Wonderful, Inspiring News, Videos of the SLOW MONEY Conference. We are proud of our Advisory Board members ,Woody Tasch , founder of Slow Money and Alisa Gravitz, founder of Green America! This is a feast of good information for all those working on community development solutions, including our friends at BALLE , many featured on our TV shows, and so many others you will meet! Hazel Henderson, Editor
July 2010 Newsletter
Welcome Letter & Table of Contents
Greetings Slow Money Friends and Family,
Wow!
We just had to get that out of the way. We are still buzzing from the National Gathering that took place over three blustery days at Shelburne Farms in Northern Vermont last month. Our time there together was a powerful celebration of Slow Money – the movement and the organization.
The movement is a response to money that is too fast, companies that are too big, and finance that is too complex. Its goal is to make it possible for people to easily and directly connect our values to the way we spend and invest our money. It starts with local food because building healthy, robust local food systems is the first step towards building a restorative economy.
The organization focuses on four initiatives: building networks, creating new financial products and services, developing educational programs, and designing assessment tools.
It’s been a while since our last Slow Money Newsletter and we’re excited to share all sorts of abundant good news with you. In reviewing all of the content we noticed something interesting and beautiful – the energy fueling both the movement and the organization comes from the life affirming feeling of being part of a community.
Community gives people a sense of belonging and purpose, and thereby a sense of place and self. Community creates opportunities for people to slow down, to get to know each other intimately, to be seen and heard. On both the national and the local level Slow Money is bringing together people who rarely find themselves in the same room – farmers, ranchers, small food entrepreneurs and community organizers comingling with fund managers, foundation directors, venture capitalists, and bank CEOs.
The friendships, partnerships, and connections being made through Slow Money are what give the movement its power. The great author and poet Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Slow Money makes us feel good. Countless people have shared that they have been thinking about these issues and looking for ways to do something for years. Discovering through Slow Money that thousands of others feel the same way and are raring to roll up their sleeves and get to work is a powerful, energizing experience.
We invite you to make a cup of tea and take your time reading this newsletter. If something moves you, catches your attention, or maybe even brings a tear to your eye, then pause, slow down for a moment, and let it really sink in to your body. Then take a deep breath and feel it some more. That feeling is the beginning of something big, powerful and world-changing. It’s progress. Evolution. It’s the smell of farm fresh eggs in the morning. The smile on the face of a new farmer. The joy of an investor writing a check to fund someone’s dream. It’s money being used to put life back into our soil, our hearts, our families and our communities. So read on!
Table of Contents
National Gathering Testimonials
A reflection from our Chairperson Woody Tasch and thoughts from many of the amazing people who attended the Gathering.
Thoughts from the Executive Director
A brief note from Ari Derfel, our new Executive Director, about what we’re doing at the national office and a bird’s eye view of how Slow Money fits into the larger framework of global movements.
National Gathering Review
A must-read article by Mark Cherrington titled, “Big Ideas Under the Big Top” that captures the essence of our time together in Vermont . As Mark writes, “There is indeed something going on in Vermont : a full-blown insurrection and the perpetrators have no intention of letting it stay there.”
Video showcase
Watch 24 entrepreneurs and change-makers who presented at the National Gathering as well as inspiring speeches by Bill McKibben, renowned author and founder of 350.org and Gary Hirshberg, founder of Stonyfield Farms.
Ten Things You Can do Now!
Slow Money is already happening. Even though we have a lot of work to do on and systemic and institutional level, the true measure of success for Slow Money will be grassroots, individual and community-based local action. Check out this piece to learn ten things you can do right now to bring money back to earth.
Regional Spotlight
Learn about the amazing work coming from the Madison , Wisconsin Slow Money group. Their deep investigation into the legal, financial and legislative roadblocks that make investment and lending to independent agricultural and other local food systems enterprises so challenging will benefit all of us.
Slow Money in the News
We continue to make headlines in various media around the world. See a selection of the latest, including an interview with Woody Tasch from the June issue of The Sun magazine.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end!
The Slow Money team