Regenerative Agriculture:
As part of our going effort to develop our Regenerative Agriculture and Justice 2023 Farm Bill
priorities into more concrete policy asks, this month the working group heard from David Howard at National Young Farmers Coalition on their One Million Acres for the Future land access campaign. Olena Deineko, Coordinator of the
Organic Initiative in Ukraine also joined us to discuss their ongoing efforts to address the urgent needs of the Ukrainian organic sector. You can find opportunities for businesses and individuals to donate to help Ukrainian organic farmers
here.
If you are not able to join this working group but would like to help advance our goals, please sign on to our 2023 Farm Bill priorities letter
here and help share the letter with this social media packet
here!
Corporate Transparency and ESG Disclosure:
Corey Klemmer, Policy Counsel for Division of Corporation Finance at the Office of the Chair of US Securities and Exchange Commission, will be our guest speaker at our next meeting on September 14th @ 3PM ET. If you would like additional information on this working group please contact Ali-Reza Vahabzadeh (arv@asbnetwork.org).
Circular Economy:
The Circular Economy Working Group met this month with Scott Breen from the Can Manufacturers Association (CMA) to discuss signing onto its 7 principles for a modern well-designed deposit system that they have assembled after months of stakeholder interviews across the aluminum, glass, and plastic value chains. The working group also continued its work to draft a comment in response to the GSA's RFP on single-use plastic. This week is the last week that the task force will be meeting (Thurs 9/1 at 1pm ET). Contact stephanie@asbnetwork.org to join or contribute even if you can't make the task force meeting.
Businesses for Conservation and Climate Action (BCCA):
ASBN and BCCA will be holding a meeting September 9, 11am-11:50am ET with Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, along with other administration leadership and Indigenous business leaders on the opportunity to advance land and ocean conservation and a sustainable economy. Register for this event here.
Business for Democracy:
ASBN proudly partnered with Power the Polls to promote Poll Worker Recruitment Day. Thank you to all our members who signed up to be a poll worker. ASBN also has an interactive map that allows visitors to click on their state to get all the voting information you could need. It has registration due dates, how to find your polling location, how to become a poll worker, and even the deadlines for absentee ballots. This map will save you time and also give you more confidence when it comes to voting. We hope that you will check out the map, get the information you need, and pass it along to someone else that may been that information.
Livable Planet:
The Livable Planet Working Group, a supportive community dedicated to identifying systems and solutions that enable all of life to thrive, will meet on September 8th at 1ET with a "Back from the Summer" focus. We'll share progress from over the summer, including decision tools we explored with Collective Transitions, and see how we can support each other's work. We will also talk about opportunities for our group to engage in the conference this year. To join, please register
here.
Investors Circle – Inviting all accredited investors!
We hope you will join us for our first meeting after summer break.
This will be a virtual/in-person hybrid format. If you happen to be in NYC, we'd love to see you.
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In Person | 11:30 - 3:00 pm ET - If you plan to join in person, email Jillian or Babbie.
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Virtual | 12:00 - 2:00 pm ET - If you plan to join virtually, register here.
A special thank you to our hosts - First Republic Bank.
Investors Circle Education
Ann & Bill Payne - ACA Angel University
Invest for Better offers an opportunity to be part of an extraordinary cohort of women who receive training and support, develop new skills, expand their networks, and gain the satisfaction of being a movement builder. You can lead or join a 6-month Circle bringing together women who want to align their money with their values for shared learning and action. Training starts in August, Circles launch in October. More info available at https://investforbetter.org/circles.
In Partnership with FOOD FUNDED
Investors Circle is pleased to announce that we will be co-hosting the upcoming FOOD FUNDED event.
At this virtual gathering, food entrepreneurs and investors will convene for educational sessions and live investor presentations to catalyze investments in our food and agriculture system. This exciting partnership with FOOD FUNDED leverages our combined interests in JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) the food, agriculture, and impact investing space. Stay tuned for additional details and discounted tickets.
Transforming Business Ownership Project
Our volunteer team has been hard at work planning an upcoming webinar for October (National Employee Ownership Month) and initiating discussion for spirited activities at the ASBN national conference in December.
