Help Build the Virginia Clarke Legacy Fund for Equity
To honor the legacy and leadership of 2003-2023 Executive Director Virginia Clarke, SAFSF has launched a special fundraising initiative, the Virginia Clarke Legacy Fund for Equity. Virginia worked to bring equity conversations and practices into all aspects of SAFSF’s work, opening the door for essential internal trainings and bold equity programming, and integrating equity practices across operations and organizational structure. The Virginia Clarke Legacy Fund for Equity will support intentional work to deepen and further operationalize SAFSF’s racial equity commitment and practices, and to provide programs and assistance to our members and network to do the same. Help us reach our goal of raising $250,000…
CLARE FOX NAMED SAFSF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The SAFSF Board is thrilled to announce that after an extensive, nationwide search with the support of NPAG, we have named Clare Fox as the next Executive Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders. We have no doubt that Clare’s considerable expertise in food and agricultural systems change will serve to amplify the impact of our philanthropic and investment communities. Clare shares SAFSF’s collective passion for transformative change toward more just and sustainable food and ag systems. With over 15 years of experience in complex multi-stakeholder policy, advocacy, network and coalition building, organizational leadership, social impact and community economic…
Reflections From Cynthia Wells, SAFSF Communications Intern
My position as SAFSF’s Communication and Marketing Intern is soon to come to a close. I amblessed to have received this opportunity to deepen my understanding of public relations andcultivate essential skills for my future career. This internship offered hands-on experience,allowing me to apply my college knowledge to real-world situations. Reflecting on my time withSAFSF, key learning moments and takeaways stand out, shaping my perspective on both myprofessional and personal growth. As the Communications and Marketing Intern, my role was to support the CommunicationDirector, Maggie Mosley, with various tasks relating to promoting and enhancing SAFSF’s socialmedia presence. Together, Maggie and…
A Final Note from Virginia Clarke
Friday, December 8, 2023 The moment has arrived for me to pen a farewell note to all of you lovely people. How is it that these kinds of moments so often catch us by surprise even when you know they are coming?I have been fortunate beyond measure to be a part of this community. You all have taught me so much, dared me to think bigger (and deeper), laughed with me through so many good times, and supported me during many challenging times.As we all know, leadership changes are simply a normal and healthy part of the evolution of any organization. SAFSF…
Collaboration is Key: SAFSF & HEFN
On September 20, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) and Health and Environmental Funders Network (HEFN) worked together to co-host “Participatory Grantmaking 101: Funder Peer Learning,” an introductory level webinar for funders in either network. The collaboration—led by Erin Olschewski, program director for SAFSF, and Kalila Booker-Cassano, director of programs for HEFN—was an opportunity to bring together overlapping audiences for a topic that many funders in both networks are eager to dig deeper into. SAFSF has held several smaller conversations over recent years that have touched on participatory grantmaking but had yet to host a dedicated virtual space solely…
Fibers Fund Co-Managing Directors on the Road
The Fibers Fund team has been on the road this fall conference season, sharing updates about our integrated strategy to support U.S. natural fiber and textile producers and processors as part of the regenerative agricultural system. Conference season has begun! The Fibers Fund team just returned from the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum (RFSI) in Denver, where they met colleagues new and old who are working on creative models of finance for agricultural businesses. The opening panel at RFSI featured two farmers in the fiber sector: Oregon rancher Cate Havstad, who uses the hides from her cattle in her leather…
SAFSF & NASDA: 10-Years of Opportunities
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the Departments of Agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories. The national entity is further organized into four regional associations: NEASDA, MASDA, SASDA, and WASDA, and several issue-specific committees. A core function of NASDA is to facilitate consensus-building among its members around agriculture policy and program priorities they seek to influence at the federal level. Of course, state Departments of Agriculture are also responsible for administering dollars that come through federal legislation – including the farm bill – directly…
SAFSF Member Policy in Action: Agua Fund
We are excited to bring back the SAFSF Member Spotlight in our monthly Policy Connection Newsletter, highlighting SAFSF members who are funding food and agriculture policy advocacy at the federal, state, tribal, and/or local levels. Please fill out this Google Form or email SAFSF Policy Associate Maggie Mascarenhas at [email protected] if you are interested in featuring your policy work here. Policy Serves Those Who Show Up by Ann Mills, Executive Director, Agua Fund Since its inception, the Agua Fund has supported policy advocacy as a means of advancing the foundation’s mission to protect the natural environment, help the disadvantaged, give voice to the underserved,…
September Picks of the Month
Climate Resilience in Central Appalachia: Impacts and Opportunities was presented at a recent webinar hosted by Appalachia Funders Network and Invest Appalachia. This analysis was produced by Invest Appalachia documenting projected climate crisis impacts on the Central Appalachian region. I was able to attend this webinar and was inspired by the intentional look at how climate change is impacting my home region. Often Appalachia is overlooked or misportrayed. This report is a great resource created by folks living in the region, advocating for investable solutions to combat what climate change is doing to their, my, home. Among those investment themes is food and…
Physics, Philanthropy and Affirmative Action
by Renee Catacalos, SAFSF vice president, strategy and impact Newton’s Third Law of Motion says that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This immutable relationship between physical objects makes productive activity like forward motion by walking, swimming, tires rolling or wings flapping possible. Depending on the makeup of the two objects that are interacting with each other, it can also have destructive results, like a wrecking ball meeting a wall of bricks and mortar, a windshield meeting a flying bug, or much worse. (I was definitely not a science major, by the way.) Does this law hold for…
