Fw: Newsletter and San Francisco Slow Money Showcase

my buzz & my blog "When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." George Washington Carver What is Social Entrepreneurship? Statement of Faith You can find other "Market with Meaning" but you definitely want to see "Profit with Purpose". I personally "Believe in Kingdom Transformation" because I know there is only ONE "Life for Significant". my facebook  &  my twitter  &  my linkedin --- 2011年6月8日 星期三，Slow Money <info@slowmoney.org> 寫道﹕ 寄件人: Slow Money <info@slowmoney.org> 主題: Newsletter and San Francisco Slow Money Showcase 收件人: incubator.hou@gmail.com 日期: 2011年6月8日,星期三,上午3:33 Chairman's Letter Dear Houghton, There are transactions and there are transactions. Or, should we say, there are transactions and there are relationships. A Slow Money entrepreneur showcase--bringing together dozens of entrepreneurs with scores or hundreds of investors--is about both. Transactions and relationships. It is about getting investment capital to flow to small food enterprises, and doing so in a way that is rooted in real relationships between people who care about  real places and real food. Inspired by the success of the entrepreneur showcase at last year’s Slow Money national gathering, following which 12 of the presenting food entrepreneurs received $4 million of investment, Slow Money chapters in New York and San Francisco have organized local entrepreneur showcases.   The New York event took place on May 14 and  featured 10 small food enterprises. It was attended by more than 200 people. “The overflow crowd and the energy in the room were wonderful,” observed Slow Money Founding Member Tim Gallivan. “It was a beautifully organized program—another Slow Money moment!” A meeting is planned for June 9th to discuss local investing in more detail, with Amy Cortese, author of Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How To Profit From It. Our hats are off to Derek Denkla, Brian Kaminer, Nicole Reed, and the rest of the Slow Money NYC team. For more information, contact Derek Denkla.   The San Francisco entrepreneur showcase is coming up this Sunday, June 12, featuring eight for-profit food enterprises and four non-profits. Early registration suggests that an event is in the making that rivals the New York showcase in scale and energy. The presenters are: Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust and Marin Agricultural Land Trust Capay Valley Farm Shop, Yolo Farmland LP, San Francisco Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, Contra Costa County Growing Youth Project (Alameda Point Collaborative), Oakland Mandela Foods Cooperative, Oakland Marin Sun Farms, Petaluma, Marin County Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association, Oakland People’s Community Market, Oakland Planting Justice, Oakland Point Reyes Compost Company, Point Reyes, Marin County Veritable Vegetable, San Francisco But let’s not pat ourselves on the back too much. Putting on such events is a tremendous amount of work for volunteers. Doing one, OK. Doing two or more, a whole other level of engagement. And getting money to flow from attendees to presenters is something that will not happen overnight. It will take months and years of steady, slow (and sometimes quick) entrepreneurship and engagement. Slow Money investment clubs—being pioneered by Slow Money Maine, through their No Small Potatoes investment club (see news article) —could be a vital catalyst to this process. Attorneys for the Slow Money Alliance are currently vetting the structure and strategy used by our Maine contingent, determining its wider applicability. We look forward to sharing the results with everyone very soon. Meanwhile, let’s hear what one of the entrepreneurs who presented at the New York showcase has to say.   “I would do it over again without a second thought. Making the connections—the whole process was extremely worthwhile,” says Erick Smith, the founder of Cayuga Pure Organics, near Ithaca, New York.   “When we started in 2003, we focused on growing feed for organic dairy farms. Our local food coop came to us and said they had no source of local beans. This more direct connection to eaters was exciting to us. 100 years ago New York was a major producer of beans and grains. We want to be a part of bringing this back. Our business has been doubling each year for the last several years, and it has been a real financial challenge. For the first time, we need outside financing. This year we’ll do about $750,000 in sales. We’re looking for $100,000 to build a facility for rolling oats. Financing for a new project like this is extremely difficult to find. The biggest supplier of rolled oats in the Northeast is UNFI, and their supply comes from Saskatchewan. When bankers look at this, they immediately conclude that this just isn’t happening in this region, that there is no model by which to assess it. The entrepreneur showcase was just the incentive we needed to get our business plan together and a wonderful opportunity to share our story in public.”    