CEI (Coastal Enterprises, Inc.)
CEI is a 47-year-old non-profit organization and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a nationally recognized history of providing high-impact, transformative financing and business advising to people and communities in Maine and the Northeast’s rural regions. InCommon Group is working with CEI, in partnership with the State of Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), to develop recommendations to support the development and growth of the Maine Agriculture Food System and Forest Products Infrastructure Investment Fund. This work will lay the groundwork for successful development of the Fund by synthesizing existing resources for farm, food, forestry, and fisheries businesses, benchmarking similar funds in other states, conducting research on gaps and opportunities, and developing recommendations for the Fund to maximize its impact in supporting a vibrant farm, food, and forest economy in Maine.
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT)
InCommon is developing a strategic plan and implementation roadmap for FACT, a national organization that advocates for safer food systems, directly supports farmers, and improves consumer awareness to ensure everyone has access to safe, healthy, and humanely raised meat, eggs & dairy. We are engaging staff, board, and community members to refine FACT’s vision and mission and develop core goals and strategies, resulting in a 5-year strategy and implementation roadmap to expand their impact.
Working Lands Enterprise Initiative
The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (WLEI) makes strategic investments and develops policy recommendations that support a resilient and sustainable farm, food, and forest economy in Vermont. Since its founding in 2012, WLEI has invested over $18.8 million in 555 farm, food, and forestry projects all across Vermont. InCommon Group is working with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets and the Working Lands Enterprise Board to develop more equitable and accessible grant-making processes. This work includes a grant-making equity audit, equity training sessions with board members, and extensive community outreach.
Regen Policy Initiative (RPI)
The Regen Policy Initiative (RPI) is a collaborative effort between the Soil & Climate Alliance and InCommon Group that convenes partners to analyze, align, and advance regenerative food and agriculture policy at the federal and state levels.
RPI is composed of a ground-up coalition of farmers, policy innovators, and community advocates–together, we aim to elevate understanding of regenerative agriculture and develop the will needed to champion policies and practices that make regeneration the norm, and to take these efforts to the halls of Congress.
Health Care Without Harm
Health Care Without Harm is an international organization working to transform health care worldwide so that the sector can reduce its environmental footprint and becomes a community anchor for sustainability and leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice. InCommon Group is currently supporting the organization’s research project, Scaling Food is Medicine (FIM) in Health Care Across the Northeast Region, a three-year project seeking to assess the state of and opportunity for values-aligned food procurement and practices in food is medicine programs.
Big Picture Ranch
Big Picture Ranch created the Kiss the Ground and Common Ground movies, which have brought millions of people around the world into the regenerative movement. InCommon Group is leading the social impact campaign for the Common Ground film, 100 Million Acres. To make regenerative the “new normal,” InCommon Group is leading a campaign calling on everyone–individuals, farmers, brands–to commit to regeneration, and help shift 100 million acres of U.S. farmland and rangeland into certified regenerative systems by 2030 so that we can achieve our global climate goals and create a healthier and more resilient food system for our communities.
Salvation Farms
Salvation Farms is a Vermont-based nonprofit organization working to glean, manage, aggregate, and distribute agricultural surplus of edible food that does not normally make it to people. By working with farms to manage surplus local vegetables, fruit, and even cheese, they help Vermonters feed Vermonters through meal sites, food pantries, institutions, and community food hubs. They accomplish their mission by piloting models, creating awareness, providing technical assistance, coordinating statewide gleaning efforts, and advocating at the state and national level. InCommon Group is working with Salvation Farms to co-develop a 3-year strategic plan by engaging staff, board, and community members and exploring new opportunities to advance their mission.
Poughkeepsie Farm Project
Poughkeepsie Farm Project (PFP) began as a community farm with a commitment to education and food justice. Leasing land from Vassar College, PFP sustainably farms 12 acres, providing CSA shares to over 500 households annually and donating over 30,000 pounds of produce to their community. They also train and educate youth and other community members on healthy growing and eating practices. InCommon Group is leading the development of a strategic plan to guide their growth over the coming years. This includes community engagement, research, and the co-development of shared goals, strategies, and metrics to achieve greater impact toward a just, sustainable, and equitable local food system.
Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative (OFIC)
The Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative (OFIC) is a new network of multi-stakeholders working to increase local sourcing and farm to institution efforts and developing actionable strategies to create and sustain change within institutional purchasing systems across Oregon. InCommon Group is leading branding and communications research to create a cohesive brand intended for internal and external audiences that articulates the values, purpose, goals, and essence of OFIC.
Vermont Grass Farmers is a nonprofit organization working to advance managed livestock grazing, supporting pasture-based farmers through education, events, and resources. VT Grass Farmers is currently expanding its work to increase consumer awareness of holistically raised grass-fed meats & animal products to help provide more market access for their farmer-members. InCommon Group is providing strategic communications and public relations support to help develop a consumer-facing campaign that draws connections between regenerative grazing and the environment to drive consumer demand for Vermont grass-fed meat.
The Carrot Project
Led by the Carrot Project, the Agricultural Viability Alliance is a group of farm and food business technical assistance providers in the Northeast U.S. working together to advance farm viability through professional development and advocacy. Their largest initiative is the National Farm Viability Conference, which is held every other year. InCommon Group is supporting the Agriculture Viability Alliance with communications, advocacy, and research to advance business technical assistance services for small and medium-sized farmers.
Toohnii Binaneestˀąˀ Ałtaasˀéí Alliance
The Toohnii Binaneestˀąˀ Ałtaasˀéí Alliance (ToohBAA) is an Indigenous woman-led Diné farmers’ collective incorporated under the Navajo Nation Corporation Code. Farming 250 acres in the Shiprock, NM area, they are reinstituting ancestral food systems concepts, merged with modern day regenerative farming practices, to help the families within the six communities revitalize their farms and grow healthy produce and value-added products for Navajo communities and beyond. In an effort to increase support for Indigenous agriculture in the Farm Bill, InCommon Group helped coordinate a group of 20 farmers from the collective for a Congressional lobby effort in Washington, D.C., where they met with Congressional members and top leaders at USDA and the Department of Interior to advocate for Indigenous food sovereignty, regenerative agriculture, and regional food systems.
HEAL Food Alliance
HEAL Food Alliance is a member-led, multi-sector, and multi-racial coalition of 55 organizations representing over 2 million rural and urban farmers, ranchers, fishers, farm and food chain workers, indigenous groups, scientists, public health advocates, policy experts, community organizers, and activists. Together as HEAL, these groups engage in movement-building to transform food and farm systems from the current extractive economic model towards community control, care for the land, local economies, meaningful labor, and healthful communities nationwide, while supporting the sovereignty of all living beings. InCommon Group provided strategic communications and advocacy support for 2024 HEAL legislation and voter education campaigns.
