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FAQ
What is Coffee Kids about?
Our mission is to help coffee-farming families improve their quality of life. We believe that coffee-farming families hold the solutions to their problems. Coffee Kids helps community members to identify challenges and then partners with local nonprofits to develop projects that address these challenges. All of our projects respect the cultural integrity, intelligence and ingenuity of the people we serve.
Do you sell coffee?
No, Coffee Kids is dedicated to helping coffee-farming communities create more vibrant local economies. But many of our supporters sell coffee and more. Search our member database for a Coffee Kids member near you and tell them we sent you!
What types of projects does Coffee Kids support?
The projects we support provide coffee-farming families with alternatives that provide more consistent income. Our partners manage projects in microcredit and economic diversification, education and training, health awareness, food security and capacity building. For more information on our partners and their projects, visit our Programs page.
We also coordinate exchanges among our partner organizations that we term “encuentros” to encourage discourse and sharing and help them create new approaches addressing common problems.
How does Coffee Kids define a successful project?
Our goal is to support projects that become self-sustaining and no longer require financial support from Coffee Kids to continue. We put emphasis on long-term support to ensure that our partners have time to create well-structured projects that truly serve the community. Partners who graduate from Coffee Kids remain in our network and serve as resources for other partners.
How did Coffee Kids begin?
Coffee Kids was founded in 1988 by Bill Fishbein, a specialty coffee roaster and retailer from Providence, R.I. While visiting coffee-growing communities in Guatemala in 1988, Fishbein was deeply affected by the poverty and created Coffee Kids as a way to give something back to the families that grow coffee.
How is Coffee Kids different from other development efforts in coffee-growing areas?
Coffee Kids, one of the first industry-specific nonprofits, believes that all projects must be community-based and founded on the principles of sustainability. We work in the world of coffee, but do not sell or buy coffee. Coffee Kids has a deliberate selection process for partner organizations to ensure that programs are sustainable and well-structured.
Where does Coffee Kids work?
Coffee Kids currently supports 16 projects managed by 16 partners in five countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Peru. More than 6,000 families in nearly 150 communities benefit from Coffee Kids programs. To read more about our partners and our programs, visit our Programs page.
What about other coffee-growing countries?
The poverty associated with coffee farming exists in almost every tropical country in the world. Coffee Kids would like to work with partners in more countries, but we are focused on developing well-run programs before expanding operations to other countries. With more funding, we can maintain the integrity of our programs and expand to other countries.
Who coordinates Coffee Kids’ programs in the field?
Coffee Kids partners with local partner organizations in the communities we serve. Our international program office in Oaxaca, Mexico, works with these partners to build their capacity to manage their own programs and ensure sustainability and future growth.
Does Coffee Kids engage in emergency and disaster relief work?
To the extent possible, we try to help when crises arise in the coffee-growing world. In 1998, in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, Coffee Kids was able to channel $17,500 in direct relief funds to communities in Nicaragua. Following the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Southern Asia, Coffee Kids raised more than $320,000 and formed a partnership with ForesTrade to provide much-needed disaster relief services to families in Sumatra’s coffee-growing region of Aceh. In 2005, Coffee Kids helped raise funds for coffee-growing communities in Guatemala and Mexico affected by Hurricane Stan.
However, our primary goal remains one of developing long-term, sustainable programs.
Can I volunteer for Coffee Kids?
Since the communities we work with run their own programs, Coffee Kids does not offer volunteer opportunities. Some of our partners offer opportunities for interested, qualified individuals. If you have skills to offer one of our partner organizations, please download the volunteer application and e-mail it to International Program Director José Luis Zárate at .
Volunteer Application (Word Doc)
Can I donate supplies?
Coffee Kids does not organize drives for supplies, we supply communities with the funds and assistance necessary to create their own programs. But if you do have a sizeable contribution, please contact us.
What is Coffee Kids’ annual budget?
Coffee Kids has an annual budget of approximately $1 million.
What percentage of donations to Coffee Kids goes to program expenses?
The percentage varies year by year, but the average is 75%.
How is the organization funded?
As of June, 30, 2009, business donations make up 84% of the budget, 6% from foundation grants, 4% from in-kind donations, 3% from individual donations, and 2% from merchandise sales. We receive no federal or state money.
Are donations to Coffee Kids tax-deductible?
Yes. Coffee Kids is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Donors in the United Kingdom can also receive tax benefits for their donations, visit our Coffee Kids UK page.
Does Coffee Kids undergo an annual audit?
Every year, Coffee Kids hires an independent firm to audit our financial records. Audited financial statements are available upon request or can be viewed here.
How many employees does Coffee Kids have?
Coffee Kids employs four full-time staff in the US, two international program staff in the Oaxaca office, and one full-time development liaison in the UK.