Story by Liesel Schmidt
If you’re like 30 to 40 percent of the world, you can’t function properly without at least one cup of coffee coursing through your veins. When looking at the different world cultures that gather around coffee, one can see how both essential and social coffee can be.
So what better platform for a social cause than coffee? As the owner of Badass Coffee Causes, that’s precisely what Melissa Green does. Her mission statement says, "connecting communities one cup at a time." The concept is simple: Badass Coffee Causes, a merger of Southern, Sweet & Sassy Coffee and Rise Above Coffee, supports so-called #coffeeforacause initiatives. “Each month, we spotlight two nonprofits—one that supports our Military Family community, while the other supports our LGBTQ+ community,” says Green, who, as a Navy veteran, military spouse and member of the LGBTQ+ community, has a personal connection to the mission. “We bring education and awareness to our audience and, at the end of the month, we donate a portion of our coffee sales to these nonprofits. Our coffee beans are roasted once an order is made and shipped free here in the US, APO and FPOs, so it's the freshest coffee you'll have tasted. Plus, it's smooth, low acid and not bitter.”
In addition to freshly-roasted coffee, Badass Coffee Causes features a line of coffee mugs whose messages are fun, snarky and amusing—in a tongue-in-cheek way.
“Yes, we sell amazing coffee,” she says, “but we do so with the intent to help our communities. We’re bringing education and awareness to our audience, and by donating a portion of our monthly proceeds, we’re helping these nonprofits continue doing their amazing work.”