Workshops

Need a trainer, facilitator, moderator, or speaker for your next event?
Drop me a line as I’d love to help out!

I’ve been facilitating interactive workshops, moderating panels, giving keynote addresses, and delivering live webinars since 2005. Scroll down to see an incomplete list of past engagements.

(Please excuse outdated and/or broken links below; not all conference organizers maintain web pages for past events.)

How to stick to your values when everyone around you has different ideas about what’s important at the Women in Tech Meetup
19 January 2021 in Auckland, NZ

A highly autobiographical lightning talk covering all the things Elizabeth did — and wishes she’d done — during a very challenging situation at work.

Entrepreneurship for Impact at Impact Summit 2019
21 September 2019 in Christchurch, NZ

The University of Canterbury’s Centre for Entrepreneurship put on the Impact Summit, “a journey of interactive workshops, world-class speakers, networking and activities that will fill you with the inspiration and energy you need to take your next steps.”

Elizabeth Ü moderated this panel of social entrepreneurs with the aim of drawing out actionable insights for the hundreds of young social entrepreneurs in attendance.

How to deliver a compelling elevator pitch at Magnitude 7
22 March 2019 in Auckland, NZ

This event was a partnership between the Pacific Business Trust and Mahuki, the innovation hub of Te Papa. Elizabeth was invited to give this special workshop to the participants of this accelerator program for Auckland-based Pacific entrepreneurs of start-ups, established businesses, and those looking to start their entrepreneurial journey.

Financing your business at Rewired
20 February 2019 in Auckland, NZ

The purpose of this event was two-fold: Xero wanted to create an opportunity for more staff to engage with local small business owners, and The Kitchen Project’s staff and entrepreneurs wanted to learn more about fundraising. Elizabeth designed an engaging workshop for all participants, complete with multiple speakers and presentations, speed mentoring, and time for informal conversation.

Why good bookkeeping matters at The Kitchen Project
10 July 2018 in Auckland, NZ

Elizabeth spent a fruitful afternoon mentoring The Kitchen Project’s first cohort of food entrepreneurs. The program included a Xero demo, a frank talk on how to choose an accountant whose values align with your own, and customized fundraising tips.

Accounting 101: What you need to know as a startup
April 20, 2016 online

When you’re a startup, you only have about a billion things to think about. So it’s understandable if accounting isn’t top of mind. That’s why Elizabeth Ü from Xero and Liz Mason from High Rock Accounting are here to provide the accounting basics you need to know to become a successful small business.

Raising capital without selling your soul on the Small Food Business Podcast
April 18, 2016

Many of us start our small businesses with a broader mission or vision for what we’re hoping to achieve beyond just dollars and cents. In this podcast, the host interviewed sustainable small business expert and author Elizabeth Ü about how mission driven businesses can raise the capital they need in an environment that seemingly values the bottom line above all else.

Fundraising for nonprofits
April 6, 2016

Elizabeth produced this Xero U (no relation!) course in which Kishshana Palmer debunks a few common misperceptions about nonprofit fundraising, and offers tips for making it successful AND fun. Learn the important role of development, what it takes to do it right, and how to begin the process. She’ll challenge you to ask yourself the tough questions: Do I have the tools I need to raise funds? Is there urgency in my mission and clarity in my impact? Is it all about grants? How can I get my board involved? Get the answers and get started.

Guest lecture to accounting students of Presidio Graduate School’s MBA in Sustainability
March 18, 2016 in San Francisco, CA

Based on her 12 years of experience in helping entrepreneurs raise capital, Elizabeth described how her views have evolved regarding the bottlenecks in this process; turns out good bookkeeping and accounting habits are most frequently the missing link to raising the capital they need, if they need to raise it at all.

“Dude, where’s my accountant?” at Sleetercon
November 18, 2015 in Las Vegas, NV

Elizabeth was the mastermind behind this comedic Xero session at this must-attend conference for CPA firms, accounting software consultants, and software developers. Combining live product demos, role playing between a yoga-teacher accountant and surf-school client, and slapstick humor, this session demonstrated how cloud accounting software can keep clients and advisors connected to get the job done efficiently, no matter where you are.

