Slow Money is an Idea — that sparked a Movement — that created a Network — that is now launching an Organization. Here’s how:
The Idea
Slow Money was introduced by Woody Tasch in his 2008 book, Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money, Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered. Part poetry, part manifesto, the book reflects on modern industrial finance and illuminates a mess.
It has become a unifying call for people fed up with watching corporations claim record profits while exhausting natural resources, particularly in agriculture. Tasch’s central theme is that “the basis of the economy is soil fertility.” Without healthy soil, we can’t grow food, and there’s no need for an economy at all (for starters).
He went on to write, “We don’t have to keep sending our money into distant, invisible portfolios, while wondering why Main Street is dying, our food is irradiated, and geneticists in China are breeding square apples [to optimize packing and shipping]. We can find ways to build the soil of the local food systems.” (p. 51)
The ideas voiced in Slow Money soon became the Slow Money Principles. If they sound right to you, please sign them!
The Movement
Slow Money is expansive because the ideas contain solution: “…financial markets are man-made. And we can remake them.” (p. 132) Today a growing number of food and financial activists are working to create channels that support local food and farms. As of October 2011, Slow Money has held three National Gatherings and local chapters are underway around the country and the world, including the New York City area.
The New York Network
Slow Money NYC is a network of food and finance activists, investors, and entrepreneurs. We began as a Meet Up group in the summer of 2010, gaining more structure with a Steering Committee in early 2011. Both our Meet Up and Twitter feed continually add members, with approximately 450 people connected on Meet Up and 150 via Twitter. To date, our premier event has been the Entrepreneur Showcase and Resource Exchange on May 14th, 2011, at The Commons in Brooklyn. Please scroll our Press page for more coverage of that inspiring day.
The SMNYC Organization
The SMNYC Steering Committee is currently made up of four volunteers. We are motivated by the belief that the foundation for a just, healthy, and sustainable economy is a strong local food system. In addition to the Showcase in May, we’ve been working diligently to open all levels of investment into local food and farming businesses.
We believe that everyone is an investor in food. To this end, we’ve created a Slow Money NYC account with the Brooklyn Cooperative Credit Union. Also, we’re developing a Slow Money NYC investment account with another financial entity, as well as a Local Investment Opportunity Network (LION) for accredited investors. You can read more about these programs here, as well as email any of the Steering Committee members to learn more.
Are you ready to build a new, restorative economy with us? Help build Slow Money NYC today!
STILL wanting more? OK, here are Slow Money video clips to keep us all learning:
Hello,
I was just wondering if there is any kind of “exchange” for these types of enterprises or a way that a “small” money investor might be able to somehow participate in funding them, or tracking them as potential inclusion their investment portfolios, based on B-Corp or social entrepreneurship principles?
Thanks,
Jill
Jill,
Good question. Slow Money NYC has attempted to create an open dialogue about your exact question. Our first attempt to spark discussion was our Entrepreneur Showcase & Resource Exchange held on May 14, 2011. Building on interest created from that event, we have engaged people in dialogue about what channels would be most welcome to bring about more exchange. To that end, we surveyed both entrepreneurs and a group of 25 people who identified themselves as “investors.” From this work, we began planning a bank account with a credit union where loans to local businesses would begin to be made with input from Slow Money NYC emphasizing sustainable food. In addition, we have opened discussions with existing Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) about hosting a Slow Money NYC Fund that would finance sustainable food businesses in the NYC foodshed. Lastly, we have gathered a Local Investor Opporunity Network (NYC LION) to bring angel investors together to discuss how to review and discuss deals for individual investment. We welcome your support of these different ideas as an investor or volunteer and would love to hear about any other ideas that you have for furthering these exchanges. Thanks for your interest in Slow Money NYC.
Hello,
I am currently interning with the NYC Dept. of Health, working on an initiative to bring healthier food to bodegas around schools in underserved parts of the city. As a means to increase middle and high school student interest in healthy eating, I wondered if there are any educational or volunteer opportunities for students.
Many thanks,
Annie Halsey
Hi Annie,
We don’t have a formal internship program for HS students right now. We are seeking college level and above interns who have workplace experience. As an all-volunteer organization, we don’t have the staff to oversee HS workplace development at this time. However, we often have events and when you see one coming up, you or others can ask if we need help. We often need extra hands for set up and break down at such gatherings. Please stay in touch. Thanks for your interest in Slow Money.