The 2020 SAFSF Forum in Kansas City, MO will challenge participants to understand the need for grantmakers and investors to take on risks in order to co-create more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food systems.

SAFSF 18^TH Annual Forum
June 23-25, 2020 | Kansas City, Missouri

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) amplifies the impact of philanthropic and investment communities in support of just and sustainable food and agriculture systems. Our membership includes individual investors, regranting organizations, community, corporate and private foundations, approximately 100 organizations in all, operating throughout the U.S. and abroad. Through their involvement with SAFSF, funders and investors are able to strengthen connections and foster collaborations with their peers. They build capacity within their organizations to be more effective in their philanthropy. As one member put it: “SAFSF is a huge asset for my foundation and is a great source of information and inspiration to help deepen and extend the impact of our work.”

The Forum challenges participants to understand the need for grantmakers and investors to take on risks in order to co-create more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food systems. At the same time, the Forum provides space to cultivate connections with peers so that no one organization is going it alone. The three-day Forum offers many opportunities for peer learning, networking, and collaboration. Plenary presentations, workshop sessions, themed dinners, and day-long site visits allow funders to learn from each other as well as from leading practitioners in the field. We also reserve space for deeper-dive peer engagement on our funder-only day.

More than 260 participants gathered in Pittsburgh for the 2019 SAFSF Annual Forum, Points of Convergence, making it the largest Forum to date. We expect our 2020 SAFSF Annual Forum in Kansas City, Missouri, with speakers and site visits representing the states of Kansas and Missouri and others across the country, to attract an equally robust audience. Headline issues confronting our country at the intersection of food, health, climate and economy are playing out in these rural and urban Midwestern communities. Forum attendees will examine these issues together and take away insight, inspiration, strategies, and connections for impactful engagement related to their own work.

The SAFSF Annual Forum is the only national gathering for and by funders
supporting just and sustainable food systems change.

SPONSOR THE SAFSF ANNUAL FORUM

Funder sponsorship is a unique and critical aspect of the SAFSF Annual Forum that maintains the integrity of our content, the focus on our issues, and the accessibility of our registration fees. Your Forum sponsorship also funds:

• Participation, travel, and lodging costs for non-funder and practitioner thought leaders, grassroots advocates, researchers, and policy makers to address the Forum as exciting speakers at our plenaries, workshops and themed dinners

• Development of deep-dive, day-long site visits to explore intersectional issues on the ground in the region of our host city and associated costs such as transportation, food, and honoraria for host organizations

• Expansion of knowledge resources, including our conference mobile app, member cohort meetings, resource materials, translations and dissemination of news and learnings from the Forum

• Participation of Food System Partners for the main portion of the Forum, bringing the perspectives of those who represent communities of color, rural communities, and/or others that have historically been underfunded, marginalized, or disenfranchised

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

SAFSF values the span of resources—financial, human, social, etc.—that organizations and individuals may have. Contributions in any amount are welcome; the options listed here are meant to be a starting point for what is possible.

If you are interested in supporting our Annual Forum or have questions about these options,
please contact Member and Strategic Partnerships Director Renee Catacalos – renee@safsf.org.