The SBC Blog Archive – What’s New - Sierra Business Council

Help Strengthen the Sierra

Since the start of the pandemic, Sierra Business Council’s impact has included:

-Providing over 1,400 small businesses with one-on-one counseling.
-Infusing $18.5 million in economic capital in communities across the Sierra.
Supporting over 4,000 jobs in the region.
Helped secure $536 million in early action wildfire funding for California.
-Deploying $1.2 million to bring reliable broadband infrastructure to rural neighborhoods.
-Begining a 22-county Vulnerability Assessment to better prepare the region for climate impacts.

Erika Harvey April 28, 2021

Business

Living Our Values – Green Business Certification

Core to Sierra Business Council’s mission is our commitment to being a triple bottom line organization so it’s only natural that we would lead an effort to help small businesses adopt these principles. A triple bottom line business considers more than just economic results or profit. They also value their impact on society and the environment. We often refer to these businesses as “sustainable” or “green” and research shows that they typically deliver superior customer service, score higher in job satisfaction, and perform better financially.

Kristin York April 14, 2021

Climate

Exploring Energy Use in California

Many have used the past year to take a step back and assess where their interests lie. For me, that has meant discovering my interest in data analysis and data science.

Benjamin Maritato March 9, 2021

forest fire smoke obscuring view over trees

Government Affairs

Call to Action: Why We Need Immediate Government Funding for the 2021 Fire Season

As you know, California witnessed its worst wildfire season on record in 2020. Over 4 million acres burned, costing us more than 10,000 homes and buildings and at least 33 lives (not to mention the long-term negative health impacts of the dense smoke experienced across the state). Wildfire is a natural part of California’s landscape, but today’s wildfires are out of balance due to a century of fire suppression and misguided forest management. As climate change accelerates the risk of extreme wildfire, 2020 could be the start of our new normal. In 2021, we have an opportunity to keep that from happening. If we take action now, we can help protect our communities and restore the health of our forests.

Emily Blackmer March 8, 2021

Erika Harvey Climbing donner summit with donner lake in the background

Economic Empowerment

The Evolution of Athlete to Researcher: An Introduction to Erika Harvey

I grew up climbing on granite slabs at Donner Summit, and the rock formations fascinated me. Everywhere I went in the mountains, I found myself mesmerized by the colors, textures, and stratigraphy lines that painted the landscapes. Having grown up in Northern California in an outdoors family, the concept of conservation was ingrained very early. “Respect the playground; if you want the beautiful places you love to remain intact, then do your part.” At that point in my life, I knew I wanted to do something that allowed me to be outside and in the field solving problems (or something to that extent). Naturally, I began my academic career pursuing a degree in geology.

Erika Harvey February 22, 2021

Forest

Dare to Believe: Meaningful Funding for California’s Wildfire Crisis

Fire has always had a place in California. There was a time when the state had a well-defined wildfire season, when homeowners in California’s wildland urban interface could readily insure their homes, when wildfire smoke wouldn’t blanket the entire state at one time. Unfortunately, due to a century of mismanagement of our fire ecosystem and the growing impacts of climate change, that time has passed.

Brittany Benesi February 9, 2021

Climate

Lessons in Capacity: How Bold Climate Policy Plays Out at a Local Level

For fear of sounding like a broken record, I will skip over the detailed account of how my fellowship/life is not exactly as I expected it to be, thanks to the pandemic. It’s 2021 but you could also call it December 56th, 2020. It didn’t become a brand new world January 1st, we are still wearing masks, working from home in our sweatpants, and trying to avoid refreshing the news. At the same time, I have been pondering the beauty of my unexpected journey to CivicSpark and SBC.

Claire Kasinadhuni January 29, 2021

Gold Country Broadband Consortium

New Opportunities to Bring Last Mile Broadband to the Sierra

I have seen a tremendous amount of innovation, support, and capacity across all cities and counties as each one responds to the COVID pandemic and prioritizes broadband connectivity and affordability on behalf of their residents, businesses, and anchor institutions. There are several opportunities in 2021 to keep an eye on as we work together to bridge the digital divide. Here’s what’s going on at the county, regional, state, and federal levels.

Kari Sinoff January 22, 2021

View of donner summit in rear view mirror

2020

2020 in the Rearview Mirror

I know I am not the only one glad to leave 2020 in the dust. At Sierra Business Council we talk a lot about turning challenges into opportunities, about implementing actionable steps that don’t just temporarily solve one-off problems but offer alternative ways of doing business, interacting with the environment, and existing in the Sierra to eradicate what causes those problems in the first place. As an organization, we’re proactive rather than reactive, and our goal is to build a region that is as well.

No one saw 2020 coming, though. Over the course of the last year, everyone has been asked to react to the unexpected, the unimaginable.

JillSanford January 14, 2021

Economic Empowerment

Think Global, Shop (and Invest) Local

As we gear up for the holidays, we’ve been hearing a familiar refrain: Shop Local. The value of supporting local businesses is well established: money spent locally supports a friend or neighbor’s job, charities and youth activities, and thriving downtown districts. The same is true for supporting local non-profits; your investment will be returned directly to the community. But this year, shopping local — let’s call it spending local — means even more.

Emily Blackmer December 11, 2020

Dying trees and overcrowded forest in the fog

Forests

Healthier Forests, a Stronger Workforce, and Reduced Wildfire Risk: A Win-Win-Win.

The scale required to meet California’s wildfire crisis is massive. Millions of acres are in need of forest restoration, millions of homes are in need of retrofitting, millions of Californians are threatened by unprecedented wildfire risks.

And yet, the state does not have the workforce capacity to meet that scale, not even close.

Brittany Benesi December 3, 2020

Thank You For Your Support This Giving Tuesday!

Please join us in building a stronger Sierra by helping us reach our goal of $20,000. The money we raise today and through the end of the year will go directly to building economic, environmental, and social resilience in communities throughout the Sierra.

JillSanford December 1, 2020

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