Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice - Application Deadline
2021-05-19 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF), First Nations Development Institute (FNDI), and Melvin Consulting PLLC are excited to invite registration for a new Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice. Over the course of a year, a group of 14 funders will gather to:

Interact, learn, and build relationships with Native American practitioners, organizations, and communities offering food systems solutions;Share and sharpen their skills and strategies for investing in Indigenous partners who are leading sustainable agriculture and food systems work in Indian Country;Build awareness of and respond to the historic, structural, current (e.g. impacts of COVID-19), and philanthropic barriers that Native communities and Tribal governments face in obtaining funding; andEnjoy the fellowship and support of other funders committed to investing in Indigenous communities.

Applications will be accepted through the end of the day on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

VIEW DETAILS

Farm and Food Business Viability for Thriving Communities
2021-05-26 10:30 - 12:00
Presented by Community Food Funders; co-sponsored by the Joyce & Irving Goldman Family Foundation andSustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders

Farm and food entrepreneurs in New England and the Hudson Valley are facing the challenges of climate change, an economic structure that has left rural America in poverty, as well as an ongoing history of racism, sexism and bigotry. These rural communities in our region are resilient, but they need our support to thrive.

The Agricultural Viability Alliance​, formerly the Blueprint, is made up of members who work to support the farmers and food businesses of this region to not only meet these challenges – but to create a thriving, sustainable and more resilient food system. By providing essential 1-to-1 business support they reduce the stress and increase the stability and confidence of these foundational businesses while encouraging start ups. This type of assistance supports small business owners in preparing for climate impacts, improving pay for farm workers, and encouraging civic engagement from our rural community members.

Join CFF as we hear from farm and food business technical assistance providers, as well as the entrepreneurs they support, to understand this critical resource and how we can better support a thriving local food system.

Presenters (list in formation)

Todd Erling, Hudson Valley AgriBusiness Development CorpChris Wayne, GrowNYCJohanna de Graffenreid, Agricultural Viability Alliance

Online webinar for funders only

In the Kitchen Call: Funders' Role In Successful USDA Regional Food System Partnerships Proposals
2021-06-08 11:00 - 12:00
USDA has announced the availability of $15.3 million in competitive grant funding for 2021 through the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) program, with a proposal deadline of July 6. This is 50 percent more than USDA awarded in 2020, the first year of RFSP grantmaking, thanks to a combination of funding from the 2018 Farm Bill and 2021 Pandemic Assistance for Producers.

The RFSP program encourages private philanthropy to fully engage as partners on these projects, not simply as matching funders. USDA also encourages smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged producers, veteran producers, and underserved communities to apply, but these potential grantees may need support from current funders to help navigate the complicated application process and understand best practices for greatest chance of success.

SAFSF members First Nations Development Institute, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, and Thornburg Foundation were philanthropic partners on successful RFSP proposals in 2020. Join this informal discussion to hear why they partnered on RFSP proposals, how their involvement strengthened the partnerships beyond their matching dollars, and how you can leverage your support for grantees who could benefit from this new program.

What's Up with Food and Farm Investing: A Peer Conversation with the SAFSF 2020-21 Investment Cohort
2021-07-08 12:00 - 13:30
Eighteen experienced impact investors from the SAFSF network met regularly as a cohort over the past year to share learnings, address challenges, and find fellowship. This session shares a taste of the group’s conversations with the SAFSF network. During the session, investors will discuss what inspires their work, and how they think about investing in order to shift power, achieve returns, and build a more equitable food system.

Cohort member Katherine Pease of Pathstone will moderate a dynamic panel discussion with investor peers from the cohort. Following, you can take your pick of three actionable breakout sessions where participants can connect with each other and with our cohort members. Choose to join a conversation about one of the following:

Getting started with food and farm investing: Bring your questions and learn about some of the most approachable places to get started as a food and farm investor. Peer leaders: Rosalie Cates, Philanthropy Northwest and the Giving Practice; Karla Miller, Northwest Area Foundation; Lisa Sebesta, Sitari Capital Investor power-shifts: Explore the dynamics of investor power, respectful relationships with borrowers and communities, and racial equity goals. Peer leaders: Kat Gilje, Ceres Trust; Karen Swift, Swift Foundation; Olivia Watkins, Black Farmer Fund Building a food and farm portfolio: Learn how some ag-minded investors make both program- and mission-related investments (PRIs and MRIs) across asset classes, build relationships, and source deals. Peer leaders: Jason Ingle, Closed Loop Capital; Katherine Pease, Pathstone

Whether you’re still exploring how to shift part of your endowment to social impact investing or have made many investments for financial return already, we hope you’ll leave this conversation a little more inspired, connected, and ready to move forward in your work.

Note: This webinar is limited to grantmakers and investors.

U.S. Food and Agriculture Policy: A Pivotal Moment For Action | Webinar 1
2021-07-13 11:00 - 12:30
In this first webinar of a 3-part series, we will lay the groundwork for the current political context and implications for food and ag policymaking. The next 18 months are going to be critical for driving progressive policy change – it’s now or never. We will cover the American Jobs Plan and how this is our window of opportunity to deliver more funding for the 2023 Farm Bill to support regenerative agriculture initiatives, as well as other critical policy priorities, such as reparative policies that aim to support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who have been on the frontlines of the fights for food sovereignty, racial justice, climate justice, food security, worker justice, land justice, and environmental justice. Our goal with this webinar is to not only inform but to provide funders across the food and ag sector with both the context and the pathways for engaging in this critical moment, including the opportunities to partner with key policy advocacy groups who need our support in the coming months.