Tech Tools for Operations at La Cocina’s Food & Entrepreneurship Conference
November 8, 2015 in San Francisco, CA

Struggling to keep track of your COGS? Had countless late nights trying to get your bookkeeping in order? The more a business grows, the more time the owner finds themselves out of the kitchen and on their laptop & cell phone. Elizabeth was part of a panel presenting the Tech Tools for Operations workshop, which highlighted some of the most integrated tech platforms for accepting payments, sending invoices, running payroll, etc… and gave insights into how tech tools can help you streamline various components of your business.

Xero Certification (in-person workshops)
August 15, 2016 in San Francisco, CA
August 28, 2015 in Little Rock, AR
June 25, 2015 in Chicago, IL
June 2, 2015 in Denver, CO

Begin your Xero journey by becoming a Certified Advisor. This full-day course covered everything you need to successfully run and work in Xero.

Becoming a Certified Advisor is the beginning of the Xero journey for bookkeepers and accountants. These full-day courses covered everything necessary to successfully run and work in Xero, culminating in the opportunity to take the Certification exam. In addition to running these live, in-person workshops, Elizabeth also delivered weekly live webinar certification courses. She also helped develop an entirely new curriculum and delivery structures for Xero Certifications both online and in-person.

Financing and Funding your Food Start-Up for The Food Craft Institute’s Coffee Roasting and Retail Master Course
February 22, 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area

Students of the Coffee Master Course had the privilege of spending multiple days with uncontested leaders of the contemporary coffee world, learning hands-on techniques and practitioner skills but also personal details about their successful coffee businesses taught in their actual shops, roasteries, kitchens and warehouses. In addition to teaching the final module, Elizabeth facilitated the course wrap-up activity.

Crowdfunding for Farmers at the 35th Annual EcoFarm Conference
January 21-24, 2015 in Asilomar, CA

On Friday, January 23rd at 1:30pm, Elizabeth co-presented a workshop on crowdfunding for farmers at this conference, Ecological Farming Association’s flagship event that brings together food system stakeholders together for education, networking and celebration.

Great Food, Great Business at the Commonwealth Club
Recorded live on January 12, 2015 in San Francisco, CA

Ready to turn your creative expertise with artisan foods into a thriving good food business? Listen and learn as Elizabeth Ü joins a panel of smart, innovative women entrepreneurs who have done just that. Learn how these foodie forerunners put their ideas in motion, funded their ventures, kept going through the inevitable peaks and valleys of running a business – and how they continue to balance “good” with growth. Organized by the Bay Gourmet Forum of the Commonwealth Club of California.

Feed Yourself Feeding Us at the Entrepreneurial Farm Business Intensive
December 13-14, 2014 in Sebastopol, CA

Elizabeth covered financing techniques suitable for young and beginning farmers at this remarkably comprehensive weekend workshop. Hosted by the Farmers Guild, it covered just about everything you need to know about the business of farming beyond the actual farming part.

Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Partner Meeting
November 18, 2014 in Atlanta, GA

Elizabeth taught an interactive workshop on creative financing opportunities for food entrepreneurs and the dozens of partners that work with the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

National Heirloom Expo
September 9-11, 2014 in Santa Rosa, CA

Elizabeth presented a workshop on financing techniques for farmers and entrepreneurs of food-based businesses at this event centered around the pure food movement, heirloom vegetables, and anti-GMO activism.

Food Craft Institute’s Chocolate Intensive Course
August, 2014 in Oakland, CA

This course highlighted the making of small-batch bean-to-bar chocolate and handmade confections. Participants learned hands-on techniques, tricks of the trade as well as all the nibby details of how to run a chocolate business from the pros who have tasted sweet success — including a session on identifying core values and assessing financing techniques from Elizabeth. Students of the Chocolate Intensive Course had the privilege of spending multiple days with established artisan chocolate makers, learning practitioner skills as well as personal details about their businesses taught in their actual kitchens and facilities.

