Coffee producing communities around the world face an array of challenges, and non-profit groups play a significant role in assisting them. To highlight these philanthropic efforts at origin, the National Coffee Association has operated an award program and publicity showcase called Coffee Gives Back since 2018.
The NCA is based in the United States, but the program is open to all domestic and international charitable organizations that meet the eligibility requirements, regardless of size or revenues, including groups that are not members of NCA. The main qualification is to be a genuine non-profit group that directly benefits coffee communities at origin.
The 2024 NCA Origin Charity of the Year Award will be presented at the NCA Annual Convention to be held March 7–9, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. Deadline to apply for the 2024 award is December 1, 2023.
To win the award, a group first must take part in the Showcase, which features them on the NCA website. Applications for the Showcase are accepted on a rolling basis; there is no deadline.
The Showcase currently spotlights 20 groups large and small, including the International Women's Coffee Alliance, Fair Trade USA, Farmers Voice Radio, Child Aid, TechnoServe, Root Capital, and more. The award is supported by Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee.
"What makes coffee unique is that many organizations work, on a daily basis, to help those coffee farmers who are struggling. There are programs focused on agronomy, programs built around gender equity, and programs designed to help whole coffee communities, not just coffee farmers," said William Murray, president of the NCA, when the Coffee Gives Back program was announced in 2017.
"These programs carry on their work in far and distant places month after month, often staffed by volunteers, often working to encourage long-term changes where the accomplishments take time to reveal themselves. This isn’t the kind of work that results in click-bait friendly headlines that entice readers and drive traffic – and yet it is important, for so many reasons. This is why the NCA is launching the program," Murray said.