Four core partners carry this work forward together, each bringing unique strengths within a shared collaborative framework:
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), a grassroots policy advocacy coalition, contributes deep federal policy expertise and Washington insight, helping to identify opportunities for power-building and shape advocacy strategy at the national level. Together with RAF, NSAC helps guide the short and medium-term response and advocacy funds, which coordinate funding across coalitions and regions to seize strategic advocacy moments and strengthen leadership where it matters most.
RAFI, a farmer-serving organization, leads participatory grantmaking, capacity building, and deep relationship-building with grassroots and BIPOC-serving organizations through the Grassroots Farm Policy Community. Its participatory advisory body, composed primarily of BIPOC leaders, shapes priorities and decisions to ensure funding and support are equitable and trust-based. RAFI has a long track record of policy, technical assistance, and advancing equity in the South and U.S. Caribbean.
Red Clover Collaborative (RCC), a movement infrastructure partner, strengthens the organizational health and connective tissue of the food and farm justice movement. RCC builds shared capacity, compliance confidence, and stable systems that help organizations and their leaders remain steady, strategic, and aligned under pressure. It anchors communities of practice, provides training and tailored support, and cultivates the narrative and structural systems that enable the field to act collectively. Emerging from RAFI, RCC’s leadership brings deep experience in regranting, policy, and organizational development, offering a systems-level understanding of the movement’s infrastructure needs.
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation (RAF), an intermediary funder, mobilizes philanthropic partners and aligns funder strategy around long-term field capacity. As a funder, RAF can take risks that others cannot, catalyzing innovation and connection across coalitions. RAF brings a regenerative agriculture lens and deep understanding of the Midwest landscape, ensuring investments are grounded in ecological and community realities while helping philanthropy engage meaningfully and strategically.
FFDI’s “Core Four” organizations collaborate closely with the HEAL Food Alliance, National Family Farm Coalition, Native Farm Bill Coalition, and Rural Coalition who play an important leadership role in FFDI’s participatory decision making processes.
Together, these partners embody a shared purpose and collective vision: to ensure that the movement has the organizational strength, coordination, and leadership it needs to act strategically, seize opportunities, and shape the future of food and agriculture.