Elizabeth was the featured speaker at this evening event, which covered the range of financing available for Rogue Valley food entrepreneurs. Attendees had the opportunity to taste local artisan foods and connect with local leaders in grassroots financing to learn what options are best for your business. After her presentation, Elizabeth moderated a Q&A session with panel of experts there to answer questions about business mentoring, private investors, microlending, crowdfunding, social investing, federal grants, and government loans. Hosted by Thrive, OSU Extension, Slow Money Southern OR, and Sustainable Valley.

Fundraising Techniques for Small Businesses, from the Traditional to the Cutting Edge
July 24, 2014 in Bellingham, WA

Village Books  and Sustainable Connections hosted Elizabeth for a free presentation on financing options for entrepreneurs and those that want to support them. We were having such a good time that we ended up “workshopping” several attendees’ specific scenarios for a full hour after the scheduled event. Thanks Bellingham! More details here.

Money and Food: Making Connections
July 17, 2014 on Whidbey Island, WA

Elizabeth was the invited guest for this intimate evening that was part education session, part mixer covering the various ways to invest in — and raise money from — your local community. Community members discussed financial tools for connecting people who want to invest in their local food economy with the farmers and food entrepreneurs who need capital for their businesses, asking questions, sharing success stories, meeting, and mingling.

Hacking the Economy: Slow Money
July 9, 2014 at the Impact Hub Oakland, CA

Elizabeth moderated a panel of food entrepreneurs and Slow Money investors at this event, part of the Impact Hub Oakland’s “Hacking the Economy” series.

Whole Foods Market’s Foodmaker Forum
June 25, 2014 – San Francisco, CA

Whole Foods Market aimed to “take local to the next level” with this event, which brought foodmakers and culinary trendsetters together to discuss the local food industry and what it takes to get on Whole Foods Market’s shelves. There were presentations on their Quality Standards, innovative marketing, financing (that’s what Elizabeth spoke to), and partnering with the right resources to grow your business.

Local Food Enterprise Summit
May 31 — June 2, 2014 in Miami, FL

Elizabeth delivered a virtual presentation to the business design teams at this event, also providing direct feedback and answering questions related to the plans they had developed over the preceding days of the workshop.

Marylhurst University, Food Systems & Society: Money in the Movement
March 10, 2014 in Marylhurst, OR

Elizabeth delivered a virtual guest lecture to the students of this course, and answered their questions about the flow of capital from funders and financiers to the non-profits and social enterprises that are part of the sustainable food movement.

February 5-8, 2014 in State College, PA
PASA’s Farming for the Future Conference

Elizabeth co-presented a pre-workshop track on financing farm and food businesses, and also delivered a workshop at the main conference, the signature event of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, and its main vehicle for community building. Widely regarded as the best of its kind in the East, this event brings together an audience of over 2,000 farmers, processors, consumers, students, environmentalists and business and community leaders annually.

January 23-25, 2014 in Ames, IA
Practical Farmers of Iowa’s Annual Conference: Well Grounded

Elizabeth gave a farm and food-business financing workshop at this conference. The farming journey starts with the soil under our feet, and Iowa is blessed with some of the world’s best. We may be “well grounded,” but the steps we take too often let this solid foundation slip away. Attendees at this event saw how practical people build their farms, families and communities—and plant the deep roots/routes that will allow future generations to thrive.

The 2014 Practical Farmers Annual Conference continued the previous year’s focus on building soils through cover crops and extended rotations. It examined permaculture and grazing systems. It showcased profitable vegetable systems, biodiversity on farms, nonfarmers who are building partnerships with farmers, and much more.

January 13-15, 2014 in Tucson, AZ
Arizona Food & Farm Finance Forum

Elizabeth gave a keynote address at the Arizona Food and Farm Finance Forum, an event designed to change the way our desert state feeds itself. The Forum was structured to help communities to envision fresh, cost-effective means to jumpstart new food micro enterprises, farms, community kitchens and hunger relief efforts to aid in the recovery of local economies by connecting these groups with possible avenues for credit and funding resources.

