Proposal to Advance USDA Program Access, Impact, and Success
Philanthropy and private-sector stakeholders have an opportunity to leverage historic federal investments to advance food system reform through coordinated funding and technical assistance.
Overview
This proposal outlines a scope of work to elevate challenges and design solutions to advance equitable access to and implementation of USDA Food System Transformation funds. The project will directly result in opportunities for coordination, joint funding, and capacity support across philanthropy, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and the USDA to elevate impact and advance equity and sustainability in the food system. Recommendations resulting from this work will position key stakeholders to further leverage historic USDA investments, propelling the U.S. agriculture system towards a more equitable and sustainable future.
Background
Over the past four years, the USDA has made unprecedented investments in its four priority areas: 1) advancing racial justice, equity, opportunity and rural prosperity, 2) addressing climate change, 3) tackling food and nutrition insecurity, and 4) creating more, better and new market opportunities. The funding invested during the Biden administration has accelerated the nation’s transition to a more resilient and equitable food economy. Yet, despite substantial efforts from the USDA to mitigate inequities, socially disadvantaged and small-and mid-sized food and farm businesses encounter significant challenges accessing, absorbing and managing capital, maintaining cash flow amid USDA reimbursement timelines, and accessing complementary capital to commence and maintain programs.
Without access to flexible and responsive capital, mission-driven businesses and organizations face significant challenges to utilize USDA funding for program implementation, particularly limiting their ability to scale to the magnitude required to drive systemic change in our food system. This fundamentally jeopardizes USDA and private funder investments, and in doing so, perpetuates a false narrative that mission-driven and socially disadvantaged entrepreneurs can’t achieve scale and financial viability.
While the USDA employs partial advance payments on a case-by-case basis, without strategic intervention and expanded capacity, financing limitations can present insurmountable barriers for socially disadvantaged farmers and small- and mid-size organizations. Strategic support from aligned stakeholders – philanthropy, impact investors, and CDFIs – would significantly enhance the efficacy of USDA funding and access for disadvantaged groups. Philanthropy and the private sector have the flexibility to unlock substantial capital to address critical financing gaps to help farmers, nonprofits and mission-driven entrepreneurs’ access and implement federal funding, yet the field is lacking a coordinated strategy and approach informed by key stakeholders. While innovative solutions have been pursued to date (notably, the SHOT Fund), a centralized resource-guide of tested strategies and potential solutions does not exist.
Proposed Scope of Work
To address this gap and barriers experienced by stakeholders, the Consultants will create a first-of-its-kind resource that 1) outlines existing challenges to and mitigating strategies for capital access among small- and mid-sized food and farm businesses; and 2) proposes and elevates potential programs and policy reform to address financing and technical assistance strategies. Finally, this resource will 3) identify opportunities to leverage philanthropic and private sector capital to supplement funding, stabilize grantees/awardees, and advance impact.
This work will be performed in two phases:
Phase 1 will focus on desk research and key stakeholder interviews, including but not limited to current, former and prospective USDA funding awardees, USDA staff and consultants, food system funders and CDFIs;
Phase 2 will focus on report development, integrating key findings from Phase 1. The resulting deliverable(s) will outline key stakeholder challenges, target policy solutions, and suggest potential designs for coordinated funding strategies. Potential for written and oral (webinar/podcast) deliverables.
Actionable Results
This resource will address short-and mid-term challenges to implementation for current USDA programs, reduce barriers for USDA project implementation, provide strategic insights for food system funders, and outline resources for USDA awardees. The final deliverable will be targeted to stakeholders at the USDA, in regional philanthropy and to current and potential USDA awardees.
Project deliverables will:
Highlight current, past and hopeful awardee needs, challenges and opportunities to provide insights to the USDA for program design and public/private partnership opportunities,
Outline funding strategies philanthropy and CDFIs could employ (revolving grants, low/no interest loans) to fill critical financing gaps; and
Create policy recommendations to progress USDA’s commitment to advancing justice, equity and opportunities for underserved farmers and businesses.
Request for Support
IvyWild Strategies is seeking funding support for this project – please reach out to victoria@ivywildstrategies.com for interest.