Speakers: Panelists for this discussion will include experts from NSAC, Native Farm Bill Coalition, Young Farmers Alliance, and other key policy and advocacy leaders

View descriptions for the other session in the series

Webinar 1: US Food and Agriculture Policy: A Pivotal Moment For Action | July 13, 2021

FUNDERS ONLY: Download Key Takeaways

Webinar 2: Pathways for Engagement: A Deeper Look at Key Policy Strategies and Opportunities | September 14, 2021

Webinar 3: Playing to Win: How to Engage Both C3 and C4 Strategies | October 19, 2021

In the Kitchen Call: SAFSF Network Update
2021-07-21 11:00 - 12:30
SAFSF’s Network Update is our annual membership conversation about who we are, what we’ve accomplished, and where we are headed together. Join staff and Board leaders to discuss the many milestones we’ve achieved in the past 12 months, including:

the progress of our staff and Board equity journey;governance shifts with new Directors, leadership, and committees;new program and communications staff;an updated and expanded strategic plan; anda growing public profile on policy and practice issues at the intersection where agriculture and food systems meet philanthropy.

We’ll also talk about what’s ahead for the next 12-18 months, including:

staying accountable to our Commitment to Racial Justice;ramping up and diversifying our communications outreach;analyzing and acting on the data from our triennial member evaluation survey (open now!);safely returning to in-person and hybrid convenings;adding new voices to member leadership and long-range thinking about the future of SAFSF.

This call is open to SAFSF members only. Registration is required.

MEMBERS MAY ACCESS THE RECORDING AND PRESENTATION BY LOGGING IN TO THE MEMBER PORTAL AND CLICKING THE “MEMBER DATA” ICON

Network Partnerships - Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks, Part 3
2021-07-27 09:16
SAFSF has helped convene or been an advisor to many regional food funder networks over the years and seen someprosper while others struggled to find their footing. This five-part series on Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks will provide a venue for learning, sharing best practices, and discussing new resources that can help ensure your food funder network makes a difference in your region and, as part of a network of regional groups, contributes to systemic change on a national level as well. Register for the whole series for $100 or individual sessions for $25 each.

August 11: Part 1 – Network Structure and PurposeA clear understanding of the scope of work and the goals funders have for coming together is critical in order to measure progress and determine if your network’s efforts are successful. In this session, we’ll discuss different ways to structure and staff regional food funder networks, what kinds of gaps and needs networks often seek to address, and look at various outcomes achieved by regional groups.

Sept 22: Part 2 – Meaningful MeetingsMeetings are important venues for building relationships. Meetings should also help move funders in a regional group toward their overall goals for collaboration. In this session, we’ll talk about identifying relevant and timely topics, balancing internal and external speakers and ensuring valuable takeaways from meetings. We’ll also talk about meeting frequency and how to engage participants to keep energy and enthusiasm high.

Oct 21: Part 3 – Network PartnershipsA regional food funder network is just one element of any regional food system. In this session, we’ll look at co-programming with regional associations of grantmakers, councils of governments and state/regional agencies to engage new funders and open new paths for leveraging philanthropic dollars. We’ll also look at strengthening regional cooperation through connections with food policy councils, food system networks, sustainable agriculture coalitions and others.

Nov 10: Part 4 – Regional-National Policy ConnectionsFood funders often find themselves stepping into the breach between federal policies and funding, and the capacity to implement those policies or distribute that funding at the local and regional level. In this session, we will address the roles regionally organized funders can play in helping to align regional and federal policy priorities so philanthropic dollars can be more effectively and equitably leveraged in communities.

Dec 14: Part 5 – Network OutreachLet other funders know what you are doing and invite them to engage with your network through strategic outreach. In this session, we’ll examine how to use meetings and programs as outreach tools, how to keep those in the network informed and in touch with each other, ways to share your food system learnings with others in philanthropy, and how to interact with media to bring wider attention to critical regional food issues.

Network Partnerships – Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks, Part 3

Nomination Deadline - Board of Directors
2021-08-06 17:00
SAFSF is accepting nominations for two positions on the Board of Directors for three-year terms beginning in October 2021. Self-nomination or nominations of other qualified candidates are welcome. Click here for full description and nomination form.

Network Structure and Purpose - Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks, Part 1
2021-08-11 10:00 - 11:30
SAFSF has helped convene or been an advisor to many regional food funder networks over the years and seen someprosper while others struggled to find their footing. This five-part series on Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks will provide a venue for learning, sharing best practices, and discussing new resources that can help ensure your food funder network makes a difference in your region and, as part of a network of regional groups, contributes to systemic change on a national level as well. Register for the whole series for $100 or individual sessions for $25 each.

As every region and network is different, there is no one way or best practice that is going to apply to everyone. Rather than have so-called “experts” speak during these workshops, we will kick off each conversation with a brief sharing from a funder or network with an instructive perspective on the topic at hand as a starting point for conversation. Our goal is to facilitate a semi-structured opportunity for all participants to share their experiences and, as a group, look for opportunities to develop shared resources and “workshop” approaches that increase the effectiveness of individual networks, while strengthening connections between regional networks for greater impact across the nation.

August 11: Part 1 – Network Structure and PurposeA clear understanding of the scope of work and the goals funders have for coming together is critical in order to measure progress and determine if your network’s efforts are successful. In this session, we’ll discuss different ways to structure and staff regional food funder networks, what kinds of gaps and needs networks often seek to address, and look at various outcomes achieved by regional groups. Conversation kick-off: Virginia Clarke, executive director of SAFSF.

September 22: Part 2 – Network Partnerships (note date change)A regional food funder network is just one element of any regional food system. In this session, we’ll look at co-programming with regional associations of grantmakers, councils of governments and state/regional agencies to engage new funders and open new paths for leveraging philanthropic dollars. We’ll also look at strengthening regional cooperation through connections with food policy councils, food system networks, sustainable agriculture coalitions and others. Conversation kick-off: Carol Pickering, Dietel & Partners, co-chair of the Food and Agriculture Systems Working Group of the Appalachia Funders Network.