We are hopeful that through this historic moment we can collectively serve as matchmakers between social entrepreneurs and investors—private and public—to begin to bring Arizona up from its fifth worst ranking among states in poverty and third worst ranking in childhood food insecurity. The goal: to alleviate poverty by creating green jobs with live-able wages in the farming, ranching, food-processing, distribution and serving sectors of our economy with efforts to assist Arizona’s farmers, ranchers, chefs, processors, marketers and eaters!

November 12-14, 2013 in Madison, WI
Food Finance Accelerator

Elizabeth co-presented this workshop to build the capacity of entrepreneurs, investors, and finance professionals to successfully grow sustainable food businesses.

“We wanted to change the world so we started new local and environmentally sustainable food companies.  We personally invested in them.  We created new sources of socially oriented capital to fund them. Now we see that some of these businesses and funding models are working, and many others are not.  What’s the difference? It turns out that food businesses, local and otherwise, make money (and don’t) in predictable ways.  They also use the right kind of financing at the right time as their businesses evolve.  The more entrepreneurs, investors, and financial professionals have a common understanding of what works, the more successes we will have.”

October 24-26, 2013 in San Jose, CA
Net Impact Conference: Change Starts Here

Elizabeth moderated a workshop on innovative financing for sustainable food businesses at this leading forum for students and professionals who want to use their careers to tackle the world’s toughest social and environmental problems. In the conference evaluations, one attendee wrote that this was the “best session of the conference!”

September 25-27, 2013 in Middlebury, VT
Vermont Farm Viability Conference

The Vermont Farm Viability Program hosted a two-day gathering in Middlebury, Vermont for service and capital providers working to improve the viability of farms and food businesses. This conference was geared towards professionals in the fields of farm business planning, farm financial planning, agricultural financing, farmland conservation, agricultural market development, and food hub management. It was an opportunity to network and learn from other professionals in the field, develop new knowledge and skills, and visit farms and value-added processing facilities. Elizabeth co-presented a workshop entitled Trends in Farm and Value-Added Agricultural Finance.

September 25, 2013 in Baltimore, MD

Expo East’s NEXT Accelerator: Product-to-Shelf Workshop

Elizabeth co-presented a workshop on financing at this accelerator at Expo East, billed as “the place to come for the essential solutions that your young and growing brand needs to succeed. Our one-of-a kind conference program is packed with the premium speakers, experienced insights, and wise solutions targeted to natural products entrepreneurs – solutions you can’t get anywhere else. This year, our brand new, full-day program offers four strategic tracks packed with the information your band needs to succeed.”

September 10-12, 2013 in Santa Rosa, CA
National Heirloom Exhibition

The National Heirloom Exposition is a not-for-profit event centered around the pure food movement, heirloom vegetables, and anti-GMO activism. Last year’s event drew more than 14,000 people from around the country and beyond.  The Heirloom Expo has gained incredible interest among home growers, farmers, school groups and the general public.

August 20, 2013 in Point Reyes Station, CA
Raising Dough: Financing Socially Responsible Businesses

Point Reyes Books joined with Slow Money North Bay, Mount Vision Local investment Opportunities Network (LION), and Marin Organic to present author Elizabeth Ü, author of Raising Dough: The Complete Guide to Financing a Socially Responsible Food Business. The evening will explore the concept of Slow Money, outline capital options available for sustainable businesses, hear from entrepreneurs who have successfully raised dough, and offer ways to invest locally.

August 18, 2013 in San Francisco, CA
La Cocina’s Food & Entrepreneurship Conference 

Elizabeth co-presented a panel on financing food businesses during this event, the educational component of La Cocina’s popular Street Food Festival. For more details, click here. You can also check out the details of the 2012 conference.

