The Starbucks Foundation Awards Plan Sierra Global Community Impact Grant to Promote Resilience in the Dominican Republic


  • The grant will support the organization in creating sustainable systems for the management of natural resources while improving of the quality of life of families in La Sierra through access to nutritious food, climate resilience and secondary income streams.
  • Ahead of International Coffee Day, 45 Starbucks Dominican Republic partners (employees) volunteered to plant 1,000 guama trees in the Cibao region in partnership with Plan Sierra.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic As part of The Starbucks Foundation’s Global Community Impact Grants program, Plan Sierra was selected to receive a $37,500 grant to help build resilience and reduce poverty for farming communities in the Dominican Republic. This grant award is thanks to a nomination from Starbucks partner company (licensee) Green Star Partners, which operates the Starbucks brand in the Dominican Republic. Through the Global Community Impact Grants initiative, The Starbucks Foundation invites licensees to nominate local nonprofit organizations in their community. To date, nearly 90 nonprofits have been nominated to receive grants across over 40 international markets.

Plan Sierra is a non-profit organization that works in the central mountains of the Dominican Republic. Its mission is to promote the sustainable management of water, soil, forests and biodiversity resources in the market’s La Sierra region, while increasing the quality of life and inclusion of local communities.

With this grant, Plan Sierra will execute the project "Sustainable Family Production Systems, with Reservoir and Localized Irrigation", which aims to create stable access to nutritious food, build household climate resilience and secondary income streams and promote sustainable water usage. Families participating in the project will be trained in the technical and financial management of sustainable family garden systems and will receive assistance in establishing their own family gardens. Through this two-year project, Plan Sierra will help improve living conditions and ultimately reduce poverty for families in the Yaque del Norte river basin.

"We are very happy about this partnership and joining efforts to empower Dominican families with self-sufficiency and access to clean and sustainable farming practices,” emphasized Rosanna Vásquez, National Coordinator of Planning, Development and Communications for Plan Sierra.

The Starbucks Foundation’s Global Community Impact Grants program supports nonprofit organizations driving programs that create meaningful local or regional impact, expanding on the company’s ambition to enhance the wellbeing of all who connect with Starbucks. This program builds on other initiatives of The Starbucks Foundation, including Neighborhood Grants, Origin Grants, and Disaster Response Grants – which focus on enabling community resiliency and prosperity and uplifting communities affected by disaster.

To complement this grant and in celebration of International Coffee Day, 45 Starbucks Dominican Republic partners (employees) volunteered with Plan Sierra to plant 1,000 guama trees at a local coffee farm located in the Cibao region, also along the Yaque del Norte river. Guama trees provide important canopy shade to arabica coffee plants and improve the quality of the crop. The guama tree project was funded through a special promotion held during Starbucks Global Month of Good in April whereby Starbucks Dominican Republic committed to plant one guama tree for every 30 beverages sold with alternative milk options.

“As we continue to grow our business, we remain true to Starbucks mission and values, using our scale for good, and continuing to be a catalyst for positive change in the diverse communities we serve,” said José Luis Gómez managing director of Starbucks Dominican Republic. “I would like to thank Plan Sierra and The Starbucks Foundation for supporting us in our commitment, which is rooted in the belief that we can balance profitability and social conscience.”

Learn more about the Global Community Impact Grants program at Starbucks Stories.

About Plan Sierra

Plan Sierra is a non-profit organization with the purpose of contributing to create the technological and institutional conditions for the sustainable management of water, soil, forest and biodiversity resources, together with the continuous and permanent improvement of the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Sierra region.

The Starbucks Foundation

The Starbucks Foundation strengthens humanity by transforming lives across the world, with a focus on enabling community resiliency and prosperity and uplifting communities affected by disaster. Established in 1997, The Starbucks Foundation is a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization under U.S. law. Learn more at Starbucks Stories.