The Starbucks Foundation: Supporting Community Response and Resilience during COVID-19

Updated November 16, 2020

From aiding global community response efforts to providing hunger relief to supporting our front-line responders, The Starbucks Foundation is committed to strengthening humanity by uplifting communities. To date, The Starbucks Foundation has contributed more than $9 million in response to COVID-19, investing in initiatives that extend emergency assistance to those in need while also helping build a path towards recovery and resilience.

These contributions include supporting:

Global COVID-19 Response Efforts

• More than $1,000,000 in Neighborhood Grants to more than 400 local organizations across the United States and Canada dedicated to COVID-19 community response, inspired and informed by Starbucks partners (employees). Read more here.
• $1,000,000 to United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund to support the World Health Organization’s efforts to help countries prevent, detect, and manage the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
• $1,000,000 to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation to support China’s epidemic prevention and community resilience.
• $1,000,000 to support charities focused on COVID-19 relief in partnership with Some Good News (SGN), which will double the impact of proceeds of #SomeGoodMerch sales to causes selected by customers, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Direct Relief, and World Central Kitchen. Read more here.
• $500,000 to the Global Fund's COVID-19 response to strengthen health systems and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on AIDS programs. Read more here.

Coffee and Tea Growing Communities

• $1,000,000 to Mercy Corps to support COVID-19 prevention awareness and extend urgently needed direct support across coffee and tea farming communities in Indonesia, Colombia, Guatemala, India and Ethiopia. To help prevent virus transmission and protect lives and livelihoods, Mercy Corps is providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene supplies as well as food and other needed assistance to vulnerable families during this crisis. These efforts have reached more than 230,000 people to date.

Hunger Relief

• $1,000,000 to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund to support people facing hunger and the food banks who help them. Read more here.
• $200,000 to Food Banks Canada’s COVID-19 Response Fund to support critical food distribution and delivery services to local communities. Read more here.
• $50,000 to Second Harvest (Canada)’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund to support critical food rescue and delivery services to local communities. Read more here.
• $25,000 to Food Bank for New York City to ensure New Yorkers in need, continue to have access to meals during times of crisis.

Front-line Responders

• $250,000 to Direct Relief to support delivery of personal protective equipment and essential medical items to health workers across the U.S. responding to COVID-19.
• $250,000 to Operation Gratitude to provide more than 50,000 care packages to first responders and medical personnel. Read more here.
• $75,000 total to Montreal General Hospital Foundation, Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, Calgary Health Trust, and Vancouver General Hospital & UBC Foundation to support health care workers and hospitals responding to COVID-19. Read more here.
• $25,000 to the New York City Police Foundation's Emergency Supplies Fund to procure critically needed supplies to provide to officers on the front line of the pandemic.

Vulnerable Communities

• $250,000 to the Robin Hood Relief Fund  to help the most vulnerable and under-resourced New Yorkers by supporting the nonprofit organizations on the frontlines in providing emergency support through food, housing, job security and more.
• $250,000 to the United Way Worldwide’s COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund to help the most vulnerable populations across the U.S. receive critical financial and social service support.
• $75,000 to United Way Centraide Canada’s COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund to support those most in need in local communities across Canada, from basic needs to capacity for community services. Read more here.
• $50,000 to United Way of New York City’s COVID-19 Community Fund to provide food, learning, and other resources to communities who are disproportionately impacted by the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.

Seattle, WA – Our Hometown

• $500,000 to The Plate Fund at Seattle Foundation to provide immediate financial assistance to restaurant workers who have been hardest-hit in King County, Washington.
• $250,000 to the COVID-19 Response Fund hosted by Seattle Foundation to rapidly provide flexible resources to community-based organizations working with communities who are disproportionately impacted by coronavirus and the economic consequences of this outbreak.
• $100,000 to the Black Future Co-op Fund housed at Seattle Foundation to respond to the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on the Black community, strengthen Black culture, increase resilience to economic and other shocks, and build generational wealth.
• $50,000 to Catholic Community Services to purchase cleaning supplies and provide motel vouchers and food delivery to vulnerable families.
• $50,000 to FareStart to provide emergency meals to organizations that serve youth, adults and families who are low income or experiencing homelessness.
• $50,000 to Mary’s Place to help move vulnerable families to alternate shelter sites and help expand shelter capacity.
• $50,000 to Wellspring Family Services to support temporary staffing to avoid disruption in services to unsheltered families and purchase cleaning supplies.
• $50,000 to United Way of King County to enable continued services and additional preparedness support to unsheltered families.

About The Starbucks Foundation

The Starbucks Foundation strengthens humanity by transforming lives across the world, with a focus on enabling community resiliency and prosperity and uplifting communities affected by disaster. Established in 1997, The Starbucks Foundation is a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization under U.S. law. Learn more at https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/community/starbucks-foundation.