Slow Money Northern California

What Slow Money Northern California does

Slow Money Northern California is a Berkeley, California-based nonprofit community organization founded in 2010 that catalyzes capital flow to sustainable local food and agriculture enterprises by convening entrepreneurs with values-based investors. The organization does not deploy capital itself but functions as a matchmaker and educator, running monthly investor meetings, an annual flagship Food Funded event in Berkeley (the next iteration scheduled for June 16, 2026), and the SOIL Network (Slow Opportunities for Investing Local), a peer investor group that evaluates and co-invests in showcased ventures. Its program portfolio includes the Entrepreneur Showcase spotlight format, the Slowcase documentary series, and educational resources covering seven investment mechanisms (Purchase, Subscribe, Pre-pay, Donation, Loan, Royalty-based financing, Equity), crowdfunding platform comparisons, and Self-Directed IRA guidance for local food investments. The organization operates without proprietary technology, relying instead on relationship-based, in-person convening supported by a standard WordPress website, email newsletter, and social media presence on Facebook and Twitter. It is led by a volunteer Northern California Leadership Team and is the regional affiliate of the national Slow Money Institute founded by Woody Tasch.

The organization's revenue model is consistent with nonprofit status: it operates on donations, grants, and member contributions, supplemented by registration fees and sponsorships associated with the annual Food Funded event. No fees are charged to entrepreneurs for presenting or to investors for attending meetings. The customer base is two-sided: food system entrepreneurs (a portfolio that includes Community Foods Market, Capay Valley Farm Shop, Preserve Farm Kitchens, Planting Justice, The Perennial, and Coco Noir Wine Shop) seeking patient, mission-aligned capital, and individual investors seeking alternatives to traditional Wall Street exposure. Geographic focus is explicitly Northern California, and the organization has not expanded beyond this regional scope. Notable portfolio outcomes include Community Foods Market raising $1.2M from over 500 community investors through a Direct Public Offering and Planting Justice's 2% recidivism rate for formerly incarcerated workers versus a 45% California average, both used as evidence of community-investing impact rather than the convener's own financial performance.

Name

Slow Money Northern California

Legal name

Slow Money Northern California

Website

https://slowmoneynorcal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Slow Money Northern California is a Berkeley-based nonprofit founded in 2010 that convenes sustainable food entrepreneurs with values-based investors in Northern California through monthly meetings, the annual Food Funded event, and the SOIL Network investor group, while publishing educational resources on local food investing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Investment Networks

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Local food investing
• Community investment networks
• Sustainable agriculture finance
• Impact investing events
• Entrepreneur investor matching

Headquarters

HQ city

York Harbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: As a nonprofit organization, Slow Money Northern California operates primarily through donations, grants, and member contributions from investors and supporters aligned with their mission of sustainable food system investment.
2. Event Revenue: The organization hosts annual Food Funded events and may generate some revenue through event registration and sponsorships for their flagship convenings.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Slow Money Northern California is a nonprofit convener that connects sustainable food and agriculture entrepreneurs in Northern California with values-based, mission-aligned investors. It facilitates these connections through monthly meetings, entrepreneur showcases, the annual Food Funded event, the SOIL Network investor peer group, and educational resources on investment mechanisms such as CSA, crowdfunding, Direct Public Offerings, loans, and equity. The organization does not make investments itself but catalyzes deal flow and community trust between its two audiences.

Product overview

Slow Money Northern California is a community organization (not a technology product) that facilitates connections between food system entrepreneurs and values-aligned investors. The organization operates a portfolio of programs including Food Funded (annual investor-entrepreneur convening), Entrepreneur Showcase spotlights, the Slowcase documentary series, educational resources on investment mechanisms (Seven Paths framework, crowdfunding guides, Self-Directed IRA guidance), and the SOIL Network investor group. These programs work together to channel capital to sustainable local food and agriculture businesses in Northern California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Food Investor Showcase: Annual food investor fair and showcase event featuring curated food and agriculture enterprises
• Food Funded
• SOIL Network (Slow Opportunities for Investing Local)