October 21: Part 3 – Meaningful Meetings (note date change)Meetings are important venues for building relationships. Meetings should also help move funders in a regional group toward their overall goals for collaboration. In this session, we’ll talk about identifying relevant and timely topics, balancing internal and external speakers and ensuring valuable takeaways from meetings. We’ll also talk about meeting frequency and how to engage participants to keep energy and enthusiasm high. Conversation kick-off: Adam Liebowitz, North Star Fund, director of Community Food Funders in New York.

November 10: Part 4 – Regional-National Policy ConnectionsFood funders often find themselves stepping into the breach between federal policies and funding, and the capacity to implement those policies or distribute that funding at the local and regional level. In this session, we will address the roles regionally organized funders can play in helping to align regional and federal policy priorities so philanthropic dollars can be more effectively and equitably leveraged in communities. Conversation kick-off: Andrew McElwaine, Heinz Endowments, co-convener of Pennsylvania funder group organizing for 2023 Farm Bill advocacy.

December 14: Part 5 – Network OutreachLet other funders know what you are doing and invite them to engage with your network through strategic outreach. In this session, we’ll examine how to use meetings and programs as outreach tools, how to keep those in the network informed and in touch with each other, ways to share your food system learnings with others in philanthropy, and how to interact with media to bring wider attention to critical regional food issues. Conservation kick-off: Karen Lehman, director of Fresh Taste in Chicago.

Investing in Regenerative Agriculture: Voices from the Field
2021-09-01 10:00 - 11:30
Hosted by Pathstone

Mark your calendar for Pathstone’s live video seminar highlighting key themes from their recent collaboration with a range of subject matter experts in this important and growing focus for investors. Registration link coming soon!

Pathstone Managing Director Katherine Pease will facilitate an in-depth, interactive session with the people whose work is featured in our recent report, Investing in Regenerative Agriculture: Voices from the Field. Presenters include leaders and practitioners in finance and investing, farming, advocacy and organizing, philanthropy, and academia. SAFSF’s Sarah Kelley will be among the speakers, and will discuss the SAFSF Fibers Roadmap.

Topics will include:

Exploring regenerative agriculture – definitions, best practices, and innovations.Financing social equity within regenerative agriculture: mobilizing capital for Native American farmers and producers, Black farmers, and other underserved communities.Investing in the transition from conventional to regenerative agriculture.Investing in AgTech for impact.Transforming the Ag System: A vision for the future informed by lessons from the past.

Pathways for Engagement: A Deeper Look at Key Policy Strategies and Opportunities | Webinar 2
2021-09-14 11:00 - 12:30
Building off of webinar 1 and our current understanding of the state of agricultural policy in the U.S., we will dive deeper into the opportunities to secure progressive food and ag policies at both the state and national levels. In addition to highlighting some of the key strategies identified, we will hear from experts and organizations who are leading these key strategies forward across the US. We will discuss topics such as how to connect critical state level policy work and organizations with the broader national policy work and conversations, as we move towards the next two farm bills, as well as what we will need to do to mobilize leaders and community organizations in the south and other key states.

Speakers: To be announced

View descriptions for the other session in the series

Webinar 1: US Food and Agriculture Policy: A Pivotal Moment For Action | July 13, 2021

Webinar 2: Pathways for Engagement: A Deeper Look at Key Policy Strategies and Opportunities | September 14, 2021

FUNDERS ONLY: Download Key Takeaways

Webinar 3: Playing to Win: How to Engage Both C3 and C4 Strategies | October 19, 2021

SAFSF In the Kitchen Call: Funder Toolkit on Climate, Health, & Equity
2021-09-15 11:00 - 12:00
Co-hosted by SAFSF and HEFN

Join SAFSF, Health and Environmental Funders Network (HEFN), and your member peers to dive into the recently released funder toolkit, Investing at the Frontlines of Climate Change. This funder toolkit was created to accelerate philanthropy at the intersection of climate change, health, and equity.

During this session, funder participants will:

Learn about how this collaborative project was developedSee how the toolkit’s resources can help funders find their niche in addressing climate change and its health and equity impacts, collaborate with partners, better target their funding, and have greater impactHave space to discuss, share, and learn about peers’ current efforts at the intersection of climate change, health, and equity.

This webinar is open to members of SAFSF and/or HEFN. Join us!

Photos: Parker Johnson, Max Bender, Ann McArthur, Janine Robinson, Marcus Kauffman on UnSplash, Susan Melkisethian, Stephen Yang, The Solutions Project

Network Partnerships - Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks, Part 2
2021-09-22 10:00 - 11:30
SAFSF has helped convene or been an advisor to many regional food funder networks over the years and seen some prosper while others struggled to find their footing. This five-part series on Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks will provide a venue for learning, sharing best practices, and discussing new resources that can help ensure your food funder network makes a difference in your region and, as part of a network of regional groups, contributes to systemic change on a national level as well. Register for the whole series for $100 or individual sessions for $25 each.

As every region and network is different, there is no one way or best practice that is going to apply to everyone. Rather than have so-called “experts” speak during these workshops, we will kick off each conversation with a brief sharing from a funder or network with an instructive perspective on the topic at hand as a starting point for conversation. Our goal is to facilitate a semi-structured opportunity for all participants to share their experiences and, as a group, look for opportunities to develop shared resources and “workshop” approaches that increase the effectiveness of individual networks, while strengthening connections between regional networks for greater impact across the nation.

August 11: Part 1 – Network Structure and PurposeA clear understanding of the scope of work and the goals funders have for coming together is critical in order to measure progress and determine if your network’s efforts are successful. In this session, we’ll discuss different ways to structure and staff regional food funder networks, what kinds of gaps and needs networks often seek to address, and look at various outcomes achieved by regional groups. Conversation kick-off: Virginia Clarke, executive director of SAFSF.

September 22: Part 2 – Network Partnerships (note date change)A regional food funder network is just one element of any regional food system. In this session, we’ll look at co-programming with regional associations of grantmakers, councils of governments and state/regional agencies to engage new funders and open new paths for leveraging philanthropic dollars. We’ll also look at strengthening regional cooperation through connections with food policy councils, food system networks, sustainable agriculture coalitions and others. Conversation kick-off: Carol Pickering, Dietel & Partners, co-chair of the Food and Agriculture Systems Working Group of the Appalachia Funders Network.

