Penny per Pound Program Launches

New Fundraising Program Makes It Easy to Contribute Through Buying/Selling of Coffee

Grounds for Health, an international non-governmental organization dedicated to prevention of cervical cancer in developing countries, today announced that it has launched a new way for members of the coffee industry to help save the lives of women living in coffee-growing communities. The Penny Per Pound program provides a convenient mechanism by which coffee companies can demonstrate support for the women of the coffeelands in their routine business operations. Early participants in the program include InterAmerican Coffee, Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers, Royal Coffee, Caravela Coffee, Balzac Brothers & Company and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

“The beauty of this program is that it makes it easy for both coffee importers and roasters to support our mission through the day-to-day business of coffee,” notes Guy Stallworthy, President & CEO at Grounds for Health. “Donations through Penny Per Pound will enhance our ability to take a long-term view with our current programs and expansion plans.”

Penny per Pound enables roaster and importer contributions via the procurement process. Roasters choose to include a nominal amount, between $.005 and $.01 per pound of coffee purchased, through their transactions with participating importers. Importers, in turn, will run regular reports and distribute funds accordingly to Grounds for Health. Importers can also opt to match as much as 100% of the amount collected through roaster purchases.

Like many commodity industry check-off programs, the new Penny Per Pound program provides an opportunity for members of the coffee industry to collectively support issues that are important to the sector. Women’s health is such an issue: women represent 70% of the workforce on coffee farms and many lack access to effective healthcare.

“Coffee is a relationship business,” says Bob Fulmer, President and Founder of Royal Coffee, a coffee importer headquartered in Emeryville, CA. “And this program gives us the opportunity to work together to save the lives of the women who play a critical role in making our livelihoods possible.”

Grounds for Health is the only women’s health non-profit with a legacy of serving women in coffee growing communities. The organization delivers much-needed screening and treatment services for cervical cancer, a nearly 100% preventable disease. In developing countries maternal mortality rates have fallen, yet deaths from cervical cancer continue to rise. In the next 15 years, 90% of the expected six million deaths from cervical cancer will be in low- and middle-income countries where few of the more than 750 million women aged 30-49 benefit from the screening and preventive therapy services that have minimized risks in the United States and Europe.

Grounds for Health currently supports programs in Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Peru with a goal of expanding programs to other high-need geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

About Grounds for Health

Grounds for Health envisions a world in which all women are protected from the threat of cervical cancer by timely and high-quality prevention services. Founded in 1996 by a coffee executive, Grounds for Health is focused on increasing coverage of cervical cancer screening and preventive therapy for women working in global value chains including coffee, tea, cocoa cut flowers and garments. A non-profit (501(c)(3)) organization headquartered in Williston, Vermont, Grounds for Health currently supports programs and employs staff in Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Peru.