The Starbucks Foundation Launches Global Community Impact Grants Initiative, Investing $30 Million by 2030

The Starbucks Foundation announced a $30 million investment by 2030 in a new Global Community Impact Grants portfolio designed to drive locally relevant impact in the communities where Starbucks operates around the world. To scale the initiative, The Starbucks Foundation is inviting partner companies (licensees) that operate the Starbucks brand across its three international regions – the Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East & Africa; and Latin America & the Caribbean – to nominate local nonprofit organizations for grants. These grants are intended to fund programs that create meaningful local or regional impact and expand on the company’s people’s positive ambition to enhance the well-being of all who connect with Starbucks.

For the inaugural round of grants, which will be awarded this April as part of Starbucks 12th annual Global Month of Good, the company’s international licensees nominated over 80 local nonprofit organizations from more than 40 markets. Grants will be awarded for causes aligned to The Starbucks Foundation’s community impact goals, including youth empowerment, inclusion & diversity, social services, hunger relief, economic opportunity, and coffee-, tea- and cocoa-growing communities.

​As part of the initiative, licensees were encouraged to co-invest with The Starbucks Foundation and leverage other resources, including providing in-kind donations and encouraging Starbucks partners (employees) to volunteer, for greater impact:

• Latin America & the Caribbean: Alsea Foundation will provide additional funding for grants to support youth opportunities and to fight hunger, building on seven years of partnership with The Starbucks Foundation, reaching vulnerable youth across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay this year.
• Europe, Middle East & Africa: AmRest is providing additional funding through its Doing Good program, elevating the local partnerships that our store partners have been supporting in their communities across eight markets.
• Asia Pacific: PT Sari Coffee Indonesia will mobilize over 500 Starbucks partners across Indonesia to volunteer as mentors and coaches for more than 1,000 youth through an experiential entrepreneurship curriculum.

“In every market we serve, Starbucks partners are making a positive impact in their local communities. We are excited to support them and the organizations they believe in to strengthen those communities, catalyze connections, and amplify the great work already being done,” said Michael Conway, group president, International, and Channel Development at Starbucks and board member of The Starbucks Foundation. “We’re also proud to work with our licensed business partners through co-investment to deepen our impact with this truly global effort,” he added.

The Global Community Impact Grants program builds on other initiatives of The Starbucks Foundation including:

• Neighborhood Grants, which invites Starbucks partners in the U.S. and Canada to nominate local organizations that strengthen their communities, with more than 3,500 organizations receiving grants since 2019.
• Origin Grants, which build towards The Starbucks Foundation’s goal to empower 1 million women and girls in coffee-, tea- and cocoa-growing communities around the world.
• Disasater Response Grants, which uplift communities affected by disaster by investing in response and preparedness programs.

“Alsea Foundation is proud to join The Starbucks Foundation by listening, investing in our communities, and making a positive impact for people across the countries where Alsea operates Starbucks stores,” said Ivonne Madrid, director of Alsea Foundation. “Since 2014, we have impacted more than 15,000 lives and we look forward to expanding our partnership, together.”

Source: Starbucks