I learned through Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass, about the Three Sisters: beans, squash, corn, and the magic they create together. Kimmerer explains how each of these serves the other, that the byproducts of one plant nourish the others to create a mutually beneficial environment that makes each plant stronger. A similar type of […]
Bringing the Wisdom of the Three Sisters into Financial Services Read More »
I recently returned from a delegation to Emilia-Romagna in Italy and the Basque Country in Spain, organized by the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI). CCI’s initiative, called Reimagining Scale, brought together a group of U.S.-based solidarity economy practitioners ranging from academics to organizers to investors. Emilia-Romagna is a region in Italy with a decades-old robust
What Can We Learn from Cooperative Economies in Italy & Spain? Read More »
The last weekend in September, I drove from Washington, D.C. to upstate New York for the Black Farm Fund’s (BFF) annual Abundance in Autumn Festival, a special event for BFF’s community of farmers, funders, and investors. The event, held at the queer- and BIPOC-owned Rise & Root Farm, was a day of planting, listening, eating,
Let me tell you about the similarities between salsa dancing and regenerative investing. The first time I danced salsa I felt relieved and surprised. I thought to myself, “So this is what my body has been trying to do during the previous two years of trying to force it into lindy hop…” I grew up
Regenerative Investing: A ‘Fusion Dance’ Melding the Old and New Read More »
The Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world and has often been called the “lungs of the Earth,” because of the billions of trees that absorb carbon dioxide, produce 20 percent of Earth’s oxygen, and slow climate change. Research conducted by the Brazilian Research Scientist Dr. Antônio Donato Nobre, and sponsored by several
Preserving Earth’s Lungs: Learning from the Guardians Protecting the Amazon Rainforest Read More »
One Acre Fund (1AF) is an innovative, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa improve their yield, increase their income, and build sustainable food supply and livelihoods. In 2024, Natural Investments finalized its due diligence of 1AF and added its Notes Fund as our newest investment open to clients looking to make
One Acre Fund: Putting Farmers First for Lasting Impact Read More »
Natural Investments refers to private market investments as “regenerative” because this economic capital attempts to mimic natural ecosystems. It provides integrative cycles of financial support and opportunity while minimizing toxic social and environmental repercussions. Regenerative investing is a stewardship approach to assure future generations share in the bounty of clean air and water, healthy food,
Long-time followers of the organic food industry have seen many of their favorite companies bought out by corporations that do not share their values. General Mills bought Annie’s a decade ago. Dairy brand Horizon Organic is now owned by the global investment firm Platinum Equity. Kellanova (formerly Kellogg’s), Colgate-Palmolive, Clorox, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo are also
Despite the market downturn in 2022, interest in sustainable investments continued to increase across the United Sates. At Natural Investments, the inflow of new clients starting their sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing journey helped grow the firm to $1.18 billion assets under management. [1] The stewardship approach with client assets also reimagines the purpose of
Download a full copy of our 2021 Social Impact Report Reasons for Hope by Michael Kramer 2021 Sustainable & Responsible Impact 2021 Regenerative Investments 2021 Shareholder Advocacy Review – The Winds at Our Back by Michael Kramer SPOTLIGHTS Recompose Life – A Truly Regenerative Investment by Malaika Maphalala Clean Energy Credit Union – An Interview