OVERVIEW: Starbucks Foundation promotes job opportunities for young people in the United States. Globally, it supports local community development, as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives.
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.
Given the environmental and human rights impact of coffee agriculture around the world, it remains to be seen whether this funder will develop and increase funding.
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. The foundation prioritizes giving through four areas of programmatic interest: Opportunity for Youth, Community Service, Supporting Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa Communities, and Access to Clean Water.
Grants for Work and Opportunity
The foundation’s Opportunity for Youth program seeks to aid the world’s nearly 300-million-youth to obtain the skills necessary to “succeed in the rapidly changing global economy." Through its 100,000 Opportunities initiative, Starbucks is committed to hiring 100,000 “opportunity youth”—defined as “16 to 24-year-olds who are not working or in school”—by the year 2020. The Opportunities for All grantmaking program provides funding for “organizations working to create job and education opportunities.” Grantees include Boys and Girls Clubs, City Year, and Girls Inc.
The foundation's Supporting Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa Communities adopts a broader approach in its grantmaking. This 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 awards grants to education, nutrition, and community health groups working in developing countries.
Grants for Global Development
The Starbucks Foundation’s Supporting Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa Communities 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 awards grants to education, nutrition, and community health groups working in developing countries. Beyond its grantmaking to coffee, tea, and cocoa communities, the foundation’s Access to Clean Water program largely revolves around its Ethos Water Fund. What originally began as a “social venture startup” providing people in developing countries with access to clean water has become a central grantmaking vehicle for the foundation.
Other
The Starbucks Foundation also conducts philanthropy through Partner Match—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.
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.
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