Update from RSF Social Finance: Community and Collaboration in a Time of Crisis

Dear Clients and Friends,

The unfolding crisis is challenging all of us in innumerable ways, but it is important to remember that we are not alone. The suffering so many are experiencing, combined with isolation and anxiety, can cause us to turn inward. These symptoms call for a fundamental change in consciousness. All we can do is listen to our hearts for guidance, and in turn be there to listen to each other.

At RSF Social Finance we are directing our full energy toward leading the emerging regenerative economy. We believe that in collaboration with all of you, we can build solidarity and mobilize our talents and capital to not only weather this crisis, but also start to heal what is broken.

We have already been in touch with many of you as we assess our community’s needs and capacity, and we are creating new opportunities for collective action:

• The RSF team has been reaching out to our social enterprise borrowers to find out how the crisis is affecting them and what they need. Our March 18 online Community Pricing Gathering focused on supporting borrowers, and in the coming days we’ll announce significant steps the RSF community will take to do that. Meanwhile, we continue to welcome new high-impact borrowers, such as Faber Street Foodworks, which supplies sustainably sourced meals to hospitals and schools. Our $5 million loan will help Faber expand capacity with a new energy-efficient production facility.
• Our philanthropic services team is supporting Donor Advised Fund clients by helping them make grants that address challenges intensified by the crisis, encouraging trust-based philanthropy, and collecting relevant giving opportunities that we plan to share with our wider community. We’re also encouraging donations to our Collaboratives, which support sustainable food and agriculture, women entrepreneurs, education, and social equity. (To participate, go to our donation page and select one of the RSF Collaboratives from the drop-down menu.)

Now is the time to put both our ideas and our values into action, and to expand the next economy strategies we have developed—such as Integrated Capital, Shared Gifting Circles, and Community Pricing Gatherings—so that more people can benefit from them. Working together, we can heal our social, economic, and ecological systems.

It is a privilege to collaborate with you—our donors, investors, and borrowers, who represent the heartbeat of the next economy. Please take care.

With warm regards,

Jasper van Brakel, CEO