As we near the end of our fiscal year (which ends at the end of the month), we’d like to call attention to a number of unique and creative ways that organizations have been raising financial support for our work. Here are a few great concepts to ponder:
Barista Bath and Body
During September’s “Campaign of Giving,” Barista Bath and Body, an award-winning natural line of coffee-based bath and skincare products, will donate 5% of its sales to support Grounds for Health. B3 talked about its unique product line and commitment to support Grounds for Health during three segments on the Home Shopping Network on September 19th. This unique partnership finishes on September 30, so there’s still time: visit http://www.b3products.com/ to make a purchase and support Grounds for Health.
Club Coffee and Walmart.com
Our good friends and loyal supporters from Club Coffee have partnered with Walmart.com to offer their line of Grounds for Health co-branded specialty coffees on the Internet. Since last fall, the Club Coffee line had been available in over 100 WalMart stores across the US but the program ends this month. So, please consider going online and purchasing one of Club Coffee’s fine offerings. Grounds for Health receives $.50 for every 12 ounce package purchased. Available soon!
Fair Trade Fund
A cherished member of the Fair Trade Coffee community in Brazil passed away in September from ovarian cancer. Andrea Maira da Silva, 27 years old, from Poco Fundo, Brazil, worked supporting small-scale coffee communities for several years. The producer organizations she worked for sold a lot of great quality coffee to the US market while helping to improve the lives of hundreds of small-scale coffee producers in Brazil. In memory of Andrea, several members of Fair Trade USA have asked Grounds for Health to create an on-line account for people to make donations in her name. You can donate to the fund here: http://groundsforhealth.org/fair-trade-fund/
Reunion Island Coffee’s One Less Paper Cup
Reunion Island Coffee, a Toronto specialty roaster, will hold its 3rd Annual ‘One Less Paper Cup’ Fundraiser on December 9 to specifically benefit Grounds for Health. Reunion Island product specialist Adam Pesce explains, “In the coffee industry’s efforts to make our product as sustainable as possible, we have come to realize that empowering and assisting women in every way possible is a top priority.”
To support this cause, fifteen contemporary Canadian artists donated their talents toward converting white ceramic cups into pieces of art. The unique ceramic cups are styled after the ubiquitous white paper cup, complete with silicone lid to match the standard takeout cup.
If you are interested in holding you’re own OLPC fundraiser, contact Adam Pesce at First Drop who will gladly give you advice on how to make it successful.
This coffee is “comprised of beans processed in the Kenyan style combined with beans processed in the classic El Salvadoran style, creating a unique taste profile, redolent of blackcurrant, berries, citrus, and tropical fruit.”
There are only 17 bags available.
Buy Finca Kilimanjaro Now
NOTE: this coffee celebrates “coffee superstar” Aida Batlle’s participation in the Grounds for Health Coffee Auction. Her donation of four premium kinds of coffee raised $7,380.00. Proceeds from the sale of Finca Kilimanjaro Grounds for Health Microlotdo not benefit Grounds for Health.
Recently, a Grounds for Health Awareness Raising event was organized by Darrin Daniels and Christy Thorne of Allegro Coffee Company in conjunction with Chef Keegan Gerhard of Food Network fame (you’ll recognize him from shows like Food Network Challenge).
During the Grounds for Health Coffee Auction, Allegro purchased half of Aida Batlle’s limited edition coffees (which ended up raising over $7000!), and created this event to raise awareness about our organization.
From what we’ve heard (and from these photos), the event sounds like it was a lot of fun, and it presented a great opportunity to get the word out about Grounds for Health.
As a non-profit whose support comes mainly from the coffee sector, we are wholly dependent on the generosity of businesses that see the value in supporting our work. But increasingly, we are also the beneficiaries of their creativity as progressive companies—large and small—reach out to others.
May was a wonderful month for showcasing some of the creative, philanthropic impulses of supporters both old and new:
We’re excited to announce that Grounds for Health and Barista Bath and Body are working together to make Mother’s Day—and the entire month of May—an opportunity to honor your own mother by helping mothers in coffee-growing communities gain access to prevention and treatment of cervical cancer, their #1 cause of cancer death.
Also: Purchase any amount of product on the Barista Bath & Body website during the month of May, and Barista Bath and Body will donate 5% of sales to Grounds for Health.
IMPORTANT: After completing donation click the button “Return to Grounds for Health” to enter your mother’s info.
Launched in July 2010, Barista Bath and Body is the first full natural beauty line to leverage the benefits of coffee by making organic coffee a primary ingredient. You can do good and get good goods – all May long.
Even though we’re a month into the new year, it’s not too late to pick up the 2011 Grounds for Health Benefit Calendar: Just ‘Cause.
