QuarterlyINNOVATIONS IN SOCIAL FINANCE

DECEMBER 31, 2006

RSFPromoting a Government for the People

When mining corporations announced plans to bring longwall coal mining to

rural Blaine Township in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Vice-Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mike Vacca, reminded residents of how longwall min-ing had demolished homes, rivers, and farmland in neighboring communities over the past decade. When residents of those communities tried to protect their homes, he recalled how corporations used state and federal mining laws to preempt local, community control.

To stop mining in their area, Blaine Township residents turned to one of RSF’s grant recipients for help, the Penn-sylvania-based Community Environmen-tal Legal Defense Fund (CELDF).

Through CELDF’s three-day course on democracy, constitutional law, and the regulatory system, residents learned about their legal rights. Thanks to their civic-minded actions Blaine Township became the first municipality in the country to ban corporations from mining, the third to recognize that natural ecosystems independently possess enforceable rights within the community, and the fifth to strip corporations of legal and constitu-tional protections. The course, called Daniel Pennock Democracy School, is taught across the U.S. and already has helped hundreds of municipalities in Pennsylvania assert their rights.

“Our partnership with CELDF enabled us to see past the regulatory dead-ends and take a first step towards codifying into law a sustainable vision for Blaine Township that protects our homes, lands, and water-ways,” Mr. Vacca explains.

“Thanks to a grant from RSF our cam-paign was successful,” says Tom Linzey, executive director of CELDF. “Without its support, communities like Blaine Town-ship will continue to be trampled by a handful of corporate directors within the world’s largest mining, agribusiness, and waste corporations.”

For more information about the Commu-nity Legal Defense Fund, Blaine Township, and other campaigns, please visit www.celdf.org or call 717.709.0457.

Inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner

RSF HELPS LAUNCH THE NEW RESOURCE BANK

RSF is pleased to announce its support for the Bay Area’s newest “green” bank. The New Resource Bank is a community bank that started when a group of visionary individuals and organizations, including RSF, recognized a need for a bank to finance businesses developing environmentally friendly products.

RSF has been an active participant since efforts to organize the bank began in 2005. It is also one of the largest shareholders. During the bank’s initial capitalization phase, RSF invested $1 million and it may look to purchase additional stock in the future. President and CEO, Mark A. Finser, who serves on the New Resource Bank’s board of directors and credit and mission committees, sees the work of both organizations as complementary.

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LET YOUR IRA SUPPORT SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL PROJECTS

When you open a Self-Directed IRA, you may designate that your funds be invested in the RSF Social Investment Fund. The RSF Social Investment Fund supports non-profit organizations and social enterprises that promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

To find out more, visit our website at www.rsfsocialfinance.org and click on “Social Investment Fund” or call Mark Herrera, Senior Development Associate, at 415.561.6160.

Raising the Spirits of Organic AgricultureIn the early 1980’s, the beer industry in the United States experienced a renais-sance; hand crafted beers brewed at small, local breweries, so commonplace until the mid 20th century, reemerged to capture the imagination and palate of ar-tisan beer afficionados. Today, craft beers represent 3.5% of America’s $50 billion beer industry.

In 1998, the craft beer industry expe-rienced its own renaissance; brothers Robert and Morgan Wolaver launched Wolaver’s Organic Ales, the first certified organic beer in the nation.* Craft beers are made with barley, hops, yeast and water; no chemical additives or processes are permitted. Organic craft beer takes a commitment to purity one step further, brewing with organically grown barley and hops in breweries certified to brew organic beer.

Wolaver’s Organic Ales, the leading organic beer brand in the country and an RSF borrower, has helped to develop a U.S. market for organic specialty malts and organic hops. Wolaver’s also donates a percentage of its profits to organizations supporting organic farming research, like the Organic Farming Research Founda-tion in Santa Cruz, CA, and the Organic Trade Association.

“I believe this is the first time that a credit union has reached outside the credit union movement for an agree-ment of this type. Mark Finser, RSF’s president and CEO, was very receptive to the evolution in lending that PCU was trying to create,” says President and CEO Donald Sarich. “We are grateful for RSF’s collaboration, which has enabled PCU to take another leap forward.”

Like Jeff Maul’s loan, all loans that RSF purchased (e.g., updating a home and landscaping with sustainable systems; remediation of property previously used as an illegal dumping ground; purchas-ing land for an organic flower farm) are home or land equity lines of credit for purposes aligned with both PCU’s and RSF’s missions.

“Our investors, with their intention of creating a more sustainable future and their confidence in RSF, are really the ones who have made this loan participa-tion possible,” says Mark Finser. “I am grateful to them for seeing this through.”

For more information, please visit www.pcuonline.org.

RSF’s participation

helps the Perma-

culture Credit

Union finance more

qualified residential

energy-efficient

properties often

at discounted loan

rates.

When Jeff Maul built his home in Santa Fe County, he approached his bank to convert his construction loan into a mortgage loan. They refused because they deemed his energy-efficient 800-square foot home “too unusual.” He approached other financial institutions without success. His friend suggested the Permaculture Credit Union (PCU), because it provides financing and ser-vices for socially responsible individuals building sustainable structures. Through PCU, Jeff Maul was able to secure a fixed-rate first-time mortgage loan in a short amount of time.

