The Chain Collaborative

What The Chain Collaborative does

The Chain Collaborative is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 by Nora Burkey, operating a community-led development (CLD) model anchored in coffee-growing regions. Its core product is the CLD Incubator, an 18-month structured program that builds relationships with local leaders, cultivates their project design and management skills, and supports the development of farming enterprises; the Incubator is complemented by a TCC Alumni Network and a 10-month Coffee Sustainability Fellowship. To date the Incubator has supported 22 participants across 10+ countries (Ethiopia, Guatemala, Uganda, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Rwanda, Colombia, Kenya, Peru, Honduras, with Mexico appearing in operating geographies), with $330K deployed into community-designed projects impacting 13,735 community members.

The organization's commercial surface extends beyond philanthropy into two revenue-bearing lines. First, an education business delivered in partnership with the Specialty Coffee Association, in which TCC operates as an Authorized SCA Trainer for the Coffee Sustainability Program (Foundation, Climate & Coffee, Coffee Economics, and Compliance, Governance & Reporting courses), plus a self-paced Sustainability Reporting course co-developed with Coffee Knowledge Hub. Second, a consulting practice offering Sustainability Assessment, Sustainability Reporting, Supply Chain Research, Program Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Grant Writing packages to impact-driven organizations. Course fees range from $300-$450 per SCA course (paid to Authorized SCA Trainers plus SCA enrollment fees) to €99 for the on-demand reporting course; consulting pricing is not publicly disclosed.

The go-to-market is mission-driven and multi-channel: direct field engagement with grassroots partner organizations, online self-serve and live-virtual coursework, consulting inquiries via website contact flows, partner referrals (notably Digital Coffee Future and 1% for the Planet), and a monthly donor initiative with quarterly updates. The organization is governed by an 8-member board, with a distributed staff of roughly 11-50 employees across the U.S. (Denver/Astoria HQ), Ecuador, Spain, Switzerland, and Oklahoma City, plus a rotating cohort of Coffee Sustainability Fellows.

Name

The Chain Collaborative

Legal name

The Chain Collaborative

Website

https://thechaincollaborative.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Chain Collaborative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs an 18-month Community-Led Development Incubator for local leaders in coffee-growing regions, complemented by SCA-certified sustainability coursework, consulting services, and a Coffee Sustainability Fellowship program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coffee Sustainability Development Services

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable & Responsible Supply Chain (ESG, Scope 3) (BPAHAHAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Coffee sustainability education
• Community development programs
• Sustainability consulting services
• Specialty coffee training
• Agricultural development consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Astoria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational Course Fees: Revenue from SCA Coffee Sustainability Program courses (Foundation, Climate & Coffee, Coffee Economics, Compliance Governance & Reporting) and Sustainability Reporting course with Coffee Knowledge Hub. Fees paid to Authorized SCA Trainers plus SCA enrollment fees.
2. Consulting Services: Consulting packages including Sustainability Assessment, Sustainability Reporting, Supply Chain Research, Program/Project Planning, Development and Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Grant Writing and Fundraising services for impact-driven organizations.
3. Donations and Grants: Individual donations, monthly donor initiative, corporate partnerships, foundation grants, and support for the CLD Incubator and Alumni Network programs. Organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with EIN 47-1643022.
4. Fellowship Program: 10-month Coffee Sustainability Fellowship where participants work alongside TCC team while completing SCA coursework at no cost, contributing to community-led development programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Chain Collaborative operates an 18-month Community-Led Development (CLD) Incubator program for local leaders in coffee-growing regions, delivers the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Coffee Sustainability Program and a standalone Sustainability Reporting Course, and provides consulting packages covering sustainability assessment, reporting, supply chain research, program/project planning, monitoring and evaluation, and grant writing for impact-driven organizations.