October 21: Part 3 – Meaningful Meetings (note date change)Meetings are important venues for building relationships. Meetings should also help move funders in a regional group toward their overall goals for collaboration. In this session, we’ll talk about identifying relevant and timely topics, balancing internal and external speakers and ensuring valuable takeaways from meetings. We’ll also talk about meeting frequency and how to engage participants to keep energy and enthusiasm high. Conversation kick-off: Adam Liebowitz, North Star Fund, director of Community Food Funders in New York.

November 10: Part 4 – Regional-National Policy ConnectionsFood funders often find themselves stepping into the breach between federal policies and funding, and the capacity to implement those policies or distribute that funding at the local and regional level. In this session, we will address the roles regionally organized funders can play in helping to align regional and federal policy priorities so philanthropic dollars can be more effectively and equitably leveraged in communities. Conversation kick-off: Andrew McElwaine, Heinz Endowments, co-convener of Pennsylvania funder group organizing for 2023 Farm Bill advocacy.

December 14: Part 5 – Network OutreachLet other funders know what you are doing and invite them to engage with your network through strategic outreach. In this session, we’ll examine how to use meetings and programs as outreach tools, how to keep those in the network informed and in touch with each other, ways to share your food system learnings with others in philanthropy, and how to interact with media to bring wider attention to critical regional food issues. Conservation kick-off: Karen Lehman, director of Fresh Taste in Chicago.

Nutrition Incentives: Lessons and Opportunities to Improve Healthy Food Access
2021-10-01 11:00 - 12:00
Co-sponsored with Grantmakers in Health (GIH)

Access to healthy food is an important social determinant of health. Over the past decade, nutrition incentive programs that match federal SNAP dollars to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables have grown rapidly and proven to be a critical pathway to improving healthy food access. New streams of federal support that require local matching funds coupled with a surge in SNAP enrollment during the pandemic have presented important opportunities for public-private partnership. Join this webinar to learn about how these effective nutrition incentive programs have enabled vibrant public-private partnerships across the country, the current state of the field and research, and the opportunities for health funders to leverage these opportunities to improve healthy food access.

Speakers include Mini Kahlon of UT Austin Dell Medical School and Factor Health, Erica Raml of Fair Food Network, and Amy Yaroch of Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition.

This webinar is open only to SAFSF members and GIH Funding Partners. SAFSF members who are not also GIH Funding Partners, please email Priya Uppuluri to register. GIH Funding Partners may click here to register.

Playing to Win: How to Engage Both C3 and C4 Strategies | Webinar 3
2021-10-19 11:00 - 12:30
A key barrier to advancing transformational reform in our food and ag systems has been a lack of awareness about what private foundations are allowed to do and fund under Internal Revenue Service guidelines in regards to policy work. In this webinar, we will provide critical context and resources for funders to better understand ways to engage in policy work, both C3 and C4 strategies, as well as explore case studies of how different funders and peers have been able to employ these strategies to win. We know, from evidence, that when foundations invest in advancing policy change, their money has a large-scale impact on individuals and communities. Grants of any size, combined with targeted investments of time, effort, and collaboration at just the right moment, can yield investments in the hundreds of thousands or hundreds of millions of dollars.

Speakers: This session will be led by the Alliance For Justice and Bolder Advocacy, as well as feature speakers from key case studies (To be announced)

View descriptions for the other session in the series

Webinar 1: US Food and Agriculture Policy: A Pivotal Moment For Action | July 13, 2021

Webinar 2: Pathways for Engagement: A Deeper Look at Key Policy Strategies and Opportunities | September 14, 2021

Webinar 3: Playing to Win: How to Engage Both C3 and C4 Strategies | October 19, 2021

Meaningful Meetings - Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks: Part 3
2021-10-21 10:00 - 11:30

BIPOC Networking
2021-10-27 13:00 - 14:00
Any funder (or PSO staff member) who identifies as Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of Color is invited to share a supportive and respectful space to foster connection and share experiences.

Register Here

Solidarity Funding: Supporting Racial Justice in Food and Agriculture Philanthropy
2021-11-01 12:30 - 14:00
Join a funder peer follow-up to the special 2021 SAFSF Forum session Decolonizing Food Philanthropy. This follow–up conversation on Monday, November 1 is available only to funders who participated in the special Forum session. For other funders, note that we are exploring a repeat of the original conversation in spring 2022.

This session has the following goals:

Reflect: Hear from participants about their experience at the May workshop. Are there any learnings or new relationships that influenced your thinking or brought up questions in your work?

Check in: Discuss what has happened since the workshop – did you stay in touch with your accountability partner? How have your goals advanced? What new challenges have you faced, and what have you moved forward?

Look forward: What do you see as your “next right step,” as Navina Khanna put it during the Forum session? What challenges are you facing?

Connect: Are there specific ways SAFSF – or other members – might be able to help, or new ways you’re interested in working together?

The session will be a facilitated conversation with breakout sessions. Participants must complete a self-reflection survey before the session. As with the Decolonizing workshop, the session will not be recorded, but we will be looking to share high-level takeaway and insights with our broader membership (without attribution, and/or with permission).

About the session nameYou’ve likely noticed that we renamed this follow-up Solidarity Philanthropy, rather than Decolonizing Philanthropy, the name of the original forum session.

We made the change because we seek to use language that is clear, respectful, and not appropriative, especially as non-Indigenous People and in particular, as white women. Together, we are learning from the article “Decolonizing is Not A Metaphor,” especially Tuck and Yang’s opening comment, “Decolonization brings about the repatriation of Indigenous land and life; it is not a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools.”