July 20, 2013 in Oakland, CA
Jams, Sauces & Condiments: a Food Craft Institute Master Class
(Note: this workshop was part of a course that runs from June 8 — August 14)

This course, a spin on the Food Craft Institute’s popular Jams, Marmalades, and Chutneys Master Class, highlights the making of savory jams, sweet and spicy fruit salsas, fermented sauces and Asian condiments. It covers everything you need to know to own and run your own hand-made food business. Led by industry experts and business owner practitioners, Elizabeth presented a financing workshop during the July 20 class.

June 24-28, 2013 in Oakland, CA
Food Craft Institute’s Business Intensive

This 5-day intensive course was geared towards food artisan business owners seeking to grow their business expertise. The Business Intensive curriculum was specifically developed for existing food practitioners and was taught by professional consultants — including Elizabeth — who have developed their expertise working specifically with small to mid-scale food businesses. Students learned the ins and outs of business planning, marketing, raising capital, and much more.

June 21-23, 2013 in Palo Alto, CA
Hack//Meat: Reimagine the Future of Meat

Food+Tech Connect, in partnership with Finance for Food funder GRACE Communications Foundation and Applegate, brought together technologists, entrepreneurs, creatives, policy experts, non-profit leaders and industry executives to develop technologies and tools that help create a better future for meat.

Over the course of the weekend, teams worked with design-thinking facilitators and industry “steakholders” to rapidly prototype innovative solutions to the way meat is produced, processed, distributed, sold and consumed… and their projects continue! Elizabeth served as one of the mentors for the program.

June 22, 2013 in Sunol, CA
Slow Money Northern California’s Farm Fest

Slow Money Northern California celebrated another Farm Fest at Sunol Ag Park in Sunol, East Bay. Elizabeth was there to sign her book and give advice to investors and fundraisers alike. Attendees learned about how to support sustainable food systems, met the Slow Money movers, and had a great time networking with entrepreneurs, investors and our local community.

June 20, 2013 – online
Raising Dough: Financing for Food (a National Good Food Network webinar)

What are the most appropriate financing opportunities for food businesses, and when? Designed for people who work with food entrepreneurs — including nonprofit staff, government officials, lenders, investors, and financiers — this webinar will help you assess an entrepreneur’s business and personal values in order to help them more effectively raise money. (Fundraising entrepreneurs will also get a lot out of the content.) Watch for free here.

June 12-14, 2013 in Buffalo, NY
2013 BALLE Conference

The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) annual conference is always a tremendous value in terms of useful content, inspiration, fun, and opportunities to meet other movers-and-shakers who are strengthening local economies through food, finance, independent retail, independent media, community energy, and other building blocks that make up a thriving, local economy.

As part of the Community Capital Advisory Committee, Elizabeth helped plan the Community Capital track of the conference for three years running. She moderated a panel on creative ways for entrepreneurs to fund their businesses. She was also excited to formally launch her book, Raising Dough: the Complete Guide to Financing a Socially Responsible Food Business, at the event this year.

June 10, 2013 in New York, NY
SAFSF’s 2013 Annual Forum: Rethinking Risk and Resilience

Food system and agricultural entrepreneurs require more effective, coordinated technical and financial assistance. The goal of this work group meeting was to foster knowledge-sharing leading to stronger collaborations and building channels for future discussion catalyzing strategic deployment of capital. Participants were key representatives working on food system finance, including: impact investors, philanthropic funders, government allies, service providers and seasoned entrepreneurs. Elizabeth gave an introductory address, framing the issues and strategies for food finance. Ultimately, the group will set an agenda for an information-sharing network and schedule for possible future gatherings. Hosted by the Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders and Slow Money NYC.

May 18, 2013 in San Francisco, CA
Sow Your Seed Funding

Elizabeth kicked off this event by presenting the range of financing options at this workshop for food enterprises and their supporters. Hosted by Slow Money NorCal.

March 19, 2013 in Stanford, CA
Local Food Lab Food & Farm Venture Fair

The Local Food Lab‘s Winter Accelerator program culminated in a Venture Fair on March 19th at the Stanford Design School. Each Local Food Lab entrepreneur (plus a few others) showcased their sustainable business. Elizabeth was on hand as a resource and hosted a Finance for Food table at the event.