Then, Erick changed hats, from entrepreneur to investor, and observed, “Slow Money is a natural extension of our commitment to the goals of Slow Food and the goal of making the food system work. For years, when we looked for places to invest, I was never satisfied with social investment funds that were invested in companies that were very distant and about which I could only learn through financial reports. Slow Money’s focus on investing in things that we understand, near where we live, is a much more satisfying approach.”     Is this akin to the satisfaction of real food versus the satisfaction of empty calories?  The satisfaction that arises from a relationship versus the satisfaction that arises from a transaction?  The fun that arises from changing hats, then tossing them into the Slow Money ring?   Which leads inexorably to that little known aphorism:  If the hat fits, toss it!  (Or, in the case of Jack Lazor of Butterworks Farm, If the Terra Madre cap fits, never toss it!) In the next newsletter, we look forward to sharing news about small food enterprises into which slow money folks are tossing their hats around the country.   Until then, slow speed ahead, Woody Tasch Chairman, Slow Money Action Steps Register for the San Francisco Showcase, June 12, 12-5pm, Fort Mason Center Share the flier for the June 12 showcase. Share the Slow Money Principles Become a Slow Money member, or renew your membership Read more about the NYC Showcase Co-sponsored and related events Community Capital Day - June 14, Bellingham, WA Locavesting: a book signing with Slow Money NYC - June 9th, Brooklyn, NY Northern California Showcase When: June 12, 12-5pm Where: The Conference Center, Ft. Mason, San Francisco We are excited to bring together 200+ investors, entrepreneurs and food & farming leaders who are rebuilding our Local Food System. Learn how you can get involved and invest in building an economy based on principles of soil fertility, sense of place, care of the commons, and economic, cultural and biological diversity. Over the past two years, more than $4 million has been invested in entrepreneurs who presented their small food enterprises at the first two Slow Money National Gatherings. Now is your chance to invest your resources close to home. We have chosen 10 finalists from more than 50 qualified projects to present their sustainable food and farming enterprises. These finalists included existing businesses seeking startup, growth and expansion capital as well as donations for non-profit initiatives. Network with a variety of active investors, organizational leaders and local food systems visionaries. Together we will reach our goal of 1 million Americans investing 1% of their money in Local Food Systems by 2020. Featured speakers include Melanie Nutter, head of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, and Ari Derfel, Executive Director of the national Slow Money organization. Be inspired and learn more about Slow Money in Northern California and nationwide. Register here. More information at slowmoneynocal.org Co-sponsored event: Accelerating Community Capital Full Day Workshop When: June 14, 8:30am to 5:30pm Where: Bellingham, WA Presented by BALLE, RSF Social Finance, and Slow Money This hands-on workshop will use place as the lens to understand how to meet regional needs with regional resources, and identify the kinds of capital needed to get there. The day will feature some fifteen of the most promising pilot projects and innovators developing models for connecting regional investors with regional businesses. Participants will group themselves by region to jointly create plans to catalyze community capital in their areas. Who should participate? Investors, bankers, businesspeople, community developers interested in creating new, community-based sources of debt or equity capital to support local living economies. We especially welcome delegations representing all these interest groups from a specific community to facilitate follow up and implementation. Join us for this first-time, all-day workshop. Register now. PLEASE NOTE: This is a pre-conference workshop with a separate registration fee. You may register for this workshop alone or with BALLE's annual conference. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter: You have received this email from Slow Money. 320 Washington Street 4th Floor Brookline MA 02445 We are supported and sustained by our members. Join or find out more here. If you received this email from a friend, and would like to subscribe click here. If you did not subscribe, or would no longer like to receive email updates unsubscribe here.