We are also learning from the powerful guidance brought forward by Native American philanthropist Edgar VillaNueva (Decolonizing Wealth and Liberated Capital), which includes a powerful critique of many forms of institutional philanthropy and also offers steps for healing and getting things right: grieve, apologize, listen, relate, represent, invest, and repair. These are important aspirations for us all in this moment of deep interconnected crises, and deep openings toward healing and repair.

We chose to focus on Solidarity because we feel it captured the heart of what we’d set out to discuss with the speakers from the Open Letter Group–how as funders to stand with our colleagues in BIPOC- and frontline-led organizations in authentic and accountable ways.

Regional-National Policy Connections - Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks, Part 4
2021-11-10 10:00 - 11:30
SAFSF has helped convene or been an advisor to many regional food funder networks over the years and been some prosper while others struggled to find their footing. This five-part series on Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks will provide a venue for learning, sharing best practices, and discussing new resources that can help ensure your food funder network makes a difference in your region and, as part of a network of regional groups, contributes to systemic change on a national level as well. Register for the whole series for $100 or individual sessions for $25 each.

As every region and network is different, there is no one way or best practice that is going to apply to everyone. Rather than have so-called “experts” speak during these workshops, we will kick off each conversation with a brief sharing from a funder or network with an instructive perspective on the topic at hand as a starting point for conversation. Our goal is to facilitate a semi-structured opportunity for all participants to share their experiences and, as a group, look for opportunities to develop shared resources and “workshop” approaches that increase the effectiveness of individual networks, while strengthening connections between regional networks for greater impact across the nation.

August 11: Part 1 – Network Structure and PurposeA clear understanding of the scope of work and the goals funders have for coming together is critical in order to measure progress and determine if your network’s efforts are successful. In this session, we’ll discuss different ways to structure and staff regional food funder networks, what kinds of gaps and needs networks often seek to address, and look at various outcomes achieved by regional groups. Conversation kick-off: Virginia Clarke, executive director of SAFSF.

September 22: Part 2 – Network Partnerships (note date change)A regional food funder network is just one element of any regional food system. In this session, we’ll look at co-programming with regional associations of grantmakers, councils of governments and state/regional agencies to engage new funders and open new paths for leveraging philanthropic dollars. We’ll also look at strengthening regional cooperation through connections with food policy councils, food system networks, sustainable agriculture coalitions and others. Conversation kick-off: Carol Pickering, Dietel & Partners, co-chair of the Food and Agriculture Systems Working Group of the Appalachia Funders Network.

October 21: Part 3 – Meaningful Meetings (note date change)Meetings are important venues for building relationships. Meetings should also help move funders in a regional group toward their overall goals for collaboration. In this session, we’ll talk about identifying relevant and timely topics, balancing internal and external speakers and ensuring valuable takeaways from meetings. We’ll also talk about meeting frequency and how to engage participants to keep energy and enthusiasm high. Conversation kick-off: Adam Liebowitz, North Star Fund, director of Community Food Funders in New York.

November 10: Part 4 – Regional-National Policy ConnectionsFood funders often find themselves stepping into the breach between federal policies and funding, and the capacity to implement those policies or distribute that funding at the local and regional level. In this session, we will address the roles regionally organized funders can play in helping to align regional and federal policy priorities so philanthropic dollars can be more effectively and equitably leveraged in communities. Conversation kick-off: Andrew McElwaine, Heinz Endowments, co-convener of Pennsylvania funder group organizing for 2023 Farm Bill advocacy.

December 14: Part 5 – Network OutreachLet other funders know what you are doing and invite them to engage with your network through strategic outreach. In this session, we’ll examine how to use meetings and programs as outreach tools, how to keep those in the network informed and in touch with each other, ways to share your food system learnings with others in philanthropy, and how to interact with media to bring wider attention to critical regional food issues. Conservation kick-off: Karen Lehman, director of Fresh Taste in Chicago.

Backing Off the Herbicide Treadmill: Weed Management at the Intersection of Soil Health, Climate Emergency, Environmental Justice and Human Reproductive Health
2021-12-07 09:30
REGISTER

Join us to explore the intersections of soil health, environmental justice, human reproductive threat and the climate emergency through the lens of extensive and rising herbicide use in US agriculture. Learn about how herbicides like glyphosate have led to widespread community exposures and the overall ramifications to human and environmental health, especially in rural areas where pesticide exposure levels are much higher. We will also discuss the strategic opportunities for tackling herbicide dependence from multiple angles. The opportunity is ripe for shifting and changing policy with a sustained, multidisciplinary approach demonstrating connection between excessive reliance on herbicides and a broad spectrum of collateral damage to our health, the environment and the basis of soil health and fertility.

The Heartland Health Research Alliance (HHRA) is a collaborative of leading scientists, advocates, policy experts, community organizers and public health professionals. HHRA is carrying out, and hopes to expand cutting-edge clinical research essential in understanding how pesticide exposures during pregnancy and as children grow up can trigger adverse birth outcomes and developmental problems, and heighten risk of adult-onset disease. The Heartland Study, HHRA’s flagship project, is a large-scale, multi-disciplinary birth cohort study is quantifying herbicide exposures of expectant mothers across the Corn Belt and upper Mississippi Valley. It is documenting birth outcomes and newborn health, monitoring for linkages between prenatal herbicide exposures to moms and dads, and problem pregnancies, birth defects, epigenetic changes and neurodevelopment. By documenting connections between public health outcomes and soil health, carbon sequestration and climate, carbon/nitrogen cycling, promoting microbiome health via soil health, toxics, environmental justice and changes in land use—this work hopes to leverage transformative policy change in several areas.

