2020 Gratitude and Review

Thank you for staying caffeinated with us through this doozy of a year. We are so grateful to everyone that visited a Groundwork cafe, shopped online, helped to support one of our charity partners, or just told us how much you enjoy our coffee (hey, we like compliments too). 

We have big things planned for 2021 and we can't wait to share them with you, from new and very special coffees to a fresh brand look (how's that for a breakup makeover, 2020?). That said, as difficult as this year was, we have many things to celebrate. Here are a few of our favorite highlights from 2020:  

We released 11 new coffees this year including new Limited Reserves, Seasonal Selects, Cold Brew Blend, and our 2020 Holiday Blend, Silver Lining. Plus, we were finally able to share our classic cold brew with fans afar through our Cold Brew on Tap (returning soon!) 

We launched the Groundwork Coffee app (available for iOS and Android!) at the start of stay-at-home orders for easy order ahead and delivery options so that our customers could continue to enjoy their favorite drinks and brunch classics while staying safe and healthy. Haven't tried it yet? Download and save 20% on your first order, plus receive regular discounts and promos only available to app users.

Our online customers donated nearly $1,200 to Grounds for Health, a longtime charitable partner of ours founded and funded by lovers of coffee to care for and prevent cervical cancer for women in coffee growing areas. For every $16 raised, Grounds for Health can provide a life saving cancer screening to a woman in need.

We raised over $11,000 for our Barista Tip Jar. Our baristas truly are the spirit of the Groundwork Coffee cafe experience. Thanks to your generosity we were able to distribute funds to support our baristas while they continue to support our Groundwork customers in Los Angeles and Portland. 

We celebrated 30 years of Groundwork! You only turn 30 once so we thought why not throwback to when it all started...1990! You loved our Birthday Blend and it's been so fun seeing our fans rock our "Made in the 90s" anniversary merch out and about and on social media (Our Anniversary mug, hat, and t-shirt are available in our online store). 30 years is a long time in the coffee industry and we couldn't have done it without you. Cheers to 30 more!

We served 2,346 free and discounted drinks to first responders at our Los Angeles and Portland cafes. We can't say thank you enough to the healthcare professionals working through this pandemic, but we are proud to help keep them caffeinated. 

Together with our friends at Northstar Moving and Compass Realtors, we raised over $47,000 for the Los Angeles Food Bank during this summer's "Let's Send Hunger Packing Food Drive." When 1 in 4 kids in the LA area go to bed hungry, we couldn't be more thankful to everyone that donated and helped us blow our $30,000 goal out of the water.

We continued to support the AMUCC and PROCOCER coffee associations in Colombia and Nicaragua, respectively, through our direct trade partnerships. These donations, offered as a premium on each pound of coffee purchased, go to support equipment upgrades, training, and investments into new organic coffee farms.

We donated over $3,000 of cafe sales to the ACLU, Black Lives Matter, People's City Council Freedom Fund, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Our work is far from done when it comes to racial and social justice and we'll continue to support these amazing causes while improving our own diversity and inclusion programs within our company.