Save the date - October 21 - 1:00-2:00pm ET
For a lively discussion on traditional business to worker owner conversions highlighting existing owners’ perspectives:
“Converting Your Business to Employee Ownership:
A Winning Strategy for All, Including the Current Owner”
It will feature speakers representing three different owner categories engaged in the conversion process:
Some exciting recent developments in the worker owner conversion space:
Author Karen Kahn is member of our project group // AHF has participated in ASBN webinars
Contact Babbie Jacobs or Eric Leenson with any questions or suggestions you may have. This work is a community effort.
Restorative Investing Task Force
September 15th | 12:00 - 11:15 am ET - BIPOC Led Funds
Moderator: Taj James | Full Spectrum Capital Partners
Speakers: Laina Greene | Angels of Impact
Trisha Chakrabarti | Equitable Food Oriented Development (EFOD)
Stephen Nairne | Raven Indigenous Capital Partners
Julianne Zimmerman | Reinventure Capital Fund
Registration Link
Save the Date: October 7 | 1:00 - 2:00pm ET | Beyond Impact Investing and ESG
Moderator: Laina Greene | Angels of Impact
In conversation with Lynne Hoey | Kataly Foundation
Alternative Impact Investment Structures
There is a growing need for impact investors and entrepreneurs to rethink how investments are made. How can impact investors and social entrepreneurs use investment structures to be more mission-aligned rather than push for a quick exit?
Tools of the venture capital trade are becoming increasingly popular, both among entrepreneurs and angel investors; but are SAFES and priced equity rounds the best options for impact investors and social enterprises? This working group explores alternatives to the VC toolkit – from revenue notes, to crowdfunding campaigns, to alternative corporate structures. We will develop case studies and best practices with a view toward educating the impact community and encouraging the broader use of alternative investment structures.
For more information, contact ASBN members: Claude Arpels or Babbie Jacobs.
Main Street Lending/CDFIs - see our
webpage for a listing of CDFIs that are able to accept investments from individuals.
Save the Date:
CDFI Investing for Individuals - October 14th | 1:00-2:00 pm ET
Dismantling Racism & Inequality | Faith Based Community Investing
Dismantling Racism & Inequality | Faith Based Community Investing, an interfaith virtual convening series, will be held on October 6, 2022, between 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It builds on the presentation given by the Unitarian Universalist Community last August in which over 150 registered. The event was the first step to educating and activating faith-based organizations, foundations, and individuals about Community Investing, CDFIs, Community Land Trusts, and other Main Street Lending options to fight racism and oppression.
The first convening of the series, "Introduction to Faith-Based Community Investing," will feature dynamic speakers, clergy and congregations to introduce the Faith-Based Community Investing movement, including case studies from different faith communities. In addition, we will provide an overview of the opportunities and how best to take advantage of them based on the unique perspectives and values of the attendees.
We are organizing this series under the theme of Beloved Community. Beloved Community happens when people of diverse racial, ethnic, educational, class, gender, abilities, sexual orientation backgrounds/identities come together in an interdependent relationship of love, mutual respect, and care that seeks to realize justice within the community and in the broader world. We believe developing relationships with and investing in local economies that serve under resourced communities is an action that can help to dismantle racism accountably and other oppressions in ourselves, institutions and the economy.
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for the creation of a "Beloved Community" in his last book,
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? written shortly before his assassination in 1968. He wrote, "The goal toward which we must strive is the creation of the beloved community." This will require a qualitative change in our souls and a quantitative change in our lives. The first stage of the process will be marked by a profound and honest concern for others and opening ourselves to receive them. This requires us to develop a new kind of empathy based on shared commitment which enables us to see the world from the standpoint of the other.
Join us for these critical conversations and interfaith collaboration! It is time to align our money with our faith, values and principles to achieve Beloved Community.
Faith Based Community Investing Part 2 - November 10th | 7:30-9:00pm ET
Please reach out to us if you would like to participate in shaping this work Tom Abood, Babbie Jacobs, Pam Porter or Derek Peebles
