3c hapter - Index of

Slow Money 151
Slow Money, however, is simply a catalyst. The movement
is being shaped by people on the ground and in the fi eld. It has
already spawned at least 16 local chapters, from southeast Georgia
to northern California, that are incubating ideas and creating
solutions that work for their communities. The goal is that a set of
models or templates will arise and be used by other communities.
In Boston, Slow Money members have organized events to
showcase sustainable food and agriculture entrepreneurs who
are looking for funding. In North Carolina, the Abundance Slow
Money Project is promoting what it calls place- based lending by
matching local investors and local borrowers. So far, it has made
three collateral- backed, low- cost loans to a baker, a Greek restaurant
that sources ingredients from local farmers, and a vegan bakery
and catering company specializing in southern soul food. The
Type- A Wisconsin chapter has held a series of in- depth planning
sessions with entrepreneurs and legal experts to determine the
gaps in fi nancial and technical resources available to local agricultural
entrepreneurs, and to identify potential funding solutions as
well as legal and fi nancial roadblocks. In western Massachusetts,
Slow Money members raised a $1 million fund that blends venture
capital investing with philanthropy. And the- little-chapter- thatcould
in Austin has spread to the entire state of Texas.
The Slow Money vision is lofty, but down on the ground it is
arduous work—as the New York chapter was fi nding out. But by
early 2011, the group had swelled to almost 150 members, and
was planning its fi rst offi cial event: an entrepreneur showcase that
would give local food businesses a chance to pitch local investors.
A New Generation of Food Entrepreneurs
Slow Money is tapping into a powerful undercurrent of dissatisfaction
with the fi nancial establishment as well as a growing desire
for local and sustainably grown food.
Farmers markets have increased threefold in the past decade.
CSAs— community- supported agriculture, in which customers
prepay for a share in the season’s harvest—have grown from 60
in 1990 to more than 2,000. The number of small farms is on the