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This January, Environmental Defense Fund and Farmers Business Network launched the pilot Regenerative Agriculture Finance Fund (RAFF). Enrolled farmers who meet soil health and nitrogen efficiency standards will access a 0.5% discount on a one-year credit line. This product, years in the making, aims to update farm financing.

Organizations across the country, and across land types, are working to implement aggregation projects to help family forest owners, small farmers, and all those who own smaller parcels of land. These projects serve farmer whose priorities may differ internally and in comparison to commercial operations.

Recovery across the world came before a panel of experts at Yale in January.

In looking at forest restoration finance in a tropical context, three experts at a Yale-sponsored panel spoke of clearer images from space and more inclusive planning on the ground.

Everyone learns in meetings - but what can we learn about how to run meetings? — With the International Land Conservation Network, CFN offers a handbook for handling gatherings to boost impact.

Intractable social and environmental problems require collective action. These challenges demand that we step beyond individual mission statements and business models to craft strategies, chart paths forward, and unlock scaled impact—together. A new guide draws on lessons from convenings around the world to make gatherings more enjoyable and effective.

District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) created a municipal bond that covers the downside risk of using green infrastructure to control stormwater runoff. By offloading risk to investors, the utility drew new financing -and time to get its practices right. Now other cities are following its lead.

Becoming expert in conservation finance begins with a succession of mental steps. — Boot camp can mean the start of a long, uphill financial journey.

I have always envisioned myself as the wildlife field biologist who camps in the woods or sleeps on a boat. But while attending the boot camp, I found that the difference between fundraising and financing affected whether an organization could sustain its projects.

Wetland restoration aerial photo — In the wake of Katrina, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries
and the state of Louisiana teamed up to rebuild
significant portions of a 19-mile expanse of
barrier islands off Barataria Bay. Newly
rebuilt beaches and dunes were erected from
2006-2009, and scientists today continue to
monitor for changes in elevation, vegetation
and species abundance at this site. To learn more
about this project, visit the NOAA website.
(Credit: NOAA)

Bordered by beautiful wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana is a hub of transportation and industry. A pilot environmental impact bond could seed a set of wetland-restoration projects for the state. Environmental Defense Fund, Quantified Ventures, and their project partners are proposing to draw on funding from the Deepwater...

Greenprint Partners is field-testing a green infrastructure-financing approach that could help make communities healthier and safer in a small group of Rust Belt cities. In an interview, Nicole Chavas, the company’s CEO and cofounder, and Rose Jordan, its marketing director, said the models have expansion potential. If adopted on a...

This historic image shows Republic Iron and Steel Works,
a factory that was in Youngstown, Ohio in the early 20th century.
Today, Youngstown has experienced a decline in its manufacturing
economy, leading to poverty and crime. Green infrastructure can
help make Youngstown and similar communities safer and healthier.
Flickr

In a few Rust Belt cities that are seeking economic and social benefits, Greenprint Partners – formerly known as Fresh Coast Capital – is breaking new ground by financing fresh solutions for green stormwater infrastructure. It is using a combination of municipal, private and government resources. Its goals are to...

The National Philanthropic Trust’s 2017 Donor-Advised Fund Report found that the capital housed in donor-advised funds across the United States exceeded $85 billion in 2016. This represents an almost 10-percent increase since 2015 and a 28-percent increase since 2012.

Conservation Finance Network

The Regenerative Agriculture Finance Fund's Climate-Smart Rebate

Enabling Chesapeake Bay’s Landowners to Benefit from Carbon and Ecosystem Services Through Aggregation

Financing Tropical Forests: Lessons For Scaling From Yale's Annual Conference

How to Bring People Together to Unlock Scaled Conservation Impact

A Pioneering Environmental Impact Bond for DC Water (Updated)

Boot Camp Personal Narrative: My First Time Exploring Conservation Finance

Louisiana Environmental Impact Bond May Reduce Coastal Land Loss

How Green Infrastructure Yields Urban Safety and Health

A Blueprint for Financing Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Donor-Advised Funds Are an Untapped Source of Impact Capital