We believe in equitable access to economic opportunity for the next generation of farmers. Equitability means access to resources–fair financing and secure land tenure. Throughout our history we’ve been trailblazers connecting farmers to land, loans, and business assistance. We continue to blaze trails with new tools to support farmers, including a business self-assessment and conservation incentive loans.
As a Community Development Financial Institution, FarmLink has delivered $14 million in loans to small, sustainable and organic farms and ranches since 2011. We’re excited to announce the FarmLink Investment Note, a new interest-bearing loan, and social impact investment, enabling individual non-accredited investors to support FarmLink’s loan fund.
We’re proud to offer this social impact investment, with a minimum investment of $1,000, to all Californians. and we’re grateful to our partners at the Sustainable Economies Law Center who had the vision and legal expertise to help us create the Investment Notes.
Our lending supports wealth-building, equity and conservation goals, especially among farmers who are immigrants, women, and people of color. To date, seventy percent of FarmLink’s loans have gone to Latino farmers, the fastest-growing demographic in California agriculture–they need to be part of shaping the future of California agriculture.
Join us in working to expand farmers’ access to capital, from microloans to land loans, flexibly structured to meet farmers’ seasonal needs. When you invest, you’ll join a community of like-minded people. We’ll keep you up-to-date with stories of the businesses that we’re helping to grow. You’ll join people who together have invested more than $40,000 since our launch in January. Our goal is to reach a half-million-dollars in individual investments by mid-2020. Read about the progress we’re making in our five-year review and annual report.
Despite the challenges facing farmers and ranchers, California agriculture is an attractive and important economic opportunity. FarmLink supports equitable access to that opportunity, in part by providing access to capital. Gerardo Acevedo is a former farmworker and now an organic farmer from Monterey County. Last year he secured land and financing with help from FarmLink: “I have dedicated myself to working hard, and thus I have been able to reach a peak. I feel proud.”
Over the coming months people will gather in homes, fields, and barns to learn more about FarmLink Investment Notes and other ways to invest in local farms and foods. For example, Slow Money Monterey Bay will host its first FarmFest at Lonely Mountain Farm near Watsonville on April 28th, and we hope to see you there! Let us know if you’d like to chat about investing for social impact.
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