Access to Capital? Still a White, Straight, Male World
To listen to celebrity philanthropists or talking head pundits (both can be equal-opportunity disseminators of misinformation), you’d think that small, innovative startups have access to all the capital they could possibly want.
Spoiler: they don’t. Contrary to popular belief and feel-good media stories, it is staggeringly difficult for small, non-mainstream (read white, straight, cis-gender men) businesses to get the funding and capital they need to succeed.
The Mermaid’s Garden here in Oregon has faced a lot of roadblocks as we work to bring our regenerative farm and retreat space to life. If you’d like to help us dismantle those roadblocks, we invite you to learn more about our journey and consider donating.
Surprisingly Absent Capital
Here’s the thing. The Mermaid’s Garden is:
Woman-Owned
Disabled Veteran-Owned
LGBTQ-Owned
Indigenous-Owned
Dr. Melissa Bird, the Indigenous LGBTQ woman co-owner of The Mermaid’s Garden
On paper, we authentically check off a lot of boxes. And the standard narrative says that these affinities should make funding our startup an absolute breeze. As it turns out, it’s not a breeze. It’s really effing hard.
The capital and resources for these groups are largely absent in the real world. Gatekeepers set up so many hoops to jump through just to get a meeting that it’s nearly impossible to connect with the funding opportunities.
Obstacles to Funding
Every business faces stumbling blocks, and we know that we will, too. But some of the stumbling blocks we’ve encountered have surprised us.
COVID
To be fair, COVID surprised the world with its arrival and rapid spread. No business escaped COVID unchanged, some for the better and many more for the worse.
For the Mermaid’s Garden, the timing was rough. Just as we began to get in front of investors, most people with money to invest shut it all down. They weren’t willing to part with large sums of money for startups while the world was in turmoil.
To add insult to injury, it became much harder to find land. Suddenly, everyone wanted to buy acreage to give themselves space during quarantine. Land acquisition became all but impossible without significant cash on hand.
Veterans in Agriculture Limitations
This part of our funding journey went something like this:
Yay! There is funding for veterans in agriculture! We’re disabled veteran-owned. Sweet!
Oh, you have to have three years of farming experience to qualify.
And unless you’re a legacy farmer with family land, it’s nearly impossible to get those three years of experience.
Sh*t.
The level at which veterans are not supported is shocking. Veterans experience PTSD at almost double the rate of non-veterans, and agriculture can be highly therapeutic for them. So, we’re just saying it would be great if the doors to farming could be wide open instead of tightly shut, barred, and guarded.
Limited USDA Funding
Prior to COVID, the USDA had a budget of about $75 million to support new farmers. These funds made it possible for non-legacy farmers to establish and grow their operations. For the fiscal year 2021/2022, however, that number sits at $16 million.
This drastic reduction has made access to government startup funding all but non-existent for beginning farmers.
Gatekeepers Rule the Roost
The overarching theme in all of the roadblocks we’ve faced is that access to the limited funding that’s available almost always goes through white straight males. Still.
They are the normative gatekeepers who determine which people get the interviews, the investor meetings, and the money. We can check off all the affinity group boxes in the world and still be outsiders in that world.
It has to change, and it will. When we all make enough damn noise to insist that it change. We wholeheartedly invite you to make some noise with us!
We Can See It
Although it’s difficult right now, we know the right investors are out there. We know there are innovative, visionary individuals with dollars who will see the value of what the Mermaid’s Garden can offer.
But we need to find them.
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about our revolutionary work here in our neck of the woods, please reach out. And although we need big-money investors, we also rely on the generous support of anyone who shares our vision. You can donate online or shop our Mermaid’s Garden store to contribute at the level that fits your budget.
We cannot wait for this magical space to be called into existence, and we’re so thankful to everyone who has supported us so far. Are you next?