Building local food systems is one of the most direct, powerful ways to begin addressing critical challenges of our time—climate change, health, community resilience.
Our mission is to catalyze the flow of capital to local food systems, connecting investors to the places where they live and promoting sense of place, diversity, nonviolence and health. The Slow Money Institute catalyzes the formation of self-organizing local groups, which use a diversity of approaches: public meetings, on-farm events, pitch fests, peer-to-peer loans, investment clubs and, most recently, nonprofit clubs making 0% loans.
Passionate about redefining how we invest in organic farms and local food systems, our leadership team draws energy from our grassroots influence, driving forward in a spirit of dialogue, collaboration and innovation.
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Slow Money took root in 2009 with Tasch’s ground breaking book Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered. As he traveled the country on a book tour, audience members stepped forward, inspired to create within their local communities the change he spoke about.
“As America’s economic crisis grinds on, there’s a new movement in economics. It’s called Slow Money. And it’s championed by Woody Tasch. The idea is to get investment capital to local businesses that are friendly to the environment.”
“As venture capitalists increasingly bet on food start-ups, Slow Money, a nonprofit that catalyzes the flow of capital to small and local food enterprises, is committed to healing and investing in a broken system.”
In the ensuing decade, $100 million flowed to more than 1000 small organic farms and local food businesses via volunteer-led activities in dozens of communities. Tens of thousands attended local, national and virtual slow money events. A variety of local approaches were pursued, from pitch fests, informal networks, and investment clubs to peer-to-peer lending, all pointing towards the opportunity to grow a broader grassroots movement.
The vision behind the slow money movement is encapsulated in the Slow Money Principles, which revolve around nurture capital, care of the commons, sense of place, diversity and nonviolence. This is a framework for public conversation and cooperative action, informed by the process of bringing some of our money back down to earth, putting it to work in things that we understand, near where we live, starting with food.
The voices of local leaders, organic farmers, food entrepreneurs, thought leaders, donors, and investors.
September 14 • 3 min read
UpdatesI don’t know what a bitcoin is. I know how bitcoin is described in the media, that it is called a crypto-currency, that the Japanese programmer who created it is shrouded in secrecy, that it has been used by drug dealers, that venture capitalists are pouring billions of dollars into “mining” it.
Woody Tasch
Founder, Slow Money Institute
August 21 • 10 min read
UpdatesDaphne Miller, MD, (Brown University; Harvard Medical School), is a practicing family physician, author, and associate clinical professor at the University of California San Francisco. For the past 15 years, her leadership, advocacy, and writing have focused on aligning all aspects of food production and agriculture with human health. Daphne is the author of two<a href="https://slowmoney.org/blog/a-conversation-with-dr-daphne-miller/">Continue reading <span class="sr-only">"A Conversation With Dr. Daphne Miller"</span></a>
Woody Tasch
Founder, Slow Money Institute
July 11 • 4 min read
UpdatesZephyros Farm and Garden has always sought diversity and quality in its organic production. When Daphne and I started this farm 13 years ago, like many young couples starting out, we wanted it all; every vegetable under the sun, flowers, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, children, worms, compost, and a life for ourselves. After many years<a href="https://slowmoney.org/blog/how-a-zero-percent-loan-is-helping-this-colorado-farm/">Continue reading <span class="sr-only">"How a Zero-Percent Loan is Helping This Colorado Farm"</span></a>
Don Lareau
Co-Owner and Operator, Zephyros Farm
