ShadeFund Introduces “Crowd-Funding” to Jump-Start Green Entrepreneurs.

It has been used to send disaster aid across the globe with a simple text. It has been used to help farmers in Latin America expand their crop production. Artists around the world have used it to craft innovative projects in music, writing, and filmmaking. Now, donors can use it to help green entrepreneurs grow sustainable businesses in America. “It” is “crowd-funding” —a mechanism that allows individuals to pool money and other resources together via the internet— making even a small contribution yield a huge difference.

At the Endowment, we recognize the face of philanthropy is changing. While traditional methods of funding are often still the right way to fulfill our mission, we must also look to new tools and technologies to grow the green economy and support working forests. The Endowment-funded ShadeFund, created in partnership with The Conservation Fund, uses the concept of crowd-funding to provide green loans to small up-start businesses, turning sustainable ideas into sustainable realities. ShadeFund’s newest loan recipient, Fern Studios, crafts “stunning heirloom-quality tables, lamps and other furniture from sustainably sourced American hardwoods.” To this end, ShadeFund has provided a $7,500 start-up loan to buy equipment. But now Fern Studios is seeking an additional $2,500 through crowd-funding to transform space in a 19th century barn from chicken coop to workshop. In the spirit of the season, learn more and contribute to these and other entrepreneurs at www.shadefund.org.