Our Impact
We serve coffee with a purpose
Each day, at any Be Café, what looks like coffee being served is much, much more. It’s human advocacy, workforce development, community engagement, and an economic stimulant, all wrapped in one.
This all started at Brody’s Be Café in Ada, Michigan — a proof of concept that proved everything we’d hoped for. And more.
Today, new café opportunities are popping up everywhere. More people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are lining up for a job. More businesses want to hire the talent we develop.
The only problem?
All this opportunity is bigger than our current capacity. And our purpose can only grow if our business can scale.
But before asking for funding, let us tell you more about what we’re doing and why it matters.
When people say, “This generation doesn’t want to work,” they better not be talking about employees with intellectual disabilities.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen such the opposite. We’ve seen employees with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and more who want to live and work independently, engage with the community, and – when possible – level up into another job outside a Be Café.
They’re the best employees you could imagine. Not just for people with ID, but for anyone, period.
The parents of our Beristas (our playful spin on “baristas”) refuse to see their capable children sit at home while government money shows up in the mailbox. They want to see these young adults reaching their potential and finding joy as a contributing member of society.
And we’re making that possible.
Our vision? A Be Café in every local community…
Our Be Cafés are creating value across the business and community ecosystem. Take a closer look and you’ll see the exponential value our purpose makes possible.
A $3 cup of coffee with incredible value below the surface…
Value for the employee.
This one is the most obvious. At every Be Café, we help employees with ID work, connect, and get ahead in life. We stand by their side – training them on everything customer service, cleanliness, multi-tasking, etc. – and support them in their skills journey.
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And while some employees’ best chance for success is staying at the café, our goal is seeing as many as possible grow and leave for other businesses—ideally, local businesses looking to diversify their workforce. To do this, we’ve developed a curriculum that takes an employee from Day 1 at a Be Café to Day 1 somewhere else, so that they can continue living, working, and thriving.
Value for the customer.
When you walk into a normal coffee shop, a transaction happens. When you walk into a Be Café, a perspective changes. Our customers get to speak and interact with someone with special needs in a whole new way. People young and old see someone with ID who’s been empowered. They’re standing in a space that feels fresh, clean, and cared for. And they come back, because the coffee was just as exceptional as the service.
Value for the community.
At each Be Café, we aren’t just teaching skills. We’re tightening the fabric of the community. We're taking care of our own neighbors. This has an incredibly positive effect on the community that can’t really be quantified with numbers and data. It’s more about the pride people feel, knowing what’s available and happening in their own backyard.
Value for the workforce.
Look closer and you’ll notice we’ve been strategic about where a new Be Café is launched. Small businesses and large corporations are actively seeking to tap into this emerging workforce in response to labor shortages. And we’re doing our part by unlocking a long-ignored pool of some of the most reliable employees they’ll ever find. In this way, we aren’t impacting 10-20 employees and families at a time. We’re impacting countless potential businesses, who carry that impact back into their local communities.
These employees can’t always get a job at a vast majority of places right away. It takes training, education, and lots of hands-on support. This takes time and resources that a Be Café can provide. Again, it all comes back to the fact that we’re more than a coffee shop. Our proprietary 12 Executive Functions curriculum is uniquely designed to help each Berista achieve long term, meaningful employment. It includes coaching them in conflict resolution, showing up presentable and on time, mastering skills useful at any job - all the exposure they need to be a reliable member of the workforce, especially at a time where talent is lacking.
The time has never been better because the
opportunity has never been greater.
We aren’t at the beginning of our journey anymore. We have a model that works. We have advocates spreading the word and board members guiding our strategy. We just need more funding to ensure we can scale at a pace that meets the demand we currently have.
