Integrated Capital Community of Practice

The field of philanthropy is shifting.  Active movements are unfolding within philanthropy to remove barriers between grant-making and investing, or between previously siloed impact and finance goals. This movement recognizes that all capital flows have an impact and that strategic alignment with mission, vision, and values is an important throughline across an entire organization.

Launching in November 2025, the Integrated Capital Community of Practice (CoP) is an eight-month learning journey for diverse capital partners seeking to unlock the full potential of their resources for just and sustainable food and agriculture systems. Integrated capital means aligning all forms of capital—grants, investments, endowments, and beyond—with your impact. Through this CoP, participants will explore frameworks, tools, and real-world examples of how to remove barriers between grantmaking and investing, deploy capital in ways that decentralize power, and flow abundant resources to communities most impacted by unjust and unsustainable systems.

Food and agriculture offer a particularly strong entry point to integrated capital for many reasons. There are many innovative funds and investment opportunities, as well as good cash flow models, already working to support sustainable agriculture and equitable food supply chains. This CoP will highlight the beautiful complexity of food and agriculture in the context of blended impact capital approaches.

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Why Integrated Capital

Who Is The Community of Practice For?

This CoP is designed for funders across the funding spectrum. Funders are defined as organizations fulfilling their mission through grantmaking, lending, or investing as a core strategy. Eligible organizations include foundations, community development finance organizations, investment funds, re-granting organizations, or authorized designees of eligible organizations. Participants do not need to be SAFSF members, but we require that each organization has a tenure of at least two years of capital deployment. The cohort will be made up of organizations intentionally diverse in shape, structure, investment experience, and focus to foster rich peer exchange and opportunities for collaboration.

Learning Objectives

  • Learn about tools and frameworks to deploy capital in an impact-aligned, full-spectrum approach
  • Understand your unique position and opportunities for influence within a larger capital ecosystem in food and agriculture
  • Recognize and navigate internal barriers and constraints in organizational structures and governance that separate programs from investment goals
  • Deepen community relationships and collaboration with a peer cohort 
  • Move new capital in impact alignment through your own action project and exposure to fundable opportunities 

What to Expect

  • Monthly sessions featuring expert presentations, peer-led panels, and interactive discussions on topics including program and mission-related investments, private equity, mission-aligned public markets, shareholder engagement, investment policy statements, blended capital approaches, and measuring impact
  • Monthly office hours between sessions to ask questions and troubleshoot scenarios
  • Online virtual classroom to connect with peers
  • 2-day in person retreat, including field visits and deep case study learning
  • In person closing session at the 2026 SAFSF Forum 
  • Each participant will develop a personalized action plan to implement by the close of the program

Timeline

  • Applications Open – September 23, 2025
  • Applications Close – October 24, 2025
  • Participant Notifications – October 31, 2025
  • Monthly Sessions – November, December, March, April, May
    • Confirmed Dates
      • November 20, 2025 from 11am PST/2pm EST – pm PST/4pm EST 
      • December 18, 2025 from 11am PST/2pm EST – pm PST/4pm EST 
  • In Person Retreat – February 2026 – Dates to be confirmed by first session
  • In Person Closing Session at 2026 SAFSF Forum, June 22- 25, 2026 in Savannah, Georgia

Cost of Participation

The Integrated Capital Community of Practice is a transformational professional and leadership development program designed to enhance both individual and organizational impact. The registration fee includes the full curriculum, expert facilitation, office-hour mentorship, virtual technology, communication tools, and meals, venue, and bus transportation for the in-person retreat. Participants are responsible for airfare, lodging, and other travel costs for the retreat and the 2025 SAFSF Forum. A discounted Forum registration rate will be offered to all program participants.

  • Membership Fee: $3,900*
  • Non-Member Fee: $4,450

*Eligible organizations that apply for SAFSF membership by October 15, 2025 may receive the member discount. To learn more about membership, email SAFSF’s Membership Team at [email protected].

Instructor and Guide 

CHARITY MAY is the founder and Principal of Sacred Futures, an advisory and design practice that seeks Nature’s wisdom to guide adaptive organizational design, capital innovation, and regenerative business models. As a heart-led facilitator and systems designer, her unique approach integrates living systems design with somatic guidance to invoke radical innovation rooted in care. Her experience spans entrepreneurship and the wide universe of financial systems, including private equity, municipal finance, real estate, philanthropy and impact investing. Charity carries deep experience helping builders reimagine, design, and implement new financing models, governance structures, and organizational cultures that cultivate renewal and reciprocity among the living world. Food systems leadership includes board directorship and investment committee membership at multiple community non-profits and integrated capital funds.

About Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders 

For over 20 years, Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders (SAFSF) has been the leading membership organization for diverse capital partners committed to creating a climate resilient, just, and democratic food and agriculture system. Our network of 115 member organizations includes foundations, impact investors, community development finance institutions (CDFIs), re-granting organizations, and funding collaboratives. SAFSF mobilizes funders across the full capital spectrum in service of transformative systems change. We envision a food system rooted in ecological stewardship, Indigenous knowledge, and regenerative practices, building healthy ecosystems for future generations. True sustainability means building food and agriculture systems shaped by community-led solutions, centering racial and social equity, and ensuring marginalized communities have fair access and opportunity.