Business for Humanity

MISSION INVESTING WITH THE VCF

Mel and Damaris Hall founded Global Village Foods with a mission to bring healthy, ethnic African cuisine to the U.S., and to do it from Vermont while supporting local farms and creating good jobs. Inspired by her mother, who worked with co-ops in Kenya to empower women through farming, Damaris is building community through ethnic African food made with local ingredients.

Through one of our mission investing partners, the Flexible Capital Fund, the Community Foundation was one of several investors that helped Global Village Foods secure financing in 2022 to prepare for a high level of anticipated growth and expansion.

Mission investing is one of the many tools we use to address the opportunity gap. Investments like these create opportunities for Vermonters, particularly those who are disadvantaged by place, race, or economic background, by creating jobs and fostering economic resilience.

Designed to generate both financial and social returns, mission investing through the Vermont Community Foundation is an innovative way for donors and fundholders to use charitable donations typically reserved for nonprofit grantmaking to invest in for-profit, mission-aligned businesses. By supporting Vermont’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and creating new jobs, mission investing helps to strengthen our economy and build more resilient communities.

In partnership with the Hula coworking space and business incubator in Burlington, VCF at Hula is rooted in a shared commitment to innovation, sustainable growth, and closing the opportunity gap in Vermont. Investment returns from VCF at Hula go back into the charitable funds that participate, potentially increasing those funds’ grantmaking capacity to drive greater impact.

Together, we are fostering innovation and economic development in Vermont by supporting early-stage startups, BIPOC- and women-owned business, and rural entrepreneurs that have a positive impact in Vermont and the world.

Among the first donor advised fundholders to invest in the VCF at Hula fund, Lisa Cashdan and Peter Stein see mission investing as a way to address global issues–from climate change to poverty–and engage the next generation of donors.

“Young people understand that the problems we face are gigantic in scale,” said Peter. “Mission investing is an opportunity to take some risk with startups and new ideas that may offer solutions.”

Peter and Lisa were eager to direct a portion of their giving to mission-oriented Vermont startups. “We live in a small state, but it can be hard to know which companies to invest in,” said Peter. “We liked the idea of a collection of earlystage investments through the VCF and Hula.”

“It’s important to us that the VCF reviews the investments before they come to us,” said Lisa. “Emilye, our philanthropic advisor at the Community Foundation, knows us. She does the due diligence and brings us pre-vetted opportunities that she knows will align with our philanthropic goals.”

“VCF at Hula embodied everything we care about,” added Peter. “The Community Foundation’s commitment to Vermont really differentiates it from larger, commercial organizations. They provide knowledge, networks, and connections in the geography we care about.”

Long-time supporters of land conservation and the environment, Peter and Lisa also have a donor advised fund with the Vermont Community Foundation, which they opened after receiving a gift from Peter’s greatgrandmother. Through the Cashdan-Stein GreatGrandmother Fund, the couple has supported nonprofits aligned with their values around conservation, science and education, and access to nature for people who are economically disadvantaged.