Slow Money NYC

What Slow Money NYC does

Slow Money NYC is a New York-based non-profit chapter of Slow Money, a national organization catalyzing investment in sustainable food and farms. Founded in 2012 and operating through the work of a volunteer board of directors, the organization builds community among impact investors and sustainable food/farm entrepreneurs across the New York metropolitan-area "foodshed," which it extends geographically to include the Hudson Valley. Its core deliverables are recurring programs rather than technology products: the Good Food Spotlight, a bi-monthly pitchfest where food entrepreneurs present business challenges to expert panels and live investor audiences; FOOD FUNDED East, an annual entrepreneur-investor fair (with a 2025 edition scheduled) designed to catalyze capital for just and equitable food systems; Jeffersonian Dinners, intimate community-building events for local-food investors; and the SMNYC Finance Series and Capital Raising Roadmap, educational resources covering crowdfunding, revenue-based financing, grants, and alternative ownership structures.

The organization's go-to-market is community-led rather than sales-led. It relies on co-hosted events with a bench of strategic partners that include Hot Bread Kitchen (Manhattan), Bronx CookSpace, Brooklyn Foodworks, GrowNYC, Project Farmhouse, Kiva, and the National Young Farmers Coalition, with production supported in-kind by board members including Co-Chairs Claude Arpels and Sarah Zilinski. Distribution is regional and in-person; awareness is generated through a mailing list and Squarespace-hosted web presence, with tickets sold through Eventbrite at price points such as approximately $100 per person for Jeffersonian Dinners.

Revenue mechanics are characteristic of a small volunteer-driven non-profit. The two identified revenue streams are event-based programming (ticketed events that also serve a deal-origination function) and community building through the mailing list, which connects local investors with sustainable food enterprises. No external funding rounds, grants, corporate sponsorship disclosures, paid headcount, or audited financials are present in the source data, and the parent entity is the national Slow Money non-profit. Logo customers (Brooklyn Grange Farm, Blue Marble Ice Cream, Local Farms Fund, See and Be Kitchen, West Robins, Afterlife, Edenesque) are SMBs in agriculture and food-and-beverage that have been supported through the network rather than commercial customers in a contracting sense.

Name

Slow Money NYC

Legal name

Slow Money NYC

Website

https://slowmoneynyc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Slow Money NYC is a non-profit chapter of Slow Money that connects sustainable food and farm entrepreneurs in the New York area foodshed with impact investors through pitchfests, investor fairs, and educational programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investing Events

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

Keywords

• Sustainable food investment
• Impact investing events
• Food entrepreneurship networking
• Community capital building
• Sustainable agriculture funding

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Event-based programming: Slow Money NYC generates revenue through event programming including Good Food Spotlight pitchfests, FOOD FUNDED East investor fairs, and Jeffersonian dinners. Events have ticket prices (e.g., Jeffersonian dinners at $100 per person).
2. Mailing list and community building: The organization builds a community of local food investors through its mailing list, connecting capital providers with sustainable food enterprises in the New York area.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Slow Money NYC is a non-profit community network that organizes events and programming to connect sustainable food and farm entrepreneurs in the New York area foodshed with impact investors. Its core offerings include the Good Food Spotlight pitchfest events, FOOD FUNDED East entrepreneur and investor fairs, Jeffersonian dinners, and educational resources such as the Capital Raising Roadmap guide for early-stage food entrepreneurs.

Product overview

Slow Money NYC operates as a community-building and event organization rather than a software product company. The organization offers a portfolio of programs including the Good Food Spotlight (a pitchfest event), FOOD FUNDED East (investor-entrepreneur fair), Capital Raising Roadmap resources, Jeffersonian Dinners, and SMNYC Finance Series educational sessions. These programs collectively serve to catalyze investment in sustainable food and farms by connecting food entrepreneurs with impact investors in the New York area foodshed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Good Food Spotlight: A regular 'pitchfest' for food business owners, investors, and advisors with actionable information for everyone
• FOOD FUNDED East

Products and services

• Good Food Spotlight A regular pitchfest event where food companies at various stages of growth and investment present business challenges to panels of food business and investment experts, who return instant feedback while the audience interacts live. Designed for food business owners, investors, and advisors in the New York area foodshed.
• FOOD FUNDED East An annual entrepreneur and investor fair that convenes impact-focused food entrepreneurs and investors for educational sessions and live investment presentations to catalyze capital for a just and equitable food system. Targeted at impact investors and food entrepreneurs in the New York region.
• Jeffersonian Dinners

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hot Bread KitchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvent partner that hosts Good Food Spotlight events. Hot Bread Kitchen is a Harlem-based food business incubator that has co-hosted multiple events with Slow Money NYC.
• Bronx CookSpacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvent partner hosting Good Food Spotlight events in the Bronx. Bronx CookSpace is a commercial kitchen incubator serving food entrepreneurs.
• Brooklyn FoodworkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvent partner that has hosted Good Food Spotlight events. Brooklyn Foodworks is a food business incubator in Brooklyn.
• GrowNYCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented Good Food Spotlight events. GrowNYC is a non-profit focused on food access and environmental sustainability.
• Project FarmhouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented Good Food Spotlight events.
• KivaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent partner listed on the partners page. Kiva is a microloan platform that supports small businesses.
• National Young Farmers CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted Hudson Valley Jeffersonian Dinner event. Organization supporting young farmers in the Hudson Valley region.
• Slow Money (National)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSlow Money NYC is a local network of the national Slow Money non-profit organization that catalyzes investment in sustainable food and farms.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Food-X / SOSV Accelerator: Food-tech accelerator (SOSV program) where SMNYC board member Hans Black serves as mentor — comparable by virtue of connecting food founders with capital and expertise, though structured as an equity accelerator rather than a community/chapter model.
• Big Path Capital: Impact-investing intermediary operating online deal syndication platforms for sustainable and impact deals — comparable capital-connection function for sustainable food and farms, but executed via digital platform rather than in-person events.
• Iroquois Valley Farms: Impact-focused farmland REIT connecting investors with organic and regenerative farmers — adjacent model of channeling impact capital directly into sustainable agriculture, but with an own-portfolio approach rather than a network/matchmaking model.

Broad incumbents

• RSF Social Finance: Nonprofit social finance organization deploying loans, gifts, and investments into food, land, and education — comparable impact-investing intermediary model applied to a broader portfolio, with a more developed capital deployment infrastructure.
• Slow Money (National): National parent nonprofit catalyzing investment in sustainable food and farms of which SMNYC is a local chapter — comparable mission at broader geographic scope, and the umbrella under which SMNYC operates.

Direct peers

• Kitchen Table Advisors: Nonprofit providing business advisory and capital access support to sustainable small farms and ranches in California — comparable nonprofit intermediary model serving sustainable food entrepreneurs seeking capital and operational guidance.
• Investors' Circle / I-360: Largest US impact-investing network running curated pitch events and syndicated deals across sectors including sustainable food — most direct comparable because Foodshed Investors NY (co-founded by SMNYC's Co-Chair Claude Arpels) merged into it.
• Foodshed Investors NY: NY-based angel network focused on sustainable food and farm funding that recently merged into Investors' Circle — direct functional predecessor and closest peer in terms of mission, geography, and curated pitchfest model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SlowMoneyNYC
• Facebookfacebook.com/Slowmoneynyc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/slow-money-nyc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Slow Money NYC