Rick Larson
Senior Vice President
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Natural Capital Investment Fund
Rick is Senior Vice President & Director of Strategic Initiatives for Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIF), TCF’s green business lending arm. Rick has worked with NCIF since 2007, when he opened the NC operations of NCIF. Rick manages NCIF’s strategic initiatives and impact measurement efforts, assists NCIF’s President with fundraising and outreach, and originates loans in the Southeast. He has led investments in enterprises in the following sectors: agriculture and local foods; logging; recycling; limited resource farmers; and eco-tourism.
Rick has over 25 years of experience in community development and business finance, focused on supporting rural entrepreneurs, green businesses, and social ventures. He has worked with a mission-driven venture capital fund; run a nationwide entrepreneurship education program for rural youth and adults; and worked in manufacturing. He earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BA from Amherst College. He teaches Impact Investing and social venture finance at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.
Contact: Email: rlarson@conservationfund.org Phone: 919-951-0113 Office: Natural Capital Investment Fund, Chapel Hill, NC
Projects
Earthseed Land Cooperative
The eight co-founders of Earthseed Land Cooperative (ELC) have a vision: to use land to support the collective health,...
Increasing Farm Productivity
Adam and Dru Montri started Ten Hens Farm in 2008 with little more than a quarter acre of land....
Montana Homegrown Wood
Artisan craftsmanship is evident in every product Sustainable Lumber Company (SLC) produces. By combining local timber, skilled workmanship, and...
Innovative Use of Beetle Kill Wood
Rogue Resources is a 19-year old enterprise based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, that has primarily operated in three lines...
Returning To His Farming Roots
Roger Outlaw, who is 64, has farmed all his life. Most recently though, his work in manufacturing meant he...
Promoting A New Generation Of Farmers
In 2008, with hopes of building healthy, self-sustaining communities, Adrienne Lee and Ken Lamson started New Beat Farm. Lots...
Benefiting Land, Livestock And The Bottom Line
James Joyner, 60, grew up on the same 100 acre plot of land since childhood. For over 68 years,...
Beef And Pork With A Local Flavor
Co-founders Tina Prevatte and Jennifer Curtis sought to build a sustainable food system that benefited their own community and...
Furniture From Unwanted Urban Trees
Connecticut brothers Ted and Zeb Esselstyn, co-founders of City Bench, create one-of-a kind furniture from unwanted urban trees. Each...
Conserving Water Resources
Shannon Brines began operating Brines Farm in 2004. Located in Dexter, Michigan (roughly 10 miles northwest of Ann Arbor),...
Lavender Helps a Family Farm Bloom
Norma DeCamp Burns wants to keep her North Carolina family farm from disappearing. In the Tar Heel state, that’s...
Hand-Built in Asheville
Over two decades ago, entrepreneur Lang Hornthal built his first log bed with a friend, sold it at a...
A Simply Natural Approach to Dairy
Simply Natural Creamery and Dairy Farm is a testament to Neil Moye’s willingness to innovate and diversify beyond tobacco...
Young Loggers Buck the Trend
Entrepreneurs Will and Wes Coleman are doubling harvesting capacity in an industry seeing fewer young workers. Logging crews are...
Misty Mountain Threadworks
Misty Mountain Threadworks was founded on the belief that it could make the finest climbing harnesses in the world, and...
Earning More per Acre with Grain Bins
Curtis Branch grows wheat, soybeans and corn on his Murfreesboro, North Carolina farm, a 240-acre property that has been in...
Green Grease for North Carolina
Disposing of used fryer oil and grease trap waste responsibly is a challenge for restaurants and a necessity for...
Natural Capital Investment Fund