January 21-25, 2013 in Miami, FL

2013 Financial Permaculture & Local Business Summit

Earth Learning, the South Dade Economic Council, and Miami Dade College hosted community investment/financial experts (including Elizabeth), Permaculture designers, and sustainability entrepreneurs for this dynamic gathering and integrative learning experience to begin building resiliency in the Homestead community of Verde Gardens.

December 5-6, 2012 in Weyers Cave, VA
2012 Virginia Farm to Table Conference – Food and Farming at a Profitable and Sustainable Scale

On Thursday, December 6th, Elizabeth gave a plenary presentation on Financing Food Systems. She also co-presented two breakout panel presentations on Funding & Capital Opportunities.

November 11, 2012 in San Francisco, CA
Green Festival 

Elizabeth co-presented a workshop on Putting Money to Work for a Better World. It covered investing for social change and resilience – with plenty of interesting fodder for entrepreneurs seeking financing from like-minded investors, as well.

October 23, 2012 in San Francisco, CA
Fisheries Roundtable – Challenges and Opportunities: Lending & Borrowing in a Below Market Rate Space

Elizabeth laid out the landscape of difficulties that food entrepreneurs encounter while attempting to access capital during this funders-only, practitioner-level discussion focusing on below-market rate investments, and the challenges and opportunities that lenders and borrowers face in receiving and placing these sorts of investments. How can Foundations work together to break down barriers and stimulate greater investment in sustainable food systems? Part of Confluence Philanthropy’s MRI in Sustainable Fisheries and Food Systems Series, we discussed the various cash vehicles for investment, including cash deposits, PRI, and how grants can provide capacity to these organizations.

May 22 – 24, 2012 in Asheville, North Carolina
2012 Food & Community Convening – Assembly Required: Working Better Together Toward a Good Food Future for All

May 18 – 20, 2012 in Monterey, California
Cooking for Solutions Conference

Marketplace sustainability desk reporter Eve Troeh conducted an interview of Elizabeth during a plenary session entitled “Funding a Sustainable Future” at this event’s Sustainable Foods Institute on Friday, May 18th. The main conference consisted of three days of fun opportunities to enjoy great chefs, fine food and wine, and to discover ways to save the oceans—one meal at a time.

February 26, 2012 in Berkeley, CA
Progressive Opportunities Conference

Elizabeth gave a presentation as part of the “Finance for Local (Food) Economies” sessions at this sold-out event, covering a variety of tools that entrepreneurs can use to raise financing from their community  members. Over the course of both sessions, she highlighted opportunities including online crowdfunding platforms, peer-to-peer lending sites, community-based fundraising models, and methods for formalizing friends and family loans.

The East Bay Express, who helped organize the conference, called Elizabeth “one of the most dynamic speakers at the event,” and called out these sessions as “particularly inspiring.” Read the entire review here.

February 9, 2012 in Point Reyes Station (West Marin County), CA
The Inspired Business Plan Series

Elizabeth co-presented a two-hour workshop on “How to Fund Your Business Venture.”  This was the fourth event in the Inspired Business Plan Series.

November 5 – 8, 2011 in Oakland, California.
15th Annual CFSC Conference, Food Justice: Honoring our Roots, Growing the Movement

Elizabeth designed and co-presented a workshop entitled “Money, power and the class dynamics of fundraising,” which took place on Tuesday, November 8th.

The workshop description asked: “Want to develop a deeper understanding of the fundraising process and purpose? Got strong feelings and attitudes about money, power, and class dynamics?” Through art, interactive exercises, and pair sharing, participants in this workshop unpacked money myths and stories while learning community-building fundraising skills in a supportive, confidential space.

October 20, 2011
Funding Food Hubs: Dozens of Ideas
(a National Good Food Network webinar)

Food hubs hold great promise as a key component of a sustainable, regional food system. They do face challenges, however. For one, most food hub models require significant infrastructure, which can make starting or expanding operations difficult or impossible without external capital.