We will also discuss the rising reliance on high-risk herbicides in the Midwest, the problems arising as a result, and what needs to change to help farmers back off the herbicide treadmill. The panel will discuss how climate forward farming will have to contend with weed management and will share the status of their ongoing critical study following expectant parents’ herbicide exposures and the health effects in their children. If any of the following issues are of interest, please join us for this important webinar:

Depth and breadth of the herbicide-GE seed trap that farmers are massively locked into. The treadmill trap is deeper than ever, and at a tipping point of failure.Shattered premises of pesticide risk assessment and regulation, and consequential widespread, compound harms. The courts are holding the system accountable for catastrophic neglect, but cannot fix problems rooted in outdated laws, policies and business models that promote excessive reliance on pesticides. We’ll discuss the regulatory consequences of Bayer/Monsanto trial evidence, paraquat and chlorpyrifos litigation and the seismic changes needed in how farmers manage pests and regulators mitigate pesticide damage.The contradictions of herbicide dependence for scaling regenerative cropping systems. Focus on carbon-chemistry and soil mechanics is obscuring the biological fundamentals of soil health and ignoring the soil-health deficit due to agricultural chemicals. Vulnerable communities on the front lines and public health-agriculture organizing in the Upper Midwest. Connecting the dots at the local and regional level for harm reduction, participatory science, environmental justice and public health education/advocacy. Strong local movements have to be a source of and force for solutions.

Moderator: Dr. Urvashi Rangan, PhD Chief Scientist, GRACE Communications Foundation

Speakers:

Dr. Chuck Benbrook, ED Heartland Health Research Alliance (HHRA)Audrey Tran Lam, MPH University of Northern Iowa, Farming For Public Health (HHRA Board Member)Zoe Hollomon, Co-Director, Pesticide Action NetworkDr. Robin Mesnage, Kings College, London UK, Molecular and Medical Genetics (HHRA Science Advisor)Mark Lipson, Staff Affiliate UC Santa Cruz, Center for Agroecology (HHRA Consultant)

Sponsored by: Funders for Regenerative Agriculture (FORA), Health & Environmental Funders Network (HEFN), and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF).

Network Outreach - Building Effective Regional Food Funder Networks, Part 5
2021-12-14 10:00 - 11:30

SAFSF Staff Only Test Event 2
2021-12-26 08:00 - 09:00

Deadline for Session Proposals for 20th Annual SAFSF Forum
2022-01-10 12:00
SAFSF is pleased to accept concurrent workshop and learning dinner proposals for the 20th Annual SAFSF Forum from all funders, even those who are not members of SAFSF. Proposals must be submitted online through the form by Monday, January 10, 2022, at 12 pm PT.

We strongly encourage you to read through our session idea guidelines for frequently asked questions, including details about what we are looking for in this year’s session proposals.

The three-day Forum offers many opportunities for peer learning, networking, and collaboration. Plenary and workshop sessions and learning dinners allow funders to learn from each other as well as leaders in the field. Day-long and half-day site visits encourage participants to learn from work happening in the region and identify themes that might inform their own work once they return home.

The Forum theme and agenda are developed by and for funders who are working on a variety of issues, approaches, and geographies, attendees will leave with inspiration, strategies, and connections for impactful engagement related to their own work within the food system.

LEARN MORE + SUBMIT

In the Kitchen Call: Building Relationships for 2022
2022-01-19 11:00 - 12:00
Join your SAFSF member peers for this first In the Kitchen call of 2022. As we embark on a new year, this session will provide space to build new and/or deeper relationships with your funder and investor peers. We’ll spotlight new members who joined SAFSF during 2021. Additionally, breakout session conversations will allow participants to reflect on professional successes achieved in 2021 and discuss opportunities for the next twelve months.

Registration for this session is limited to current SAFSF member organizations.

Action for a Small Planet | Part 2
2022-02-02 09:00 - 10:30
An interactive conversation about innovative funding for systems change

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Join your fellow grantmakers in a discussion with Anna Lappé, founder of the Food Sovereignty Fund at the Panta Rhea Foundation about how funders can advance a fossil-free future with a focus on biodiversity. Anna will share her work at the intersections of food systems and the climate crisis and together we will discuss strategies and approaches for funding across issue areas to address the complex, interlocking existential crises of climate chaos and biodiversity collapse. Bring your questions, dreams, and best examples of cross-silo programs.More information on Part 1 | Lessons for a Small Planet can be found here.

Trust-Based Philanthropy in 4D Webinar Series | Session 1: Using Trust-Based Values to Transform Your Grantmaking
2022-02-03 10:00 - 11:30
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The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, in partnership with the Environmental Grantmakers Association, Blue Sky Funders Forum, and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders, is pleased to announce a four-part webinar series on using trust-based values to guide your philanthropy’s grantmaking practices, culture, structures, and leadership.

There is a values-to-practice gap in traditional philanthropy. Many foundations do their work in the name of building community, advancing equity, and increasing opportunity – however our sector’s most common grantmaking practices rarely reflect those values. Project-restricted grants, unclear grant guidelines, lengthy paperwork requirements, and unrealistic impact measures have come to be the status quo in our sector, with little regard for the expertise of the nonprofits we support. Not only does this perpetuate a top-down power dynamic that makes it virtually impossible to build trust and transparency; it also obstructs nonprofits’ ability to innovate, grow, and achieve their intended impact.

Trust-based philanthropy offers a different approach, applying equity-centered, power-conscious values in the way we approach all aspects of grantmaking. This translates to leading with trust rather than distrust, respecting the time and expertise of nonprofit partners, and prioritizing relationship-building and mutual learning over scrutiny and transaction.

In this session, we will explore the core values that are fundamental to a trust-based approach, and the six grantmaking practices that help advance a healthier and more equitable nonprofit sector: 1) multiyear unrestricted funding, 2) doing the homework, 3) simplifying and streamlining paperwork, 4) being transparent and responsive, 5) soliciting and acting on feedback, and 6) offering support beyond the check. We’ll hear concrete examples from foundation leaders that have operationalized these practices, as they share the details of transformation, their learnings along the way, and their approach to bringing along staff and boards on this journey.

