what we look for
in a partner….
Our focus is on education, workforce development, food equity, environmental stewardship and building circular food economies.
Every project we consider must demonstrate that one or more these impact areas is at the heart of the work they want to partner with us on. Unlike other investment platforms, our initial vehicle to get you capital is a philanthropy! We value human connection and personal relationships, neighbors, the producer or entrepreneur and how you are engaged in your community and local economy. We believe that if we can help you help yourself and others, communities become stronger.
Before you reach out to us we ask that you and your team answer the following questions. Please be prepared to answers these questions honestly and with humility. As part of our evaluation and decision making process we are going to ask you these same questions in an initial face to face meeting. If you are applying for a grant, we will follow-up and invite you to submit an application. If you are interested in a revenue/royalty share agreement relationship we will provide you a list of financial documents and other materials needed for an evaulation process to determine is we are a good match to help you meet your needs.
1. Do you have an internal process for testing new idea/product?
2. Do you dedicate a portion or your annual budget to research & development?
3. Does your organization have a strong connection to your beneficiaries and regularly ask them for feedback on products and services?
4. Do you let your targeted users use products and provide input as you test them?
5. Does your organization provide ways for staff or key leadership to stay “proximate” to your customers?
6. Has your organization developed a list of all stakeholders who can influence your work or products directly and indirectly?
7. Does your organization provide space i.e. staff meetings, reports, stakeholder meetings to have open conversations about failure?
8. Does your organization have a process to incorporate into planning, programs or product development lessons learned from failure?
9. Does your organization regularly assess programmatic or product priorities to ensure what you are working on what has the most impact?
10. Does your organization have a process for discontinuing a product or program when it is not having the expected impact?
consulting FEE STRUCTURE
Aside from fundraising and investment support we offer straight up consulting services. We charge a simple monthly retainer for most consulting and advisory services. The amount of the retainer varies by client, dependent on the complexity and effort of the expected work and the client's stage of business.
The stages of organizational development:
Concept – you have an idea and want feedback on next steps
Start-up – you are new to the market or just about to hit it, you are seeking something new, more local
Capacity - you need to make a key hire, do some strategic planning or do some design thinking to move forward
Growing – you want to diversify your offerings or looking to expand the regional products you sell or use
Once we have met and understand your goals and challenges we'll discuss a mutually agreeable monthly retainer fee and get started.
