On August 7th, 491 cafes, 27 coffee roasters and thousands of coffee drinkers helped raise $135,612 to fund local grassroots homeless projects. For every coffee sold, cafes donated $1, coffee roasters supplied beans and customers chipped in.
Across Australia, coffee heads came together to effect change in their local communities. 100% of the funds raised by CafeSmart combined with other funds raised by StreetSmart have now been allocated through 132 Community Grants totaling $151,800. Grants target helping people who are homeless or at risk in communities where cafes have raised the funds.
Adam Robinson CEO of StreetSmart Australia said “Having over 500 small businesses involved and engaged during National Homeless Prevention Week, not only raised vital funds but also created great awareness around the issue of homelessness and what people can do to help. Yet again the coffee industry has shown how generous and community minded they are. The funding raised goes to some of our smallest, yet vital, community groups and not for profits, who have seen funding stripped out of the sector.”
StreetSmart grants go to support projects local to the cafes who participated, funding a wide variety of responses to homelessness including emergency aid, food, shelter, as well as projects that promote social inclusion, empowerment and sustainable change for people experiencing homelessness.
This round of Community Grants has seen 132 projects funded and of those 44 are first time recipients.
| States | Grant No. | Grant amount |
| VIC | 44 | $ 62,500.00 |
| NSW | 51 | $ 59,200.00 |
| QLD | 18 | $ 14,250.00 |
| WA | 9 | $ 8,500.00 |
| ACT | 2 | $ 2,000.00 |
| NT | 1 | $ 600.00 |
| SA | 5 | $ 2,500.00 |
| TAS | 2 | $ 2,250.00 |
| Total | 132 | $ 151,800.00 |
On hearing the news of a successful grant application Julie Felus, Executive Officer at Northern Domestic Violence Service in South Australia, said
“Many thanks to those cafes who were thoughtful enough to participate in this campaign. The funds raised will enable NDVS to purchase food parcels for women and children fleeing domestic violence and awaiting accommodation in shelters.
The ability to provide women with supplies at the point of entry is pivotal to allaying concerns about basic needs for the family, especially when most are leaving with no, or few possessions. It not only allows women to breathe a sigh of relief, but enables a warm welcome and an opportunity for staff to engage with families and set in motion strategies to address need. The grant is an important contribution to front line work and NDVS is most appreciative of community efforts.”
Maria Groner from Travellers Aid emailed to say…
“This is great news for people who use our services at Southern Cross Station. Many people who experience homelessness are in need of basic necessities, including clean shower facilities, public Internet access and assistance with transport fares. Through your contribution we are able to continue providing these services despite a loss of government funding. Thank you for your continued support!”
Chris from StreetMed told it as it is…
“You absolutely rock! Thank you so much. This will make such a difference to so many rough sleepers.”
and Amy from House of Welcome told us…
“Thanks again for everything StreetSmart is doing for so many organisations around Australia! Being a small NGO, here at HoW we are so appreciative to have support from the community.”
If you would like to know more about the latest grants and more examples of where funds have gone all grants are listed on State based PDF’s towards the bottom of the ‘who we help’ page.
These grants were made possible by our Sponsors, Coffee Roaster Partners, Cafes and supporters. The event relies on hundreds of participants but it’s great to acknowledge the high fliers! This year our Top fundraising Café was Yellow Bernard in Hobart, Tasmania and our Top Coffee Roaster Partner was Campos Coffee. More details of top fundraisers is in our previous blog post check it out here
StreetSmart has raised $3.6 million since commencing in 2003 and has funded 1147 community projects at 452 organisations.