Participants can expect to walk away with a clear understanding of what it means to be a values-aligned grantmaker, persuasive talking points to help engage staff and boards, and concrete steps they can take toward operationalizing trust-based grantmaking practices.

SAFSF will host a breakout conversation following each session. Be sure to select your affiliation with SAFSF when registering.

Discussions will be facilitated by Mailee Walker, Claneil Foundation. Funder participants will have the opportunity to ground the principles of trust-based philanthropy in relation to their own work within food and agriculture systems.

Series:

Session #1: TBP in 4D: Using Trust-Based Values to Transform Your Grantmaking

Thursday, February 3, 2022 from 10-11:30AM PT

Session #2: TBP in 4D: Embracing and Embedding a Trust-Based Culture

Thursday, March 3, 2022 from 10-11:30AM PT

Session #3: TBP in 4D: Building and Reinforcing Trust-Based Structures

Thursday, March 31, 2022 from 10-11:30AM PT

Session #4: TBP in 4D: Cultivating Trust-Based Leadership

Thursday, May 5, 2022 from 10-11:30AM PT

2022 SAFSF Policy Convening: Commit to Action
2022-02-07 13:00 - 2022-02-09 17:30 | Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street NW 20036, Washington, 20036
Funding Base-Building, Narrative Shift, and Policymaker Education and Advocacy for the Farm Bill—2023 and Beyond

The 2022 SAFSF Policy Convening: Commit to Action will bring funders together to build shared understanding and mobilize a commitment to action to drive equitable federal agriculture and food policy change in the farm bill. Together we will explore three high-impact fundable strategies: geographic power and base building; narrative shift; and policymaker education and advocacy. In addition, March 7-9 we will work together to conduct virtual Congressional and USDA meetings for those who are interested (more details coming soon!).

This convening will challenge participants to coordinate their 2022-2023 funding to leverage policy change that drives us towards resilient, sustainable, and equitable food systems—while at the same time, providing the opportunity to build strategic partnerships so that no one organization is going it alone.

EVENT PROGRAM

SPEAKER DIRECTORY

New Speakers Confirmed!

Dr. Jewel H. Bronaugh was appointed the 16th Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in 2018 by Governor Ralph Northam. She previously served as the Virginia State Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe and then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, in July 2015. Prior to her FSA appointment, she served as Dean of the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University (VSU) with oversight of Extension, Research and Academic Programs. Previously she was the Associate Administrator for Extension Programs and a 4-H Extension Specialist.

In spring 2019, Dr. Bronaugh launched the Virginia Farmer Stress Task Force to raise awareness and coordinate resources to address farmer stress and mental health challenges in Virginia. In the fall of 2020, she helped establish the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund and Program, the first statewide program of its kind to address food access within historically marginalized communities.

Dr. Bronaugh received her Ph.D. in Career and Technical Education from Virginia Tech. She is passionate about the advancement of youth leadership in agriculture. Dr. Bronaugh is from Petersburg, Virginia. She is married to Cleavon, a retired United States Army Veteran.

Senator Corey Booker, U.S. Senator (D-NJ), was born in 1969 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Harrington Park, New Jersey. He attended Stanford University on a varsity football scholarship, receiving a B.A. in 1991 and an M.A. in 1992. Booker was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he earned a graduate degree in history in 1994. He then attended Yale Law School, graduating with a J.D. in 1997. After completing his education, Booker moved into a public housing project in Newark, New Jersey, became a tenant organizer, and founded a nonprofit that provided legal assistance to low-income families. He was elected to the Newark City Council in 1998 and served there until 2002, when he ran unsuccessfully for mayor. The same year, he became a partner at Booker, Rabinowitz, Trenk, Lubetkin, Tully, DiPasquale & Webster. In 2006, Booker ran again for mayor of Newark and was elected with 72% of the vote. He served as mayor until 2013.On October 16, 2013, Booker won a special election to the U.S. Senate after the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D). Booker was re-elected to the U.S. Senate on November 4, 2014.

U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger is proud to represent Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District, which is comprised of ten counties throughout Central Virginia.

Representative Spanberger began her career in public service, first serving as a federal agent with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigating money laundering and narcotics cases, and then serving as a case officer with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As a CIA officer, she worked at home and abroad to collect vital intelligence, keep our country safe, and work in furtherance of our national security priorities. In the private sector, Representative Spanberger worked with colleges and universities to help them diversify their student bodies and increase graduation rates.

Representative Spanberger serves on the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture and the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs. On the House Agriculture Committee, she serves as Chair of the Conservation & Forestry Subcommittee and as a member of the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee. And on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Spanberger serves as Vice-Chair of the Europe, Energy, the Environment, & Cyber Subcommittee and as a member of the Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, & Nonproliferation Subcommittee.

Representative Spanberger grew up in Henrico County. She earned her B.A. at the University of Virginia and her MBA at a dual degree program between Purdue University’s Krannert School and the GISMA Business School in Hanover, Germany. Representative Spanberger resides in Glen Allen, Henrico County, Virginia with her husband, Adam, and their three children.

Reverend Dr. Heber Brown, Founder of Black Church Food Security Network, is a community organizer, beginner farmer, social entrepreneur and Senior Pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. For nearly two decades, Dr. Brown has demonstrated a deep commitment to and advocacy on a myriad of social justice concerns at every level of government, business, and at the grassroots level as well. He is a catalyst for social change who believes that systemic problems need systemic solutions. Toward that end, in 2015 in the midst of the Baltimore Uprising which sparked after the death of Freddie Gray, he launched the Black Church Food Security Network which combats food apartheid by providing seed funding and support to help congregations begin growing food on church-owned land. The Network also works to partner Black Churches and Black Farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region in an effort to create a community-controlled, alternative food system based on self-sufficiency and Black food and land sovereignty. He earned his B.S. degree in Psychology from Morgan State University, a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Union University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary.

