Applications for the NCA 2019 Origin Charity of the Year Award are due December 10. Learn more. 

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By William, (Bill) Murray, NCA CEO & President
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Now more than ever, our communities and neighbors could use a helping hand. In the coffee industry, our community crosses borders with our supply chain, and giving back is no longer optional.

Here at the National Coffee Association (NCA), we decided about a year ago that – rather than starting yet one more program to help others – we were uniquely positioned to help in a different way.

Like all trade associations, the very nature of our organization gives us a platform and a voice. NCA can do the most good by leveraging our Association platform as a connector and conduit of information.

This realization led to the creation of our own NCA “corporate social responsibility” program. (I wrote about the fundamentals of Association CSR programs when we were designing our own.)

Our program, the NCA Coffee Gives Back Charity Showcase, highlights, and honors the hard work of those who are dedicated to improving the lives of coffee farmers and their families.

If you are a coffee lover, a member of the coffee industry, or just looking for a way to make a gift that honors coffee farmers, we commend these organizations to you and hope you will be generous. Each of these nonprofits has provided us with detailed information regarding their history, mission, financing and governance, and we are confident that your support for their work will be put to good use.

In the meantime, please take a moment to look over the list of our 2018 Charity Showcase participants, and find one who resonates with you.

Farming is hard, and getting harder. Changing climate conditions, corruption and violence in coffee-growing countries, the long road to market – there are many challenges to overcome.

And yet? Coffee is special: Help those who help make your day more enjoyable, every day.

(And if your coffee charity would like to be included in our 2019 program, learn more about how to apply.)

NCA’s 2018 Charity Showcase Honorees and Participants

NCA 2018 Origin Charity of the Year

Grounds for Health

Founded in 1996, Grounds for Health is a cervical cancer prevention and detection program focused on women in coffee growing communities.

NCA 2018 Origin Charity of the Year Finalist

Coffeelands Trust the Polus Center

The Polus Center’s Coffee lands Trust is a fund to provide direct support for coffee farmers and their families who have been injured by landmines in conflict regions around the world.

NCA 2018 Origin Charity of the Year Finalist

Coffee Trust

The Coffee Trust works with coffee producers and their families in the Ixil region of Guatemala through a comprehensive, integrated approach to development based on local priorities, values, and culture, leading to programs including a sustainable micro-credit program with close to 2,000 women, and nearly doubling coffee production in the community after 75% of their crop was lost to the roya fungus.

NCA 2018 Charity Showcase Participants

Catholic Relief Services

CRS’ mission is to assist impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas, working in the spirit of Catholic social teaching to promote the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person; CRS’s “Coffeelands” project focuses specifically on coffee growing regions.

Coffee Care

Coffee Care Association was founded in Guatemala in 2004, and was originally created after one American coffee roaster wanted to build schools in rural areas of Guatemala. In order to separate business from philanthropy, this initiative led to the creation of Asociación Coffee Care.

Food 4 Farmers

Food 4 Farmers was founded to combat seasonal food insecurity in coffee-growing communities, strengthening food systems in coffee-growing areas, and helping smallholder farming families supplement their coffee income.

IWCA

The International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) began as an informal effort to connect women across the value chain and has grown to become a global network of self-organized, self-governed chapters in 22 countries. Their mission is to empower women in the international coffee community to achieve meaningful and sustainable lives.

Technoserve

Technoserve – short for “technology in the service of mankind” – is envisioned as a different type of nonprofit, one that helps people by connecting them to information and market opportunities.

Utz

Now part of the Rainforest Alliance, UTZ is the largest label and certification program in coffee globally, both in supply and sales volumes, with more than a million farmers and workers who are part of the UTZ program in 36 countries (over half a million coffee farmers and workers in 25 countries). UTZ was built to tackle issues like climate change, child labor and living wages.

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Visit the NCA Coffee Gives Back Showcase