action. We're excited to continue partnering with the Bay Chapter to bring more awareness to its efforts.

To make a contribution or find out more about how to support the local Sierra Club Bay Chapter, please contact development director or by phone at (510) 848-0800, ext. 309