Products and services

• Food Funded Annual Convening Annual food entrepreneur and investor convening featuring educational sessions and live investor presentations to catalyze capital flow in the food and agriculture system. Includes Entrepreneur Lab (hands-on sessions with experienced practitioners), Food Investor Showcase (curated enterprise presentations), and Connections marketplace for collaboration. Targeted at sustainable food entrepreneurs seeking capital and values-based investors seeking deals.
• Entrepreneur Showcase Program where food entrepreneurs present their businesses to the Slow Money investor community during spotlight portions of monthly meetings, facilitating connections with aligned investors. Targeted at sustainable food entrepreneurs seeking patient capital.
• Slowcase Documentary Series Documentary-style case studies showcasing stories of community investments in the local food system, demonstrating how slow money investments create impact. Targeted at both entrepreneurs and investors exploring the Slow Money approach.
• Seven Paths to Slow Money Investment Framework Framework explaining seven investment mechanisms for sustainable food businesses: Purchase, Subscribe (CSA), Pre-pay, Donation, Loan, Royalty-based financing, and Equity investment. Targeted at values-based investors new to local food investing.
• Crowdfunding Options Guide Comparative guide covering crowdfunding platforms for food businesses including CircleUp, Crowdfund, AgFunder, Kiva, Credibles, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Barnraiser, with details on securities types, typical amounts, and fees. Targeted at food entrepreneurs exploring alternative capital sources.
• Self-Directed IRA Investment Guidance Information and guidance on using Self-Directed IRA custodians for slow money investments in local food businesses, covering custodian selection and paperwork requirements. Targeted at values-based investors using retirement accounts for impact investing.
• SOIL Network Investor Peer Group Slow Opportunities for Investing Local (SOIL) - a peer investor group that meets at entrepreneur showcases, evaluates ventures, and explores investments as a collaborative team effort. Targeted at values-based investors seeking co-investment opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ individual investors participated in a single DPO (Community Foods Market)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBALDC served as a community partner in the development of Community Foods Market in West Oakland, providing support for the project after years of searching for the right location and community partner.
• Sogorea Tè Land TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndigenous and women-led land trust that will receive ownership of land housing Rolling River Nursery from Planting Justice. Planting Justice will then lease the land back to continue their work, creating a model for land access and restitution.
• Zero FoodprintminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization founded by Anthony Myint and Chris Ying that works with restaurants to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions through carbon assessments, sourcing changes, and offset payments. Supported the first-ever Global Climate Action Summit carbon-neutral dining week.
• Slow Money InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational parent organization of the Slow Money movement founded by Woody Tasch. Slow Money Northern California is the Northern California affiliate, aligned with the national organization's principles and resources.
• Insight Garden ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGarden program inside San Quentin Prison where Planting Justice founders Gavin Radars and Haleh Zandi first worked as volunteer instructors, discovering the connection between land and transformation that inspired Planting Justice's creation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RSF Social Finance: Nonprofit financial intermediary that channels donor and investor capital into food systems, regenerative agriculture, and social enterprises. Comparable in mission, structure, and values-aligned capital deployment — though RSF also operates direct loan and gift funds.
• Barnraiser: Crowdfunding platform dedicated specifically to sustainable food, farming, and wellness enterprises. Closely comparable target market (food entrepreneurs seeking mission-aligned capital) but operates online nationally rather than as a regional convener.
• Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF): Nonprofit CDFI focused on cooperative businesses, local food enterprises, and community wealth building. Closely comparable as a nonprofit channeling mission-aligned capital to local food and worker-owned businesses.
• Kitchen Table Advisors: Northern California nonprofit providing business advisory to small sustainable farms and food businesses. Comparable as a regional nonprofit ecosystem player supporting the same local food entrepreneurs that Slow Money NorCal connects to capital.

Emerging players

• Credibles: Crowdfunding platform for local food businesses founded by Arno Hesse, who also co-leads Slow Money Northern California. Highly relevant adjacent platform sharing both DNA and leadership; overlaps in audience and deal type.
• AgFunder: Venture capital and news platform focused on agrifoodtech. Comparable overlap on food-system investment, but targets later-stage, venture-scale companies rather than community/micro-capital for local food businesses.

Broad incumbents

• Kiva: Global crowdfunding platform enabling crowdfunded 0% loans, including a significant food and agriculture vertical. Comparable as a tech-enabled vehicle for micro-investors to fund small food businesses, though at vastly larger scale.
• Slow Money Institute: National parent organization of the Slow Money movement founded by Woody Tasch. Operates the broader brand, principles, and national network of which Slow Money Northern California is a regional affiliate — directly comparable mission and methodology at a broader geographic scale.
• ImpactAssets: Donor-advised fund and impact investing platform supporting values-aligned capital deployment. Comparable in enabling HNW individuals to deploy capital into social enterprises, including food and agriculture.

Regional players

• California FarmLink: California-based nonprofit providing loans, land access, and business education to small and mid-sized farms. Comparable mission of building resilient local food economies in California, with overlapping target entrepreneurs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/slowmoneynorcal
• Facebookfacebook.com/SlowMoneyNoCal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Northern California