The Conservation Fund’s Farms Fund

In follow up to the presentation Stacy Funderburke made at the 2026 GGA Annual Meeting, grantmakers engaged in a deep dive on the Farms Fund.

At our Annual Meeting in Tifton, Stacy Funderburke from The Conservation Fund gave us a clear look at what's at stake for Georgia's farmland, and a concrete way funders can help. Georgia has lost 20% of its farmland to development in less than a generation. The Conservation Fund's Farms Fund is one of the few tools built to reverse that trend while building wealth for the next generation of farmers.

The model is straightforward: the Farms Fund buys at-risk farmland, supports the farmer with infrastructure and technical assistance, permanently protects the land with a conservation easement, then sells it back to the farmer at an affordable, restricted value. Proceeds roll into the next acquisition. The results so far: 25 at-risk farms acquired across four regions, 1,946 acres secured, 46 farmers supported, and 3 farms already transferred permanently to farmer ownership. 

The Farms Fund's $22 million revolving fund is currently built mostly from The Conservation Fund's own capital and philanthropic grants, with only a small share coming from impact investments and loans.

In this peer-to-peer conversation, funders of all sizes discussed how to invest with grants, PRIs, and recoverable grants to help grow the Farms Fund. Stacy reviews the risk and return profile of the impact investment opportunity. Joe Thomas of the Sapelo Foundation shared how his foundation started small with a $100,000 PRI, and how the Foundation intends to grow the commitment.