Fortunately, being innovative triple bottom line businesses, qualifying food hubs can have a number of opportunities to access that capital. But where specifically should a hub look? Grants? Loans? PRIs? Investors? What is available, and which are good opportunities? Under what conditions Is it wise for a hub to take out a loan? How should hubs present themselves to have the best chance for success? Does a beginning hub have different opportunities than a more mature hub? Are grants only available to nonprofit hubs or can for profit hubs and co-ops also access grants?

On October 20, the National Food Hub Collaboration assembled a panel of funding experts – including Elizabeth – to illustrate the many conventional and unconventional ways food hubs can secure needed capital. Three hubs from across the country, each quite different from each other, described their operation and their capital needs. Then our expert panel advised each hub in turn on how to best access grants, loans, and other creative financing sources appropriate to that hub (and those similar to that hub).

You can watch the recording, download the slides, and learn more about the presenters here.

October 12-14 in San Francisco, CA
Slow Money 3rd National Gathering

Elizabeth designed and co-presented the “Show Me the Money: Capital Opportunities for Businesses” panel.

Entrepreneurs have more financing options than ever before to raise capital for our businesses. But how can we choose which are a good fit for our businesses if we don’t know that half of them exist, much less how they work? In this session, finance industry experts painted a picture of the ever-evolving capital markets landscape, identifying the many financing options available, from local versions of traditional debt and equity, to newfangled revenue sharing and crowdfunding models, and beyond. This panel was designed for entrepreneurs seeking capital.

June 21-24, 2011 in Minneapolis, MN
Sustainable Ag & Food Systems Funders Forum: Creativity at the River’s Edge, Funding change in food & farming systems

Elizabeth designed the event’s Next Generation Philanthropy workshop.

June 14-17, 2011 in Bellingham, WA:
Living Economies 2011 BALLE Business Conference: Place Matters 
“The New Economy is being shaped at the grassroots level. Connect, share and learn from 700 pioneering business owners and investors, elected officials, philanthropists, economic development professionals and BALLE network leaders as we spotlight the most innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to growing healthy, resilient local economies.”

Elizabeth is part of BALLE’s Community Capital advisory committee. She moderated two consecutive panels on Friday the 17th: the first a presentation of the many financing options available to businesses that support local living economies, and the second an Q&A opportunity for participants to workshop their specific fundraising challenges with the capital markets experts.

Accelerating Community Capital Intensive (part of the BALLE conference)
“This hands-on workshop will use place as the lens to understand how to meet regional needs with regional resources, and identify the kinds of capital needed to get there. The day will feature some fifteen of the most promising pilot projects and innovators developing models for connecting regional investors with regional businesses. Participants will group themselves by region to jointly create plans to catalyze community capital in their areas.”

Elizabeth shared the Master of Ceremonies role for this event with Michael Shuman of BALLE. She also moderated a panel of three community capital innovators who shared their personal experiences using place as their investment lens. Each of these pioneers combines philanthropy, equity, loans, and capacity support to grow thriving, local networks of entrepreneurs, using regional resources to meet regional needs.

April 19-21 in Detroit, MI: 
Making Good Food Work 
“A three-day participatory conference and incubation laboratory designed to develop innovative solutions and document best practices for distributing local and regional food, with a focus on underserved communities.”

Elizabeth co-led a both a workshop (“Access to Capital – Where to find it, how to qualify”) and an issue-based team that collected several resources related to raising capital, including groundbreaking information on using USDA programs to benefit food hubs.

March 29, 2011 in Watsonville, CA:
California Farmlink’s Farm Finance Expo: Resources for Financing Your Farm Business
“One stop shopping for agricultural loans”

Elizabeth gave a presentation focusing on micro- and social network-based lending.

On February 12, 2011, Elizabeth Ü of Finance for Food spoke at TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” in New York City.   This one-day TEDx event explored the US food system — from what happened, to where we are, to what we are doing to change to a more sustainable way of eating and farming.  In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.  The Glynwood Institute for Sustainable Food and Farming was the lead sponsor for “Changing the Way We Eat.”