This limited edition calendar was conceived and created by Kerri Goodman-Small, owner at CoffeeTalk & the Daily Dose, entrepreneur, and much-beloved champion of the specialty coffee industry for over 20 years. Kerri, who is also a Grounds for Health Board member, wanted to do something “different” this year to help raise funds to support our work. The Just ’Cause Calendar features Specialty Coffee Industry professionals in the buff … or how we like to put it: “tastefully nude” – all to benefit our good cause. Henceforth, you can think of the Grounds for Health staff collectively as Ms/Mr July.
In a recent press release, Boyd Coffee of Portland, Oregon, announced that it will donate $4 to Grounds for Health for every pound sold of Bahia Emerald Blend, one of its Roastmaster’s Cup Blends.
Boyds® purchased the Bahia Emerald Blend during last year’s Grounds for Health Coffee Auction, and we’re excited, humbled and thankful for this generous promotion.
From Boyds:
“We’ve been working with these communities for generations here at Boyds, so being able to give back with a donation for each purchase and raise awareness for this issue is so gratifying,” says Michael Boyd, a fourth-generation Boyd Family member and Coffee Buyer “Not many people know how preventable this disease is, and yet in these communities it’s the number one cancer killer among women, who are without question the heart and soul of coffee-growing families.”
This coffee only available for a limited time, so pick up your bag today!
Boyds’ Roastmaster selected distinctive Panama Estate Reserve beans grown from the highlands of Panama and combined them with natural pulped flavor-balancing coffee from the drier climate of southern Brazil to create this light, toffee, slightly piquant blend.
Club Coffee isn’t providing the only news on the benefit coffee front. Thanks to Ogawa Coffee, Grounds for Health is now in Japan! Ogawa estimates 260,000 packages will be sold in supermarkets and shops during this promotion. It’s a great way to raise awareness about Grounds for Health and women’s health issues in coffee-growing regions.
Click on an image to enlarge, use < > to navigate:
Toronto-based Club Coffee came on board as a Grounds for Health supporter in 2008. Following discussions at SCAA earlier this year, they decided to significantly step up their commitment. They proposed developing a co-branded line of coffees that they would distribute through a retail partner, returning a portion of the sales to benefit the work of Grounds for Health.
When we first saw the initial design of the coffee bags we were enthralled; the art work is beautiful and engaging. When we learned that the retail partner is Wal-Mart we were beyond excited—knowing how deep the potential reach could be.
Then we tasted the coffee. Wow. We knew we were partnering with a company that is not only very generous, but also very skilled. Grounds for Health is so grateful to be named Club Coffee’s designated charity for this project ,knowing the positive impact that these funds will have on women in the coffee-growing world.
Beautiful Club Coffee packaging of Grounds for Health benefit coffee
Club Coffee is a high quality, custom coffee roaster founded in 1906. The company provides a broad line of premium and specialty roast and ground coffees to leading North American retailers and foodservice operators.
From Bob Thompson, Director, Marketing & Business Development of Club Coffee:
Club Coffee first became involved with Grounds for Health at the 2008 SCAA convention. We were looking for organizations Club Coffee could support from a charitable and sustainable position. We were introduced to the Grounds for Health team by one of our valued suppliers – Frank Dennis of Swiss Water Decaf.
While our first ventures were charitable donations, we saw growing interest by our customers (and consumers) in sustainability projects in producing countries. What better opportunity than Grounds for Health!
Our decision to launch a special line of GFH coffees was driven by our desire to bring broader consumer awareness of the organization, the problem and the solution, combined with the ability to generate increased financial support for this great organization.
The launch of Club Coffee’s GFH coffee line – Indonesian Gold, Mayan Coast, Inca Trail, African Safari and Swiss Water® Decaffeinated – at 300 Wal-Mart locations will be a great launch pad for the program. We anticipate that this will lead to other opportunities to develop custom label programs in support of Grounds for Health.
During September’s “Campaign of Giving,” Barista Bath and Body, an award-winning natural line of coffee-based bath and skincare products, will donate 5% of its sales to support Grounds for Health. B3 talked about its unique product line and commitment to support Grounds for Health during three segments on the Home Shopping Network on September 19th. This unique partnership finishes on September 30, so there’s still time: visit http://www.b3products.com/ to make a purchase and support Grounds for Health.
A cherished member of the Fair Trade Coffee community in Brazil passed away in September from ovarian cancer. Andrea Maira da Silva, 27 years old, from Poco Fundo, Brazil, worked supporting small-scale coffee communities for several years. The producer organizations she worked for sold a lot of great quality coffee to the US market while helping to improve the lives of hundreds of small-scale coffee producers in Brazil. In memory of Andrea, several members of Fair Trade USA have asked Grounds for Health to create an on-line account for people to make donations in her name. You can donate to the fund here: http://groundsforhealth.org/fair-trade-fund/
Reunion Island Coffee, a Toronto specialty roaster, will hold its 3rd Annual ‘One Less Paper Cup’ Fundraiser on December 9 to specifically benefit Grounds for Health. Reunion Island product specialist Adam Pesce explains, “In the coffee industry’s efforts to make our product as sustainable as possible, we have come to realize that empowering and assisting women in every way possible is a top priority.”
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