Specialty Coffee Association and Coffee Quality Institute Announce SCA Grant To Support CQI’s Development Fund

Today, during CQI’s 25th Annual Luncheon at Specialty Coffee Expo, a grant agreement was announced between the Coffee Quality Institute and the Specialty Coffee Association. Under the agreement, SCA will contribute a percentage of its annual education revenues to CQI to support its development work and advance its mission to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of the people who produce it. 

"The Specialty Coffee Association is honored to support the Coffee Quality Institute’s Development Fund and its vital role in advancing inclusive, sustainable development across the coffee sector” said SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to center producers, recognize the full value of coffee, and make coffee better for everyone across the value chain." 

This agreement and the subsequent funding will provide vital and ongoing funding for CQI’s project work in the places where coffee is produced.

“It is hard to overestimate the importance of this agreement for CQI and the people we serve,” said CQI CEO Michael Sheridan. “At a time when traditional sources of funding for development assistance are being eliminated, SCA is stepping into the vacuum and demonstrating real leadership. Its financial commitment to CQI will enable us to expand the scope of our work in the places where coffee is grown.”   

For more than 20 years, CQI has trained people who produce and process coffee in over 30 coffee-growing countries around the world with funding from public and private-sector donors. This grant agreement makes SCA a leading investor in CQI’s work to improve coffee quality.  

This collaboration a part of the historic partnership between the two organization, which was announced on April 24th that will also evolve the content of the Q Grader Program and transition its management to the SCA. Read that full announcement here.