About Starbucks Foundation
The Starbucks Foundation concentrates its giving on disaster response and community recovery, funding large-scale humanitarian relief efforts both internationally and domestically. It favors channeling significant resources through intermediaries and established relief organizations (including donor-advised vehicles) to support emergency food, shelter, and rapid-response operations. Grants are programmatic and event-driven rather than small local operating support, reflecting a prioritization of timely crisis impact and strategic partners with global reach.
Focus Areas
Rapid-response disaster relief and emergency food distributionInternational humanitarian assistance in Asia and other crisis regionsChanneling philanthropy through donor-advised funds and regranting intermediariesSupport for large humanitarian NGOs’ emergency operations and logisticsCommunity recovery and resilience after natural disasters (domestic and international)
Who They Fund
disaster-affected communitiesvulnerable local populations (households, informal settlements)
About Starbucks Foundation
The Starbucks Foundation’s recent grantmaking is defined by disaster response and community recovery, with large programmatic grants routed through intermediaries and established relief organizations. That pattern is visible in its biggest recent awards: $4,588,000 to Fidelity Charitable in 2025 and $3,972,539 to Give2asia in 2024, both tagged for thriving communities and disaster response. The foundation also uses major humanitarian partners to move emergency aid quickly, including Mercy Corps, World Central Kitchen, and the American Red Cross. Its giving is not limited to one region or one type of emergency. Recent grants support rapid-response food, shelter, and recovery work, as well as broader community resilience efforts tied to crisis recovery. The portfolio includes repeat support to the same regranting vehicles and relief organizations across multiple years, which suggests an event-driven model built around trusted delivery partners. Seattle International Foundation, Vancouver Foundation, and Caf America appear among the recent recipients, alongside domestic nonprofits serving disaster-affected communities and vulnerable local populations. The result is a grant pattern centered on timely humanitarian operations rather than small local operating support.
What Starbucks Foundation Funds
A clear throughline in The Starbucks Foundation’s giving is emergency food and disaster relief. It gave $2,090,000 to World Central Kitchen in 2025 and $845,000 in 2024 for thriving communities and disaster response, indicating continued reliance on organizations that can move food and relief supplies during crises. The foundation also supports large-scale humanitarian intermediaries. In 2025, it awarded $1,732,044 to Myriad USA, and in 2024 it gave $946,055 to Caf America, both under the same broad disaster-response theme. Community recovery shows up alongside emergency aid. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America received $1,000,000 in 2025 and $450,000 in 2023, while City Year Inc received $700,000 in 2024 and $500,000 in 2023, showing that the foundation backs community-serving organizations across more than one grant year.
How Starbucks Foundation Gives
The Starbucks Foundation’s typical grant size is substantial: the p25 is $19,373, the median is $49,750, and the p75 is $199,978. Recent awards also include several seven-figure grants, which points to a mix of mid-sized and large emergency-response grants. The pattern is repeat-based rather than one-off: Fidelity Charitable, Give2asia, Mercy Corps, the American Red Cross, Vancouver Foundation, and Seattle International Foundation all appear more than once across recent years. It is a regular funder, not a DAF vehicle, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. The grant record is programmatic and event-driven.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$23.6M
Total Assets
$22.5M
Total Revenue
$2.8M
Total Expenses
$21.8M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $19K and $200K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$19K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$200K
Geographic Reach
National30 states funded
About 18% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Starbucks Foundation Funds
Top 3 recipient countries by grant volume for Starbucks Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 288 | $58.8M | 97.6% |
| 2 | Canada | 5 |
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