For every pound of green coffee we purchase as roaster-members of Cooperative Coffees, $0.03 goes to the Impact Fund. This fund is collected and our farmer producers can apply for use of the growing fund to help with projects around the farm or to better their community. These funds are paid directly to the farmer cooperatives and provide financial empowerment, allowing producers to improve their social, economic, and environmental conditions. The Impact Fund exists to help resolve challenges that cannot be solved solely through direct coffee trade. Impact Fund investments are broken into three categories:
Grants: We encourage supply partners to submit proposals of up to $25k annually.
Training: Ideally through farmer-to-farmer opportunities, training programs help build organizational capacity.
Emergency Relief: When the need arises, we rapidly release funds to combat geopolitical emergencies that threaten the communities we work with.
To date Coop Coffees has:
- $6,782,707 Total Social Premium Investments
- 132 Completed Projects
- $1,244,540 Total Impact Funds Given
- 34 Current Projects
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COSURCA in Cauca, Colombia - diversification of lower elevation farmers with cocoa, including technical assistance for organic best practices and reforestation
- Kokowagayo in Indonesia, Sumatra - replanted 17 women-run farms and reestablished access to 13 communities after floods devastated the region
- Las Diosas Nicaragua - funding for community and family gardens to combat drought and food insecurity during El Nino, and increase agroforestry adoption
- Manos Campesinas in Guatemala - diversify incomes via family gardens to support food security and pilot improved stoves and water storage technologies
- Maya Vinic in Mexico - established a centralized nursery of native shade tree species to increase shade, providing temperature regulation, food security, and pest control
- Norandino in Peru - support 100 most vulnerable households to diversify shade with fruit trees, increasing food security and supporting additional income via carbon credits
- Triunfo Verde in Mexico - installed solar panels at 32 households, improve water filtration systems, and increase organic fertilizer production and best practices
In addition to the Impact Fund we are working additionally on:
Organic Training
A total of 10 organizations trained in Honduras at Clave de Sol on organic best practices. The “Diplomado Sembrando Vida” (Planting Life Certificate) covers topics from certification compliance to water harvesting, with lots of organic product elaboration in between.
Opportunities for collaboration with Vuna
In response to the unprecedented market volatility of the past two years, Cooperative Coffees is exploring a new partnership with Vuna Coffee School to offer basic and intermediate training in price risk management for producer organizations. The program will combine online training with practical coaching on price fixation policies and open position management. By helping farmer cooperatives better understand and manage market risk, we hope to strengthen their financial resilience and support the long-term sustainability of both producer organizations and their farmer members.
We'll be presenting the initiative to a group of trading partners over the coming weeks, with the goal of launching the first training cohort this fall.
A total of 10 organizations trained in Honduras at Clave de Sol on organic best practices. The “Diplomado Sembrando Vida” (Planting Life Certificate) covers topics from certification compliance to water harvesting, with lots of organic product elaboration in between.
Opportunities for collaboration with Vuna
In response to the unprecedented market volatility of the past two years, Cooperative Coffees is exploring a new partnership with Vuna Coffee School to offer basic and intermediate training in price risk management for producer organizations. The program will combine online training with practical coaching on price fixation policies and open position management. By helping farmer cooperatives better understand and manage market risk, we hope to strengthen their financial resilience and support the long-term sustainability of both producer organizations and their farmer members.
We'll be presenting the initiative to a group of trading partners over the coming weeks, with the goal of launching the first training cohort this fall.
To learn more about all that we do as part of Coop Coffees with the Impact Fund visit: coopcoffees.com/explore