Sierra Nevada Alliance

Annual Report Fiscal Year 2019-2020 This Spring the Alliance launched its brand new website to the conservation community. The upgraded design is a platform for the public to connect with conservation and restoration efforts across the Sierra. It’s a one-stop- shop for Sierra events, volunteer opportunities, regional advocacy efforts, and a job board specifically in Sierra conservation. Since the launch, we have observed double the amount of traffic with 3,000 average monthly users, 80% being new user traffic. Sierra Nevada Alliance Member Groups and AmeriCorps or Sierra Corps Forestry Fellow host sites, regional tribes and agencies have since created their own individual profiles. Using their profiles, they now have the ability to post events, news, volunteer/job opportunities, and advocacy campaigns. Engaged Sierra citizens can browse and choose more opportunities to protect the Sierra that suit their interests and availability. Interested parties can sign up to receive weekly emails with Sierra job announcements, events, or advocacy issues. By connecting concerned citizens with opportunities to get involved with Sierra conservation efforts, the Alliance aims to increase our capacity to help make every Sierra ecosystem and community healthy, resilient, and collectively cared for through thriving partnerships, as a legacy for future generations. The first year of Alliance Monthly Webinars was a success, engaging over a hundred conservation professionals, SNAP and Sierra Corps members, and interested community members. Sierra Nevada Alliance teamed up with regional experts to bring relevant monthly webinars on topics relating to capacity building, fundraising, networking, environmental challenges in the Sierra and more. Without the ability to connect with our community and network of friends physically, the Alliance continued to engage with a variety of virtual community events and fundraisers. Over 400 people joined the Alliance on Earth Day to enjoy the Virtual Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour. Viewers were able to appreciate our plantet and inspire advocacy in their homes, while watching award-winning environmental and adventure films. The Alliance also hosted a Virtual Watercolor Series with Gina Stowell, where 48 participants learned how to draw and watercolor paint beautiful landscapes, migrating songbirds and wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada. This year the Alliance partnered with San Joaquin River Conservancy and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to host a free Grant Writing Workshop for Sierra conservation professionals in Fresno. Seventeen conservation professionals attended the workshop, presented by Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s Elissa Brown. Attendees learned the basics of grant writing and had the opportunity to begin to develop a grant proposal. The Alliance also hosted a “Non- Profit Budgeting 101” workshop presented by Andrea Drew. Participants gained a better understanding of how to develop project managers and create better engaged boards for informed financial review and decision making. On February 4th, 2020, the Sierra Nevada Alliance, The Sierra Fund, Sierra Business Council, and Sierra Water Workgroup hosted a successful “Sierra Day in the Capital”. Approximately 55 volunteers and members of the conservation community spent the day learning about important conservation opportunities in this legislative cycle and meeting with 45 Assembly and Senate Community Engagement Program– A hub for Sierra Stewardship S i e r r a N e v a d a A m e r i c o r p s P a r t n e r s h i p S e r v i n g t h e S i e r r a 4