This post was written by my friend and colleague Henry Frechette.? This is an edited version of the original.
In this gloomy economic climate, many nonprofits, especially those that rely on government support, are pessimistic about their futures. However, Aspire of Illinois, a 50-year-old organization that gets 85% of its funding from the government, is surviving with a dose of ingenuity.
Instead of waiting for a miracle, Aspire CEO James Kales and his team reached out to Tony Dreyfuss and his Chicago-based Metropolis Coffee Company (www.metropoliscoffee.com) to form the social entrepreneurship venture Aspire CoffeeWorks (www.aspirecoffeeworks.com). This new company offers craft-roasted coffees while continuing Aspire?s mission of providing employment for people with developmental disabilities. The unemployment rate for people with developmental disabilities is a staggering 75%.
I asked Jim Kales how he has made his project a success and how other nonprofits might try such ventures.
Henry Frechette: Why social entrepreneurship, and why did you choose the coffee business?
Jim Kales: We really wanted to do something big, something that would take Aspire to the next level. We also wanted to do something that was visible but was still going to provide employment for people with disabilities. We had discussed several options, but at one particular morning meeting we were all drinking coffee, and I don?t remember who, but one of us said, ?what if we did something with coffee?? So from early on we looked into coffee as a possible direction to pursue.
However, we didn?t just dive into it. We really researched the market as a whole, analyzing low and high-end coffee brands, looking into current and projected trends in coffee prices, and so on, and it seemed to be a market we could get into. Also, if you think about it, coffee is a product about elevating yourself. You drink it to lift yourself up, and that is what Aspire is all about.
HF: What are the jobs people with developmental disabilities are doing there? Was it difficult to get people into those jobs?
JK: The adults who work on the Aspire Coffeeworks team are grinding the coffee, weighing it, packing it, calculating inventory, shipping it, and so on, really doing every job possible, all side by side with the Metropolis staff.
But there are more dimensions to our approach to employment than just providing jobs. We are also bringing adults who have never worked in a community job. I need be clear that I mean a job where they are out in a real community, not in a sheltered place where the only other people working there also have developmental disabilities. We are then exposing them to what it is like to work beyond those areas. As you can imagine, this can be a very daunting transition but Aspire Coffeeworks provides a safe place for this transition and also helps them develops some key job skills that they can then take to another employer.
Through the example of Aspire Coffeeworks, we want to show companies that integrating people with developmental disabilities into the work force is not some daunting task, but is easy and beneficial to the company. As Tony has said, several people Aspire has brought to his team are some of the best employees he has ever had, they just happen to have a developmental disability. Like all employees, they may face challenges in some areas or tasks, but excel in others. Balancing these skills and weaknesses is at the core of effective teamwork for any company.
As a case in point, one of our Aspire team has actually been hired full time by Metropolis. Tony jokes that he stole her from us but I would say that this is exactly what we are going for. Aspire cannot hire everyone with a developmental disability so when a member of our team develops a skill set that is desirable by an employer and is then hired, that is a real success story.
HF: If this venture is so successful, does this mean that you are looking to replicate it in other industries?
JK: Absolutely. Actually, right now Aspire is working with another large Illinois-based company to help them determine in what areas they can employ people with developmental disabilities, how they can create a system of support so those future employees have a high retention rate, and also lend our expertise directly to the hiring process itself. We are actively looking for other employers with which we can tailor a process to create an employment situation that is ultimately a win-win for people with disabilities, the community, and the company.
The old model would be for an organization like ours to go to a big company and say, ?hey, buy some raffle tickets or give us a donation to support us, and we?ll deal with the issue.? The new model is getting organizations and companies to address issues and causes directly. Our vision and direction for the future is all about working business partnerships and we hope to be able to play much more of an educational or consulting role for these partnerships down the road. We have the demonstrated expertise to help companies with diversifying their work force, building and enhancing their community image and impact, and actually generating some real ROI.
Down the road we may do something with Groupon. They have been incredibly helpful in lending us their expertise to shape our website and enhance our internet sales. We will be incorporating their advice to our website over the next few months and then in the fall of 2011, they are going to help us further our product sales through a joint effort promotion.
HF: Is Aspire Coffeeworks successful enough that you would recommend it to other nonprofits as a way to generate funding?
JK: Absolutely, with the caveat that they stay out of the coffee business. It?s competitive enough as is!
In all seriousness, I would encourage people to do social enterprise. It has been very successful for us not only in terms of growth, but also in bringing visibility and awareness to Aspire?s mission. Not only is Aspire getting revenue and helping people with developmental disabilities get jobs, but people who drink our coffee are becoming advocates for our cause.
HF: Perhaps the most important question: what is your favorite blend of coffee?
JK: Aspire Bold, no questions asked.
James Kales is CEO and President of Aspire of Illinois. Aspire Coffeeworks blends are available at select Whole Foods stores in Chicagoland, Milwaukee and St. Louis and online at www.aspirecoffeeworks.com
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-non-profit-gets-coffee-business-191552326.html
Source: http://nonprofitwww.org/2011/07/a-chicago-nonprofit-gets-into-the-coffee-business/
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