Integrated Capital Community of Practice
2027 Application 

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Integrated Capital Community of Practice Information

Applications will be accepted through midnight PT on October 2, 2026 and reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage early submissions. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Thank you for your interest in the Integrated Capital Community of Practice (CoP). This is an in-depth seven-month learning journey for diverse capital mobilizers seeking to unlock the full potential of their resources for just and sustainable food and agriculture systems. Integrated capital means aligning all forms of capital—grants, investments, endowments, and beyond—with mission, vision, and values. Through this CoP, participants will explore tools, models, and real-world examples of how to remove barriers between grantmaking and investing, deploy capital in ways that shift power, and move resources to communities most impacted by unjust and unsustainable systems. Food systems offer a particularly strong entry point to integrated capital for many reasons. This Community of Practice will highlight the beautiful complexity of food and agriculture in the context of blended impact capital approaches. 
Learning Objectives
  • Learn about tools and frameworks to deploy capital in an impact-aligned, full spectrum approach
  • Understand your unique position and opportunities for influence within a larger capital ecosystem in food and agriculture
  • Understand and navigate internal barriers in organizational structures and governance that separate program from investment goals
  • Deepen community relationships and collaboration with a peer cohort 
  • Move new capital in impact alignment through your own action project
This community of practice is developed by Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) and Sacred Futures. 
Who Is This For

This CoP is designed for participants across the funding spectrum — from those curious about impact investing to experienced practitioners ready to deepen their approach in a community of peers. Whether you're navigating organizational barriers, looking to align your endowment with your mission, or seeking to expand your toolbox of capital strategies, you'll find valuable insights and connections. The cohort will be intentionally diverse in size, structure, investment experience, and focus, fostering rich peer exchange, cross-pollination of ideas, and opportunities for collaboration.

This Community of Practice is for funders. SAFSF defines funder as an organization that fulfills its mission through grantmaking, lending, or investing as a core strategy. The curriculum will be helpful for people new to integrated capital, but valuable to more seasoned practitioners who are looking for deeper exposure to food systems and potential collaborators.

We welcome diverse capital partners representing the following types of organizations:

Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)

Community Foundation

Corporate Foundation

Family Foundation or Fund

Family Office

Health Conversion Foundation

Impact Investment Fund

Individual (Directly or via Donor Advised Fund)

Institutional Investor

Private Non-Operating Foundation

Public Charity / Foundation

Regranting Organization (with 2 years deploying funds)

Selection

To create a container for learning and relationship building, the group will be limited to 15 participants. In the event that we receive more interest than we can accommodate, selection of applicants will be based on the following:

Criteria 1

Ability to put learning experience into action through new or increased integrated capital deployments

Criteria 2

Expressed interest in new collaborations, funding partnerships, and community building

Criteria 3

Tenure in SAFSF membership or food and agriculture funding

We also will attend to the diversity of the cohort in terms of funding mechanisms and diversity of regions, focus, professional and lived experience.

Background and Purpose

Philanthropy is evolving. Foundations and funders are recognizing the need for breaking down the silos between grantmaking and investing to realize a global food system transformation from unjust, unhealthy, and unsustainable towards one that is accountable to equity, health, climate and environmental justice. Many in our community are already deploying "integrated capital" resources through a mix of grants, investments, and other tools to advance their mission and impact goals. However, questions remain about how to apply these strategies and which models best fit their organizations. This is why SAFSF launched the Integrated Capital Community of Practice.

Food systems provide a particularly strong entry point for integrated capital. From regenerative farm investments and food supply chain enterprises to mission-aligned public market funds and shareholder advocacy, there is no shortage of creative strategies already at work. These approaches range from philanthropic endowment carve-outs to fully impact-first portfolios, offering examples of how capital can be aligned with values and deployed for outsized social and environmental benefit. Because markets play such a powerful role in shaping food and farming enterprises, broadening beyond grants to integrated capital is especially critical in advancing just and sustainable systems.

The eight-month Integrated Capital Community of Practice is a peer-led learning journey that will provide funders with tools, frameworks, and real-world models for deploying capital in ways that shift power and support community-led solutions. Grounded in SAFSF's commitment to equity and racial justice, the CoP will bring together a diverse cohort of members for shared learning, creativity, and collaboration. Together, we will explore the full spectrum of capital strategies, deepen peer relationships, and support one another in making meaningful commitments to move more resources into purposeful alignment.

The CoP will gather around the mutual understanding of integrated capital based on the following points:

1

Money is power.

What power are you building with where money flows? Every investment or granted dollar either upholds the status quo or builds alternative paradigms.

2

The creation of impact lies in the 'where' and 'how.'

What does your investment process say about your impact? Processes for how we move money — to where and for whom — determines the real impact of our funding.

3

The concept of 'returns' goes beyond the conventional definition of financial returns.

Integrated capital holds the potential to demonstrate a holistic view through collective investment in change and repair at a systems level.

