Rallying behind the cup of kindness

Following a record-breaking year in 2025, CafeSmart is showing no signs of slowing down in its important mission – despite the fact it’s been a tough trading period for cafés, they still rose to the challenge.

“It was our 15th anniversary last year, so it was quite fitting it was our biggest year so far,” says Alan White, CEO of StreetSmart Australia – a charity organisation aimed to fight homelessness by raising funds for grassroots organisations.

Among the 499 organisations StreetSmart supported in 2025, CafeSmart plays an important role, as cafés donate $1 for every coffee sold during CafeSmart Week, which takes place annually in August.

“Those grants translate to over 7,400 people supported, so it’s an amazing impact – we’re super proud of it,” says Alan.

According to Foodbank, one in three Australian households experienced food insecurity in 2025, with many people prioritising meeting rent payments over meals.

Alan says CafeSmart works to respond to that, with 40 per cent of 2025 grants going towards food relief programs such as community pantries, ready-to-eat meals, and hampers.

“It’s really important for us at StreetSmart to plug the funding gaps wherever it’s needed – we saw that food insecurity was a growing concern for more people than ever in 2025, so we’re doing what we can to respond to that.”

The magic of CafeSmart lies in its localised impact – communities taking action for their own communities. A single dollar from a CafeSmart coffee goes on quite a journey – joining thousands of others before being returned to the community it came from, to support people without a safe place to call home.

CafeSmart’s 2025 campaign saw 823 cafes and 51 roasters participate – the highest number on record – which was incredibly special to Alan.

“At StreetSmart we know the hospitality and not-for-profit sectors have really had it tough the last few years, so to have that support and everyone come together around CafeSmart time is really special,” he says.

“We feel very lucky that even though it has been a tough year for many, everyone really does rally around CafeSmart time.”

The StreetSmart team is expecting to carry that momentum; with around 30,000 cafés in Australia, Alan says the team “would love to tap into even a tenth of that”.

“It’s probably a bit bold for 2026, but crossing the 1000 participants mark has been a goal for a long time, so we really hope to cross that this year.”

MICE26 will serve as the CafeSmart’s official 2026 campaign launch, where cafés and roasters will be encouraged to sign up for this year’s initiative. Attendees will also be able to pre-order this year’s merch, featuring designs created by the coffee community through a dedicated design competition.

“Our big goal for 2026 is trying to involve cafés and roasters in the whole campaign, in terms of giving them the opportunity to co-design elements of the campaign. We don’t want CafeSmart to be a campaign we’re just delivering to them – we want cafés and roasters to really feel part of it,” says Alan.

Getting involved in CafeSmart is straightforward: interested cafés can sign up on the CafeSmart website and follow the prompts.

Come CafeSmart Week, participating venues are encouraged to display posters (all necessary materials are sent out), along with a $1 donation from coffee sold on the Friday of CafeSmart Week.

“CaféSmart is going from strength-to-strength, which we’re absolutely loving. Each year we’re blown away by the support, but unfortunately, the reality is the campaign is still very much needed. Demand for housing and support services continues to grow, which is why we’re so focused on rallying the industry and recruiting more cafés each year.”

To get involved with CafeSmart 2026, visit streetsmartaustralia.org/cafesmart.