Jonathan Coppess, Assistant Professor, and Director, Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, author of The Fault Lines of Farm Policy: A Legislative and Political History of the Farm Bill. Previously, he served as Chief Counsel for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Administrator of the Farm Service Agency at USDA, and Legislative Assistant to Senator Ben Nelson. Jonathan grew up on his family’s farm in Western Ohio, earned his Bachelors from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC.

ABOUT THE CONVENING

SAFSF amplifies the impact of philanthropic and investment communities in support of just and sustainable food and agriculture systems, and the SAFSF Policy Convenings are the only national gatherings for and by funders supporting just and sustainable food systems policy change. SAFSF Policy Convenings are developed with and for funders who are committed to leveraging broad and systemic change through public policy advocacy. As a participant, you will engage in strategic conversations and commit to actions that strengthen the field and broaden our collective impact.

WHO IS A FUNDER?

Funders are considered those organizations using grantmaking, lending, or investing as a core strategy to fulfill their mission. This includes individual donors, executive and program staff,​ and members of the board of grantmaking organizations (family foundations, individual donors, corporate foundations, government, community foundations, etc.), as well as representatives of non-profit or for-profit investment enterprises. Development or fundraising staff are not permitted to participate in SAFSF events.

2022 SAFSF Policy Convening Advisory Committee

Stacey Barbas – Kresge FoundationRudy Espinoza – Inclusive Action for the CityNoah Fulmer – Fair Food NetworkPaul Wolfe – Walton Family FoundationAnn Mills – Agua FundTenzin Dolkar – McKnight Foundation

Lessons for a Small Planet | Part 1
2022-02-10 09:00 - 10:30
An intimate mother-daughter conversation with Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé

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The Global Conservation Program at Biodiversity Funders Group (BFG) and the Panta Rhea Foundation would like to invite you to join us for a very special two-part dialogue for grantmakers on conservation, climate, and food systems.

In this intimate “fireside chat,” author and funder Anna Lappé will host an engaging conversation with her mother, Frances Moore Lappé, whose book, Diet for a Small Planet, has sold more than 3.5 million copies since it was first published in 1971 and sparked a revolution in how people reflect on the connections between food, health, and the environment. Now, a half-century later, Frances and Anna are celebrating the book’s 50th anniversary and together exploring what we have learned across five decades of activism for a more just and healthy planet. Anna will take us on a journey with her mother, probing big questions about how we can find hope in this dark time, human nature and democracy, and what have we learned about how to make lasting systems change at the intersections of agriculture, biodiversity, and the climate crisis.

More information on Part 2 | Action for a Small Planet can be found here.

Exploring the Textile Exchange Regenerative Agriculture Landscape Analysis Report
2022-02-15 06:00
With regenerative agriculture fast gaining momentum in the fashion and textile industry, brands don’t have the luxury of a one-size-fits-all set of practices or solutions to implement. The concept is nuanced, so how can they make concrete investments in regenerative projects?

Textile Exchange’s latest report, the Regenerative Agriculture Landscape Analysis, provides a landmark framework for the industry to understand, communicate, and invest in regenerative agriculture. The report emphasizes regenerative agriculture’s roots in Indigenous and Native practices, and promotes a holistic approach that puts humans and ecosystems at the center.

Join this webinar to learn more about this new resource for the industry.

This report was made possible through sponsorship from Kering, J.Crew/Madewell, and CottonConect.

By registering for this webinar, you agree for Textile Exchange to share your name, company, and email with speakers and partnering organizations associated with this webinar. They will be required to obtain your permission before processing this contact information.

Register Here

Trust-Based Philanthropy in 4D Webinar Series | Session 2: Embracing and Embedding a Trust-Based Culture
2022-03-03 10:00 - 11:30
Register

Learn More

The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, in partnership with the Environmental Grantmakers Association, Blue Sky Funders Forum, and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders, is pleased to announce a four-part webinar series on using trust-based values to guide your philanthropy’s grantmaking practices, culture, structures, and leadership.

Culture is an organization’s general way of being, expressed in organizational norms, assumptions, and behaviors. Given trust-based philanthropy’s values-driven stance on centering relationships and sharing power, nurturing a trust-based culture is essential to making your trust-based philanthropy possible.

In order to nurture a trust-based culture, we must understand our starting point. The majority of institutions operate within a white dominant cultural context, wherein perceptions of trustworthiness and achievement are skewed in favor of those who have had access to – and have assimilated to – white dominant norms. In this default culture, we also tend to prioritize wealth over the communities we serve – as indicated in commonly used phrases such as return on investment, proof of concept, and even program “officer.”

So how can funders identify – and undo – cultural barriers to trust and equity? And what does it look like to build a trust-based, racially equitable culture that prioritizes honesty, community, creativity, and joy within and beyond your organization? In this session, we’ll hear from leaders that have prioritized culture-building within their organizations, including the strategies they are deploying to foster a sense of connection and collaboration, and what they’re doing to build and sustain trust internally so that they can advance their trust-based goals externally.

Participants can expect to walk away with a clearer understanding of how white dominant culture shows up in our assumptions and norms; and strategies for initiating and deepening a culture of power consciousness, humility, and collaboration.

SAFSF will host a breakout conversation following each session. Be sure to select your affiliation with SAFSF when registering.

Discussions will be facilitated by Mailee Walker, Claneil Foundation. Funder participants will have the opportunity to ground the principles of trust-based philanthropy in relation to their own work within food and agriculture systems.

Series:

Session #1: TBP in 4D: Using Trust-Based Values to Transform Your Grantmaking

Thursday, February 3, 2022 from 10-11:30AM PT

Session #2: TBP in 4D: Embracing and Embedding a Trust-Based Culture

Thursday, March 3, 2022 from 10-11:30AM PT

Session #3: TBP in 4D: Building and Reinforcing Trust-Based Structures

Thursday, March 31, 2022 from 10-11:30AM PT

Session #4: TBP in 4D: Cultivating Trust-Based Leadership

Thursday, May 5, 2022 from 10-11:30AM PT
