THE LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
FAIR TRADE COFFEE PROJECT

Coordinating the LWR Fair Trade Coffee Project in your parish is a fun and rewarding experience! It's a great way to build fellowship among parish members, and to bring justice to coffee farmers around the world.

Use these suggestions to help you get started:

You may also click here to download a printable Adobe Acrobat PDF version of these suggestions.

1. Set your goal (or goals!):

   •	To serve fair trade coffee at fellowship hour and other church events
   •	To sell fair trade coffee, tea and hot cocoa mix to parish members for home and office use
   •	To use fair trade coffee, tea and cocoa as a basis for further study and understanding about economic and social justice issues
   •	To sell fair trade coffee as a fundraiser for specific projects like the ELCA World Hunger Appeal, LCMS-World Relief or a local project
   •	Create your own goal

   
   
2. Identify additional parish members who will volunteer to help coordinate the project.
   
   
3. Get seed money to make the first coffee order–ask the Church Council, or women's or men's group to donate.
   
   
4. Call Equal Exchange, LWR's partner in the LWR Fair Trade Coffee Project, at 774-776-7366 to place your order, or click here to order online. Equal Exchange can give you expert advice on what coffees are most popular among Lutherans, instructions for brewing and encouragement as you get your project started.
   
   
5. Start small–order two or three flavors of coffee to brew and offer at fellowship hour or adult forums. Consider having a taste test to see what flavors are favorites in your parish.
   
   
6. When you serve the coffee, tea and cocoa, make educational resources available for parish members to learn more. Call LWR at 1-800-LWR-LWR-2 for materials, or click here for downloadable materials. (You may even want to start educating the parish about fair trade before you begin serving and selling fair trade coffee to build interest and anticipation.)
   
   
7. Ask the other volunteers to assist with creating an attractive display for the coffee sales and serving area. LWR offers attractive posters and other materials. Be creative–use Latin American and African fabrics and handcrafts to add color and interest. (Beautiful items from around the world are available through the LWR Handcraft Project. Call 1-888-294-9660 or click here for more information.)
   
   
8. Develop an order form for members who'd like to order fair trade coffee for gifts or home and office use. Ask them to pay in advance so that you have the funds available to pay at the time of ordering.
   
   
9. Keep going...serve fair trade coffee every Sunday, have a sales table and take special orders (perhaps the first Sunday of each month, or more often as the interest grows!).
   
   
10. Consider setting out a basket for free-will donations at fellowship hour to help cover the cost of the coffee. Parish members generously place their gifts in the offering plate each Sunday; supporting fair trade is another way to help people in need around the world.
    
    
11. When selling fair trade coffee, you may choose to include a surcharge on each bag. Use your discretion in determining the amount. The additional money can be reinvested into the project to cover shipping or other costs, or donated to a special project.
    
    
12. Keep careful records. Ask the church bookkeeper or accountant for guidance.
    

Add interest to the project in your parish by holding an adult forum or host a special speaker. Promote opportunities to go to coffee-growing regions and see firsthand the benefits of fair trade. Click Here for information about LWR's fair trade-themed Study Visits.

Questions? Email fairtrade@lwr.org to learn more.

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