Capital and Support Resources

Mainstream Sources of Capital
​For Food & Farm Businesses
Support for Food & Farm Business
Entrepreneurship & Business Development
GRANTS - A source of capital that requires an application or request for proposal and does not need to be paid back
  1. Regional Grants
    • Invest Buffalo Niagara [Buffalo, Niagara region. new facility construction, site and infrastructure work, equipment purchases, energy performance improvement, environmental performance improvements, working capital and lease costs] 
    • The Awesome Foundation [Buffalo. For a specific creative project. $1000]
  2. State Grants
  3. National Grants
INTEREST- FREE LOANS - A sum of money that is borrowed and expected to be paid back with interest
  1. Kiva
  2. Farm Service Agency- Farm Loan Programs
  3. Farmers.gov Loans​
INVESTMENT CROWDFUNDING PORTALS - A crowdfunding intermediary for businesses to display their offering. The portal does not offer investment advice nor do they solicit purchases, sales, or offers to buy securities offered or displayed on its website
  1. See list of all federally licensed portals here.
  2. Common Owner (based in Buffalo)
BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS - Are financial institutions that offer loans. A bank is for profit, while a credit union is run cooperatively with shared ownership to its members
  1. Community Banks- are for profit banks, run by members of the community in which it serves. 
  2.  CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions)- are private institutions with the primary goal of serving low income communities. There are four types including community development banks, community development credit unions, community development loan funds, and community development venture capital funds. 
  3. National Bank- A national bank is chartered under the federal government and is a member of the Federal Reserve System.
REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS - A source of money for loans, mainly for small businesses, in which the interest and principal payments from old loans are used to pay new loans
INVESTMENT FUNDS - A group of investors pool their money together to make investment decisions, for example, focusing on investing only food and farming businesses
ANGEL NETWORKS - A group of Angel investors who invest private funds into start up businesses for personal and moral reasons, as opposed to venture capital investors whose primary motivation is profit
VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS - Provide seed money to start up businesses and require a stake in the company
COURSES - Classes for technical assistance in running a business, grant writing, and other skills
MENTORS - Offer a connection to professionals with technical expertise and further networking
CO-WORKING SPACES - Spaces for rent where businesses who do not have a physical space can work and network
INCUBATORS & ACCELERATORS - (with Capital Opportunities) - programs that provide a varying amount of capital, technical assistance, infrastructure, and space to start up businesses, usually within a set time frame and the goal of the business expanding on its own
BUSINESS COMPETITIONS - (with Capital Awards) - often in the format of making pitchs to judges with capital funds awarded to the winner
PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Economic Development Organizations
  1. Empire State Development: The mission of Empire State Development (“ESD”) is to promote a vigorous and growing state economy, encourage business investment and job creation, and support diverse, prosperous local economies across New York State through the efficient use of loans, grants, tax credits, real estate development, marketing and other forms of assistance. 
    1. Agribusiness Industry
    2. WNY Region
    3. Finger Lakes Region
  2. Industrial Development Agencies: IDAs promote, develop, encourage and assist in acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining or equipping certain facilities, thereby advancing the job opportunities, health, general prosperity and the economic welfare of the people in their counties. 
    1. Allegany County IDA
    2. Cattaraugus County IDA
    3. Chautauqua County IDA
    4. Erie County IDA
    5. Genesee County EDC
    6. Monroe County IDA
    7. Niagara County CED
    8. Orleans County EDA
    9. Wyoming County IDA
    10. City of Buffalo Economic Development
    11. Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council
    12. Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board
    13. Western New York Regional Economic Development Council
  3. Chamber of Commerce
  4. Small Business Development Centers 
    1. New York Small Business Development Center
    2. Jamestown Small Business Development Center
    3. Niagara Small Business Development Center
    4. Buffalo Small Business Development Center
    5. Brockport Small Business Development Center
  5. Private/Non-Profit Economic Development Organizations
    1. Rochester Economic Development Corporation
    2. Cooperation Buffalo
    3. Invest Buffalo Niagara
    4. Partnership for the Public Good
    5. Buffalo Development Corporation
    6. Buffalo Urban League
    7. Urban League of Rochester
    8. Entrepreneurship for All
    9. Pursuit (Buffalo)
    10. Pursuit (Rochester)
    11. The Enterprise Center at PathStone
    12. LISC WNY
    13. Locate FLX
OTHER RESOURCES
  1. UpstartNY - Directory of resources for funding and education
  2. Buffalo Business Forward - List of Resources for current and starting businesses in Buffalo ​
Copyright @ 2021 NY Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
​A non-profit organization of Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board
For more information about this project and how you can be involved, contact:
​
New York Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
Kimberly LaMendola, Food System Projects Manager 
4039 Route 219, Suite 200, Salamanca NY 14779
716-945-5301 ext. 2211
klamendola@southerntierwest.org
fr2021

Western New York Foundation
2495 Main Street, Suite 464, Buffalo NY 14214
716-839-4225

Beth Kinsman Gosch, Executive Director
bgosch@wnyfoundation.org

​Lauren VanOsten, Program Officer
Lvanosten@wnyfoundation.org