Join Countryside Angels

Members must be:

• A Member of Ag Ventures Alliance
  • Individuals must apply to be a part of Countryside Angels, agree to abide by its rules of conduct and be willing to consider investments in companies that are presented. 
• Reside in a Rural area defined by USDA as,*
  •  Any area other than a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 inhabitants, and  any urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 inhabitants. 
  • Generally, this means any city of more than 50,000 population or its contiguous suburbs

*Up to 10% of any chapter may be allowed to live in urban areas

• Greater access to quality investment opportunities
• Cost and time efficiencies gained through deal screening, group presentations, shared due-diligence, and cooperative term negotiation processes
• Networking and the ability to co-invest with other local accredited investors
• Opportunity to enhance returns and to diversify one’s personal investment portfolio
• Satisfaction that comes from building a successful business from the ground up
• Chance to give back to one’s industry, community, and region
• Opportunity to learn and grow personal investment abilities
• Opportunities for mentoring entrepreneurs

• Attend at least one of the groups meetings each year and participate in screening and due diligence as part of the collaborative process
• Share our vision and be willing to actively contribute to our process
• Should be interested in investing capital and expertise in high growth businesses in rural communities where our members work and live
• Abide by the rules and code of conduct established by the group

All  Countryside members will automatically become a member of the Angel Capital Association (ACA) with the following benefits.

• Introduction to Angel Investing – one hour course 
• Interactive Introduction to Angel Investing – two hour course 
• Fundamentals of Angel Investing – half day course 
• Term Sheet Basics – half day course  
• Using Capitalization Tables to Understand the Impact of Deal Terms on Returns – half day course 
• Free one-hour Webinars 
• Free Webinars for New Angels – six programs on the “building blocks” of angel investing 
• A Conversation with ACA Instructors on Fundamentals of Angel Investing – one hour webinar
  • This webinar is free for ACA members.
  • There is a small charge for non-members. Non-Members interested in the webinar, please contact Heather Krejci. 
• Achieving the Right Balance in Early Stage Term Sheets – one hour webinar
• Regional Networking Events where entrepreneurs pitch their companies
• The ACA Annual Summit
• Directory of Angel Groups in North America
• Member Bulletins
• Leader Tool kits
• Special Company Discounts for both the Angel Group and individual angels such as legal, insurance, lodging data and analytics.

Membership in Countryside Angels is free to Ag Ventures Alliance (AgVA) members. Ag Ventures Alliance is formed as a value-added cooperative that has made investments in Agricultural innovations for over 20 years.

Although it will manage the operations of Countryside Angels, the angel network will not be restricted to agriculture related companies as is AgVA.

Ag Ventures Alliance has a $250 initiation fee and a $25 annual renewal fee. Other than the cost of an occasional meal or other incidentals that is all Countryside Angels costs.

Countryside Angel applicants need to fill out the AgVA membership form and a form that demonstrates that the applicant is an accredited investor.

*If you’d prefer to print off the form and mail it to us, you can do so here .