PCU’s mission is to pool the financial resources of people who live according to the ethics of permaculture—“care of the earth, care of people, and investment of surplus for the betterment of both.” PCU commits 65% of members’ deposits to its “sustainable mortgage program.” In order to help PCU obtain more liquidity to make loans under this program, RSF joined with two credit unions from New Mexico in an ongoing Loan Participa-tion Agreement.

RSF Participates in Permaculture CU’s Earth-Friendly Lending

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Growing the Biodynamic Market in Brazil

Just as American consumers are able to purchase certified biodynamic wines, so too can consumers in Brazil purchase more certified biodynamic dairy prod-ucts. This year, thanks to a grant from RSF, and the perseverance and dedica-tion of local farm workers, a new dairy plant was successfully built at Demetria Ranch located in Botucatu, Brazil. This new facility makes it possible for the ranch to comply with the country’s production standards and sell them with the official Demeter biodynamic certified logo.

“The grant from RSF was vital in help-ing us complete our new facility,” says Paulo Cabrera, who has worked at the ranch for ten years. “Our funds had already come to an end when we got the news from RSF.”

Biodynamic principles emphasize the liv-ing soil, the farm as a holistic organism, and take into consideration both the visible and invisible forces that cre-ate a healthy ecosystem. The tradition pre-dates organic agriculture, and derives from Rudolf Steiner’s lectures in the early 1920’s on biodynamic farming.

“Before, I couldn’t understand how such rich and valuable food products weren’t available regularly at the store I went to every Saturday,” says Alex Baumann, a frequent customer. “Now, it gives me peace of mind knowing that when I go to the Demetria Ranch store I can bring home their Demeter certified butter and cream.”

“Today we sell one-half to two-thirds of our dairy products here at Demetria. The rest we supply to an organic market 143 miles away,” says Ronaldo Lempek, one of the individuals responsible for manag-ing the ranch. “Because of our increased capacity and certification, we are able to offer our milk, yogurt, and cheeses to more customers.”

All income from the sale of goods and products are reinvested in the ranch. Profits are used to run a tree nursery operation so more than two thousand trees a year can be planted to restore the environment for the next generation.

For more information, please contact demetria@demetria.com.br. To learn more about the Demeter certification process, visit www.demeter.net.

Raising the Spirits of Organic Agriculture

“The organic beer segment has grown considerably since we launched Wolav-er’s Organic Ales,” says Co-founder Morgan Wolaver. “My brother and I launched Wolaver’s because of our love of good beer and to introduce an organic consumer product that would attract new customers to the organic food move-ment…Our partnership with RSF will not only help expand our capacity to promote sustainable agriculture through a fun and inviting organic product, but also allow us to finance growth with an organization that shares our values and hopes for the future.”

”RSF supports sustainable agriculture in many ways,” says RSF President and CEO Mark Finser. “Our investors and donor advisors have made it possible for us to finance organic farms directly. Now we are funding another important link in the supply chain, companies working to promote the same cause.”

*Because RSF is a financial organization that values transparency, we are disclosing what may be perceived as a potential conflict of interest. RSF Vice President Joe Glorfield is related by marriage to the major shareholders of Otter Creek Brewing, the company that produces Wolaver’s Organic Ales. Mr. Glorfield formerly served as Otter Creek’s CEO, a position now held by his father-in-law’s brother, Morgan Wolaver, and currently owns a minority in-terest in the company. Mr. Glorfield did not partici-pate in any aspect of the underwriting, negotiations or approval of RSF’s loan to Otter Creek.

Through a grant from

RSF, customers like

Mauro Tolazzi are able

to purchase Demeter

certified biodynamic

milk at Demetria

Ranch.

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A new book by RSF Board of Trustee Siegfried E. Finser. You will not see money the same way again.

“This book makes clear that initiatives like RSF need people like Siegfried Finser and his colleagues, not only with a long-term perspective but also with a clear un-derstanding of what contemporary spiritual knowledge in the field of money means today. Understanding of what it can do in a positive sense is probably the most forceful source for social renewal today.”

—Peter Blom, Chairman of the Executive Board of Triodos Bank Group, the leading social bank in Europe

Available December 2006 from SteinerBooks and all major booksellers. Order online at www.steinerbooks.org or call 703.661.1594. For an autographed copy, please order directly from the author at sigfin@juno.com.

Rudolf Steiner Foundation

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IN THIS ISSUE• Promoting a Government for the People• RSF Participates in Permaculture CU’s Earth-Friendly Lending• Raising the Spirits of Organic Agriculture• Growing the Biodynamic Market in Brazil

© 2006 RSF

RSF QUARTERLY IS PRINTED ON NEW LEAF RECYCLED PAPER WITH SOY-BASED INKS. WWW.NEWLEAFPAPER.COM

RSF QUARTERLY DESIGNED BY MISSION MINDED, WWW.MISSION-MINDED.COM AND HEATHER STOUT DESIGN, WWW.HEATHERSTOUT.COM

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