The Coffee Underwrites Philanthropy {CUP} program was conceived in late 2005 in Florida to assist a Realtor with her desire to support the building of a home by Habitat for Humanity. In our initial discussion we were prepared to write a check but we were asked if we would instead consider paying a "referral fee" from a store we had at the time. We decided that our Realtor was on to something and like the old adage "Give a person a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach a person how to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime"...we created an ongoing charitable program. The concept was originally utilized to attract clients to an eCommerce store through the sale of Premium Coffee and the donation of a substantial portion of the profit from that coffee.
Early in 2007 Katherine and David McShane, the principals of the company, discussed the concept of focusing their efforts specifically on raising money for charities, schools, churches and youth sports teams through the sale of this gourmet coffee. Both Katherine and David had been very involved with philanthropic work in the past and felt this would be a wonderful opportunity to create winning situations for everybody. David was a past President of a Literacy Council, Vice-Chairman of an Education Foundation and had been a board member of many 501(c)(3) organizations. He knew that one of the toughest assignments for these organizations was fundraising. He is also a youth ice hockey coach and saw the struggles of his parents in trying to meet the bills of their sons playing a very expensive sport. Katherine had been a longtime supporter of charities as a business owner and in fact she paid dearly to buy David at a bachelor auction supporting Cerebral Palsy!
After working with several coffee roasters to find the best blend of providers who focus only on the top worldwide crops of Arabica beans we assembled a variety of excellent flavors to sell to our clients. As individuals have tried our coffee the excitement has grown and as people have learned of this unique opportunity to raise funds for great causes the program has set sail.
We have combined this charitable intent with an even more unique opportunity for business people to market their business while gaining recognition for being philanthropic. Imagine having people see the business owners marketing message each and every day for a very low cost.
Finally we worked to refine a program where this coffee could be purchased on an ongoing basis to benefit the original referring charity with no additional handling of the money or product necessary. Through our website we are able to track which charity is to receive donations which are paid no less than quarterly. In the words of some of our supporters...THAT IS HUGE!!
