A core strategy of Regenerate Cascadia is building financial infrastructure for regeneration—designed by and for the people and places doing the work across the landscapes of the bioregion.
In January 2025, Regenerate Cascadia was honored to be invited to join the Biofi Cultivator Project, a learning and design journey hosted by the Biofi Project. Alongside 21 other bioregional teams from across North and South America, our team stepped into a collective exploration:
How do we design financial vehicles that support place-based regeneration and community decision-making?
🌱 BioFi in June: 8-Minute Lightning Talks
In June 2025, 18 teams offered 8-minute presentations on their Bioregional Financing Facilities (BFFs) and other BioFi-aligned financial vehicles to an audience of funders, investors, and aligned partners.
“The sessions served as a platform to illuminate how different teams are designing financial processes, systems, and structures based on the uniqueness of their specific contexts.” — The BioFi Project
🌊 Brandon Letsinger Presents for Regenerate Cascadia
Representing Regenerate Cascadia, Brandon Letsinger opened with a powerful reflection on the core challenge:
“If 100 million dollars flowed to Cascadia today, are we ready to receive it? Would that money flow to the people in landscapes actually doing the work—guided and decided by them? And largely, the answer is no.”
🎥 This is a must-watch video for anyone engaged with Regenerate Cascadia, bioregional organizing, or regenerative finance! Watch the full presentation here (starts at 18:55):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nowoYmBRijw&t=1139s
🔄 Two Interwoven Programs: BioReg & Cascadia BioFi
Brandon introduced two interconnected programs being built to answer that challenge:
🌿 The BioReg Program
Supports landscape groups in becoming “funding-ready.”
This includes building trust, governance, clarity of mission, and infrastructure to receive and redistribute funds equitably.
💸 The Cascadia BioFi Program
Focused on developing a Cascadia Regeneration Fund and financial infrastructure that can move resources to landscapes. This includes supporting regranting systems, designing participatory finance tools, and growing a funder community of practice across Cascadia.
🔧 A Strategic Overview
In the second half of his talk, Brandon breaks down:
- The main workflows of each program
- How the two systems are interdependent
- The philosophy behind regenerative financial design
- The long-term vision for resourcing landscape-scale work
🌎 Inspiration Across the Americas
Beyond Cascadia, the other presentations were equally inspiring. From governance structures to decentralized giving models, bioregional teams across the Americas are shaping bold, place-based financial systems rooted in justice, sovereignty, and ecological care.
🎥 Watch the Recordings
- 📺 Full presentation with Brandon’s talk at 18:55:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nowoYmBRijw&t=1139s - 🌐 Recordings for both days + all team presentations:
https://biofiproject.org/cultivator2025 (scroll down for individual talks)
