Starbucks Foundation
/OVERVIEW: Starbucks Foundation supports local community development around the world, as well as women and girls’ empowerment, and water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. It has a disaster response program as well.
IP TAKE: This foundation makes many annual grants, so it is easy to go unnoticed. Grant seekers whose works address several Starbucks key areas may have a better chance of attracting its funding attention than those that are addressing a single problem. However, grant application guidelines are not transparent or accessible. Not known for being approachable or responsive, the Starbucks Foundation is a tough nut to crack.
OVERVIEW: Established in 1997, the Starbucks Foundation began its philanthropic endeavors by funding literacy programs in the U.S. and Canada. Since then, its giving has grown exponentially to support projects around the world. It seeks to “to strengthen humanity by transforming lives across the world, with a focus on enabling community resiliency and prosperity and uplifting communities affected by disaster.” The foundation prioritizes giving through several areas of programmatic interest: Origin Grants, Neighborhood Grants, and Global Community Impact Grants.
Grants for Community Development
The Starbucks Foundation conducts local philanthropy through its Neighborhood Grants and Partner Match programs—by which the foundation will match the value of donations made by employees to nonprofits—and employee Community Service programs. Starbucks is not transparent about its giving through these programs, either on its website or in tax filings. Grantees include Boys and Girls Clubs, City Year, and Girls Inc.
Grants for Global Development and Women and Girls
The Starbucks Foundation’s Origin Grants program seeks to support the farming communities on which the company depends. To those ends, the foundation backs efforts in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in water-stressed coffee growing communities. This program also prioritizes support for women and girls in these communities, and it has committed to “uplifting” one million women and girls by 2030. It awards grants to education, nutrition, and community health groups working in developing countries.
Its Global Community Impact Grants program supports organizations focused on youth empowerment, inclusion & diversity, social services, hunger relief, economic opportunity, and coffee-, tea- and cocoa-growing communities. Grants from this program go to groups in three areas: Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and Latin America & the Caribbean. Starbucks committed $30 million toward this program through 2030.
Grants for Humanitarian and Disaster Response
The Starbucks Foundation’s Disaster Response program works to strengthen communities around the world “affected by disaster by investing in preparedness, response and resilience programs.” Most of this takes the form of partnerships with organizations like the American Red Cross and World Central Kitchen, and facilitating customer donations through the Starbucks mobile app.
Important Grant Details:
Opportunity for All grants generally range from $20,000 to $50,000. Grantseekers may review the foundation’s recent grantees for more information on its grantmaking habits. Access to Clean Water grants are few, but significant and range from about $300,000 to over $1 million.
Starbucks does not provide a clear way of applying for grants, and its grantmaking guidelines are not transparent.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
