A smiling man with long hair and a beard, dressed in a white checkered shirt, a dark vest with a boutonniere, and brown pants, standing outdoors in a forested area with trees and a rocky, snowy ground.

A Letter from Our Founder

ERA was born from a question I couldn't stop asking: what if the mission of an organization could be fulfilled by its investment policy as much as by the projects it funds?

I have always been committed to making a difference in the world. Through nonprofit agriculture education, creative self-expression, and community impact work, I spent years practicing what that actually looks like. When a regenerative ranch in central Oregon, a growing family, and a board of people I love came together, ERA became inevitable.

At the ranch, regenerative means the owner uses rotational grazing and diversification of grass seed to enrich soil health, steward habitat and restore migration routes for elk, swans and many other species. He also happily supports the use of the ranch for educational, creative and experiential programming. ERA seeks to carry that same spirit forward, whether for the land or for people.

The core vision is simple. We build an endowment that generates annual income to grant funds to artists, educators, and land stewards whose work regenerates communities, ecosystems and creative life. And we invest that endowment in organizations that reflect the same values. The investment and the mission become one and the same.

What has become clear over the past year is that I am not just hooked on the idea. I am inspired by the community it creates. I am moved by the time I spend every week with the board doing what is next.

We are just beginning, and are grateful you are here for it.

— Charlie, Founder

Our Team

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Charles Utter

Founder

Charlie Utter lives on a regenerative ranch in Bend, Oregon with his wife, daughter, son and dog. After living and working at the non-profit in Athol, Massachusetts, The Farm School, when he was nineteen he pursued a career in sustainable agriculture education. His passion for community development and empowerment has stayed with him since his role as program manager at Cultivating Community in Portland, Maine. He has also spent a decade as an artist and live music community creator, including five years working and performing in Shenzhen, China. In 2020 he founded High Desert Music Collective in Bend to empower the local community and has been operating it for the past six years as well as being a full time dad for his two young children.

Endowment for Regenerative Artists is the creative expression of the passion, patience and contribution he wants to be for his family and for the world. He is committed to inspiring creativity and regeneration symbiotically with you and is grateful for your witness and support of ERA.

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Adrain Blackstock

Board Member (Secretary)

Adrian Blackstock serves as Secretary of the Endowment for Regenerative Artists. With more than 35 years of involvement in the music side of regenerative work, Adrian brings a lifelong understanding of how sound, creativity, and community can help people reconnect with themselves, one another, and the world around them.

Adrian enjoys using music and art as mediums for connection, inspiration, and renewal. His work reflects a belief that the arts can do more than entertain—they can restore relationships, uplift communities, and create spaces where imagination, healing, and transformation become possible. 

As Secretary, Adrian helps support ERA’s mission to bridge ecological, cultural, and artistic divides while contributing his perspective as an artist, organizer, and advocate for creative regeneration.

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Grant Bradski

Board Member (Treasurer)

Grant Bradski lives in Petaluma, California with his wife Kellie, a clinical psychologist, and their dog and two cats. By day, Grant is a coordinator for As You Sow's Invest Your Values program, building tools that help everyday investors and employees understand the environmental and social risks hidden inside their retirement accounts — work that's earned Fast Company's World Changing Ideas Award and recognition from Kiplinger as a top tool for sustainable investors.

Grant has spent years developing creative content translating shareholder engagement and environmental data into stories people can actually feel and act on, work rooted in the same conviction that drives ERA: that creativity is itself a form of regeneration, where abstract problems become tangible enough to move people. Before his work in finance and sustainability, Grant was a grassroots environmental advocate across the Bay Area, and he holds a B.A. in Business from Cal State Chico.

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