Learning Formats
  • Virtual workshops featuring expert presentations, peer-led panels, and interactive discussions in the months of January, March, April, May and June. 
  • Office hours between sessions to unpack concepts and troubleshoot scenarios
  • Online virtual classroom to connect with peers
  • Two in person retreats, including field visits, deep case study learning, peer connections, and action planning
  • Each participant will develop a personalized action plan to implement by the close of the program
Areas of Exploration

Mapping the capital ecosystem

Understanding the full spectrum of tools available to move capital (grants, PRIs/MRIs, equity, guarantees, tax credit structures, and more) and where your organization sits, or could sit, within that landscape

Aligning internal structures with intent

Surfacing the organizational, governance, and decision-making barriers (investment policy, impact measurement, board alignment) that separate mission from capital deployment

Place-based application

Grounding these frameworks in real terrain through deep dives into community-based food systems and infrastructure investments

Reframing risk and who carries it

Examining how risk is perceived versus actually distributed across the food system, and what it takes to share risk more equitably through capital design

Moving from insight to action

Translating what's learned into concrete steps your organization can take, individually and in collaboration with peers

Timeline

August 31, 2026 Applications open
October 2, 2026 Applications close
November 5, 2026 Participant notifications
January 2027 Virtual workshop 1
February 23–24, 2027 In-person retreat — location to be announced
March 2027 Virtual workshop 2
April 2027 Virtual workshop 3
May 2027 Virtual workshop 4
June 2027 Virtual workshop 5
August 18–19, 2027 In-person closing retreat — Santa Fe, New Mexico

Monthly office hours will also be offered throughout the program between sessions.
Attendance
Attendance to all virtual sessions and the in person retreats is required. We understand that issues can arise that impact our ability to participate, and for that reason we will accommodate one absence out of the five virtual sessions.  If you must miss a session, please arrange to attend the subsequent Office Hour to catch up. Office Hours are optional, but participants find this time to workshop specific, real challenges and opportunities to be highly beneficial. 
Cost of Participation

SAFSF Member fee

$5,000

SAFSF members or organizations that apply for membership by October 15th and are approved

Non-member fee

$6,000

All other eligible organizations

The registration fee includes the full curriculum, expert facilitation, office-hour mentorship, honoraria for speakers and site visit hosts, virtual technology and communication tools, and meals, venue, and bus transportation for the in-person retreats. 


What the program fee does not cover: Participants are responsible for their own airfare, lodging, and other travel costs for the in-person retreats.


Payment Schedule

Upon application Non-refundable deposit of $1,000
November 30, 2026 50% of remaining balance due
January 30, 2027 Remaining balance due (full payment accepted at any point before this date)

You will be notified of acceptance by November 5, 2026. If you are not accepted into the cohort, your $1,000 deposit will be refunded immediately.

If you decide not to proceed with the program after November 30, 2026, you are still responsible for the full program fee.

Participant Information

Thank you for your interest in participating! Please provide your details below and continue to the next page to submit your registration deposit.























Demographic Data
In our commitment to social justice and racial equity, the data from this section will be used to understand the diversity of cohort participants, not in the selection process. Please answer only those questions you feel comfortable with. We will keep your information confidential and anonymous. Aggregated data may be shared internally.







For narrative responses, please keep your answers to no more than 4 sentences.
Please tell us a little bit about your work as a funder.
What is your role within your organization? How long have you been involved as a funder in food and agriculture? What types of projects do you fund?
What do you hope to gain from the Integrated Capital Community of Practice? .
At this moment, what do you see as YOUR greatest opportunities in learning more about integrated capital approaches?
Be as specific as possible. To get you started, some examples could be: you are seeking to partner with the investment side of your organization, you have a specific project that requires blending forms of capital, you want to create an investment policy for your organization, you need to learn more about integrated capital to help you address specific challenges in your work. There are no right or wrong answers - we want to learn about how you will apply your learning.
What sources of capital are you most familiar with?
(check all that apply)

What sources of capital would you like to learn more about?
(check all that apply)

How would you describe your level of experience with integrated capital?
What is your expected return profile, if any?
Skip if this question does not apply to your type of funding.
What are your total assets under management?
Will you commit to bringing your real work into this space, and using the cohort as a sounding board to move it forward in a way that's meaningful to you?
As part of the Community of Practice, participants are asked to bring a real-world challenge, question, or opportunity from their own organization or funding practice into the room. Something they're willing to actively troubleshoot alongside peers over the course of the program, tailored to where their organization is at the moment. This could look like making a specific financial commitment, revisiting a long standing investment policy, forming a new alliance or partnership, or building out a pilot integrated capital investment.

Payment

Deposit
Breakdown of Payment 
Cancellation Policy
You will be notified of registration status no later than November 5, 2026. If you are accepted and cancel by November 30, we will refund your deposit minus a $50 administrative fee and the transaction fee. 
If you are not accepted or if the cohort is cancelled by SAFSF, we will refund your full deposit, minus the transaction fee.
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