Root Capital Inc.

“Form 990, part iii, line 1 through a unique combination of capital, training, and access to global markets, root capital helps agricultural businesses increase farmer incomes, which in turn improves food security, empowers women, conserves ecosystems, and encourages the next generation of farmers. Program service accomplishments, continued finance form 990, part iii, line 4a most root capital loans can be categorized as follows: 1) lines of credit, which are used by borrowers to cover costs of purchasing raw product from their farmer suppliers. These lines of credit have terms of up to one year and are generally oriented around a harvest or production cycle. 2) fixed-asset loans with terms of up to seven years for investment in equipment and infrastructure. 3) general working capital loans with terms from one to seven years. Root capital assesses prospective clients and evaluates them on a series of financial, social, and environmental criteria. Social criteria include prices paid to suppliers, employee wages, and working conditions, and company support for social programs such as training and medical care. Environmental criteria include soil and water management, the impact of the business on the surrounding community, and standards for product handling and processing. Root capital's lending supports sustainable environmental practices that protect rural ecosystems. Crops processed and marketed by root capital clients include wild-harvested products such as nuts and native plants for oils, agro-forestry crops such as shade-grown coffee and cocoa, and farm-grown fruits and vegetables. Lending officers stay engaged with clients throughout the term of each loan, and root capital's financial advisory services program provides training as needed. Advise form 990, part iii, line 4b though financial management training is the core offering of the organization's advisory program, root capital also provides complimentary non-financial services, such as partnership-based training in agronomy. Root capital provides training to our clients on financial management, agronomic planning and monitoring, loan application support, financial institution (fi) advisory and mobile technology. Root capital's advisory services program has successfully trained 811 producer organizations representing thousands of people. Catalyze form 990, part iii, line 4c through industry associations such as the aspen network of development entrepreneurs and the global impact investment network, root capital plays a leadership role in building the enabling environment for rural small and growing business finance. As a non-profit committed to alleviating rural poverty, root capital seeks to maximize the positive social and environmental impact of our work. Economic, community, and environmental sustainability are all part of our core values. Economic sustainability - root capital clients link small-scale farmers to markets that can offer higher and more stable prices than they have historically received. Root capital clients also generate employment including managers, accountants, agricultural extension staff, drivers, and workers at processing plants. Root capital works with unique buyers of agricultural and other sustainable products worldwide including companies such as cooperative coffees, andean naturals, gepa, starbucks, keurig green mountain, and equal exchange. Community sustainability - farmer associations encourage participatory decision-making and are a source of community ownership and pride. They also stem migration to urban areas by making traditional agricultural activities more viable. Social impact includes stabilizing incomes in rural communities and creating new economic opportunities for women, indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups. Environmental sustainability - root capital clients typically provide farmers with training in sustainable production to avoid deforestation, reduce chemical use, improve water and soil management, and othe”

“Form 990, part vi, line 11b the form 990 was prepared by an independent public accounting firm with information provided by management. The form 990 is reviewed by the controller, chief financial officer and president. Prior to filing, the complete form 990 is provided to all voting members of the board of directors with opportunity for questions, comments, or edits. The board of directors is given 10 days to review and comment on the form 990. Any changes are incorporated in the final form 990 which is filed with the irs.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 12c all root capital board members and employees participate in an annual training on root capital's code of ethics, which includes a conflict of interest policy. Directors and officers complete a conflict of interest disclosure form each year, which is reviewed by root capital's governance, risk management & compliance (grc) team, and vetted with legal counsel if needed. If it is necessary to review or clear a conflict related to the current work or activity of root capital, that conflict is brought before the governance committee of the board. If the director with the conflict serves on the governance committee, s/he is recused from the conversation. The governance committee ensures that any business decision that could be affected by the particular conflict is considered objectively by the root capital team and is in the best interest of the organization. The governance committee's conversation and decision with respect to the conflict is recorded in the minutes of the meeting and shared with the whole board in the subsequent quarterly board book. All root capital personnel are trained on the conflict of interest policy in the course of its annual code of ethics workshops. Before these workshops, root capital's conflict of interest policy is shared with the participants and, after the training, participants are asked to sign an acknowledgement form attesting that they have read the policies and completed the training.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 15 per delegation of the full board of directors each year, the root capital board of directors' governance committee reviews the ceo's performance and compensation annually and recommends a salary for approval by the executive committee of the board. This power is delegated to the executive committee by the board since the first quarter board meeting occurs prior to salary adjustments each year. The ceo's salary recommendation is supported by a compensation study performed by an outside compensation expert every two years. Documentation of the deliberation and decision is filed in the ceo's personnel folder. Compensation of other officers and key employees is determined by the ceo of the organization using the results of a compensation survey conducted on an annual basis.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 19 the organization's audited financials are available on its website. Governing documents and the conflict of interest policy are available upon request. Board member and compensated individual disclosure form 990, part vii peter bernard served as vice chair of the board of directors through february 2016 when was hired as chief operating officer. He did not receive compensation for his services as vice chair. To provide context for which role peter bernard was compensated for, he has been reported twice on form 990 part vii.”

“Form 990, part xi, line 9 foreign currency exchange loss: ($600,674)”