Three new loans expand RSF’s commitment to sustainable food systems, waste reduction, and climate-friendly solutions
San Francisco, CA (October 8, 2024)—RSF Social Finance added three new loans to its portfolio in summer 2024, investing a total of $13.5 million in social enterprises that are integrating social and environmental innovation to maximize their impact and demonstrate the potential for systemic change.
The loans—to Glavel, Mad Capital, and Goodr—are fueling advances in sustainable food systems, climate-friendly construction materials, and food security across the country.
“This group of enterprises reflects RSF’s longstanding support for regenerative agriculture and waste reduction, as well as our growing focus on models that integrate climate change solutions,” said Michael Jones, RSF’s vice president of lending business development. “They’re all leading the way in sectors that are ripe for creative thinking.”
Glavel: Climate-friendly construction in Vermont
Glavel manufactures foam glass gravel, a recycled-glass insulation product that can be used to construct everything from buildings and bridges to highways and parking lots. In contrast to many construction materials, Glavel’s product is made entirely of recycled materials. The Vermont-based business also partners with workforce development nonprofits to offer job training and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals.
RSF is offering Glavel three separate loans: a $500,000 line of credit, a $2 million refinancing of existing debt, and a $3.5 million equipment loan. Together, these loans will allow Glavel to spend less on interest payments and reinvest more money into the business. They will also give the company access to the capital and equipment it needs to expand its earth-friendly product to new markets.
Mad Capital: Financing a regenerative agriculture revolution
Improved biodiversity, carbon drawdown, rural economic development, better water quality—the impact of organic agriculture is powerful and systemic. However, many farmers who want to switch to organic methods struggle to find the financing they need to support the transition. Enter Mad Capital: a public benefit corporation that fronts farmers the money they need to switch to organic crops and regenerative farming practices, and that allows them to pay back their loans once they start earning the higher prices organic food commands.
In 2023, RSF supported Mad Capital with a $5 million credit facility, which Mad Capital is using to provide loans to farmers in the Midwest and High Plains. This year, RSF is doubling down on its commitment with a $7 million credit facility, offered in partnership with Walden Mutual Bank, that will help even more farmers transition to more regenerative forms of farming.
“RSF understood our mission from the beginning,” says CEO Brandon Welch. “Because of their values alignment and because of the type of world they’re trying to create, we didn’t have to educate them about what we were doing and were able to dive right into the work. The new $7 million credit facility will allow us to support even more farmers as they invest in making the transition to regenerative organic farming.”
Goodr: Transforming surplus food into hunger solutions
Goodr was founded on the simple yet powerful idea that we need to feed more people and waste less food. Founder and CEO Jasmine Crowe-Houston was determined to connect the 88 million tons of food that’s wasted in the United States each year with the 44 million people across the country who don’t have enough to eat. Her tech-based solution reroutes surplus food from food service provides, corporate cafeterias, and restaurants to nonprofits that feed the hungry. This two-pronged solution is spreading rapidly across the country. RSF’s $500,000 loan is providing the Goodr team with working capital that can support their expansion, allowing them to scale up operations, acquire a new fulfillment center, grow their staff, and expand their offerings.
“Good missions so often get lost in conversations about funding,” Crowe-Houston said. “But RSF is fully aligned with our mission. It’s an honor to work with a partner that is willing to invest in us as we work towards it. The challenges of food waste and food insecurity continue to be urgent, and RSF’s support means we will remain equipped to respond.”
About RSF Social Finance
RSF’s mission is to change finance and finance change. By offering investment notes, donor-advised funds, and loans, RSF mobilizes money toward positive impact. Since 1984, RSF has innovated finance tools and invested in healthier food systems, thriving arts communities, whole-child education, cleaner climates, racial justice, and more.
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