Fibers Fund Makes First Loan to PA Flax Project
The Fibers Fund proudly announces its inaugural loan, provided to Pennsylvania Flax Project as part of a comprehensive integrated capital support package. This first loan will empower PA Flax Project, a woman-led cooperative business, to advance its mission of reestablishing the fiber flax industry in Pennsylvania and the greater Northeastern U.S.
About The Fibers Fund
The Fibers Fund is a catalytic fund to support small U.S. natural fiber and textile producers and processors, with a specific focus on environmental equity. Fiber crops, such as flax, cotton, fiber hemp, wool, alpaca, and leather, are an integral part of agricultural systems, yet the sector has received little attention from investors. Formally launched in 2023 to fill these capital gaps, the Fibers Fund has been incubated through a partnership between Fibershed, a nonprofit that develops regional fiber systems that build ecosystem and community health, and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF), a national network that amplifies the impact of philanthropic and investment communities in support of just and sustainable food and agriculture systems.
With its equity-focused governance structure and approach, the Fibers Fund was selected as a 2023 Transformative 25 fund, a list of funds “transforming the economy for social, environmental, and economic justice,” and was also recently featured on Impact Alpha’s “The Liist” as an innovative debt fund.
Innovative Loan Structure
The loan is structured as a forgivable bridge loan that leverages PA Flax Project’s $1.68M USDA Organic Market Development Grant award, providing start-up operational costs and salary advances necessary to unlock this reimbursable grant. This type of bridge loan for reimbursable grants is gaining increasing importance for farmers and farm groups seeking to catalyze federal grant funds.
In addition, loan funds will support PA Flax Project’s values of healing and inclusion and the Fibers Fund’s commitment to environmental equity by designating specific support and milestones to increase demographic diversity and inclusion in PAFP’s staffing and farmer cohort.
PA Flax Project’s Plans and Loan Impact
Through its work, PAFP will expand the supply of U.S. organic flax fiber by cultivating and supporting a network of flax farmers while simultaneously building out the infrastructure needed for the processing of fiber flax into linen—what is often called the “missing middle.” In the short term, it will work to connect those farmers with regional and international mills looking to purchase raw flax. Ultimately, PAFP will build and process the flax in its own cooperatively owned mill. PAFP’s efforts are part of a growing movement supported by organizations like the North American Linen Association.
The loan funds are intentionally integrated with earlier grant support from the Fibers Fund to PAFP for seed purchases that were not covered under the USDA grant—an example of the Fibers Fund’s integrated capital approach at work.
The grant component to PAFP builds on the Fibers Fund’s established TA grants program, which supports a portfolio of innovative fiber and natural dye businesses across the U.S.
Implementing Partners
Impact Charitable (IC), the Fibers Fund’s key partner for both the loan and grant, is a Colorado-based nonprofit with a mission to unlock and accelerate capital that sparks positive change. IC houses a special purpose fund that allows the Fibers Fund to deploy integrated capital at the discretion of its advisory council and investment committee. Special purpose funds are an innovative financial vehicle that can take in and deploy both grant and loan capital from foundations and donors, allowing philanthropic capital to fulfill its role as the most flexible and catalytic funding. IC’s role in this project is an example of their goal to “move more money to more people in more ways” in action.
According to Heidi Barr, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PA Flax Project, “the support of innovative and mission aligned funding organizations like Fibers Fund and Impact Charitable are crucial for us to access government funding and to our success in reimagining the textile industry as a just, equitable, and environmentally responsible industry. We are grateful for their support."
Support for the Fibers Fund and the loan and grant capital is provided by a network of funders and investors, including philanthropies, donor-advised funds, and impact-focused investors.
Contact Us
For more information, contact the following:
Fibers Fund: Sarah Kelley, Managing Director, [email protected]
PA Flax Project: Heidi Barr, Founder/CEO, [email protected]
Impact Charitable: Cindy Willard, Senior Director Capital Activation, [email protected]