Product overview

The Chain Collaborative offers a portfolio of programs centered on community-led development in the coffee sector. The core offering is the CLD Incubator, an 18-month program with an associated Alumni Network for ongoing alumni engagement. Education offerings include the SCA Coffee Sustainability Program (with four courses: Foundation, Climate & Coffee, Coffee Economics, and Compliance, Governance & Reporting) and a Sustainability Reporting Course developed with Coffee Knowledge Hub. Consulting services provide sustainability assessment, reporting support, and grant writing to impact-driven organizations. The Coffee Sustainability Fellowship is a 10-month program combining hands-on work with coursework completion. The organization also maintains partnerships with Now Africa Initiative and Karama Education Center in Uganda.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CLD Incubator An 18-month Community-Led Development (CLD) Incubator program that builds relationships with local leaders in coffee-growing regions, cultivates their project design and management skills, and fosters the development of their farming enterprises to combat intergenerational poverty and marginalization.
• SCA Coffee Sustainability Program An online, virtual coursework program for coffee professionals and enthusiasts worldwide, delivered in partnership with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) as an Authorized SCA Trainer. Includes four sequential courses: Foundation, Climate & Coffee, Coffee Economics, and Compliance, Governance & Reporting.
• Coffee Sustainability Foundation Course An 8-hour foundational course exploring sustainability fundamentals, climate change impacts, coffee economics, and social challenges in the sector. Prerequisite for all other SCA Coffee Sustainability Program courses; delivered through four live 2-hour online class sessions.
• Climate & Coffee Course A 16-hour course exploring environmental sustainability in the coffee sector, covering climate change impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainability legislation; delivered through eight live 2-hour online class sessions.
• Coffee Economics Course A 16-hour course examining coffee pricing dynamics, C market prices, futures contracts, value creation and capture, and alternative economic models including direct trade and cooperativism; delivered through eight live 2-hour online class sessions.
• Compliance, Governance & Reporting Course A 12-hour course exploring policy, power, and practice in the coffee industry, covering mandatory due diligence legislation, voluntary sustainability standards, compliance models, and governance structures; delivered through six live 2-hour online class sessions.
• Sustainability Reporting Course An on-demand, self-paced course developed with Coffee Knowledge Hub that teaches coffee professionals how to develop strategies for improving sustainability, impact, or transparency reporting at their organizations; provides access to 20+ pre-recorded lessons.
• Sustainability Assessment Package Consulting package providing comprehensive analysis of an organization's sustainability strategy, including kick-off meeting, review of existing documentation, stakeholder conversations, and recommendations with an action plan.
• Sustainability Reporting Package Consulting package supporting companies and organizations with annual or transparency reporting processes, helping categorize and indicate activities to demonstrate efficacy and impact.
• Grant Writing and Fundraising Package Consulting package developing and authoring competitive grant proposals for non-profit organizations, with options for a la carte writing services or comprehensive learning components.
• Coffee Sustainability Fellowship A 10-month fellowship program where participants work alongside TCC staff, complete the four SCA Coffee Sustainability Program courses at no cost, and receive training in community-led development. Fellows commit 8-10 hours weekly.

Quantifiable outcome

• 22 CLD Incubator participants implemented projects impacting 13,735 community members
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Coop CoffeesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Participated in 3-year Carbon, Coffee, and Climate project (2020-2023) applying Cool Farm Tool on coffee farms across Peru, Guatemala, and Honduras.
• Root CapitalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaborated on 3-year Carbon, Coffee, and Climate project (2020-2023) applying Cool Farm Tool on coffee farms. Root Capital led the project with technical report published in September 2023.
• Sustainable Food LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaborated on 3-year Carbon, Coffee, and Climate project (2020-2023) applying Cool Farm Tool on coffee farms.
• Now Africa Initiative (NAI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongest-standing Community-Led Development partnership with grassroots farmer organization in Nyamigoye parish, Kanyantorogo sub-county, Kanungu District, Southwestern Uganda. Founded by Denis Twinamatsiko, NAI focuses on socio-economic transformation through sustainable agricultural development and educational improvements. Over 1000 smallholder coffee farmers benefit from partnership. Partnership includes support for Karama Education Center founded by NAI in 2017.
• Karama Education CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary school founded in 2017 by Now Africa Initiative with TCC support, located in rural area outside Kihiihi in Southwestern Uganda. Serves children of NAI coffee farmers with enrollment over 400 students. Manages scholarship programs and educational initiatives.
• Digital Coffee FuturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDedicated to making digital tool implementation easy and effective for all coffee value stream actors. TCC has collaborated with DCF by sharing Fellows, partnering on consulting projects, and contributing to their strategic development. TCC is an avid promoter of their work.
• Specialty Coffee Association (SCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTCC delivers the SCA Coffee Sustainability Program through Authorized SCA Trainers. Nora Burkey is part of the Creator's Group for the Coffee Sustainability Program and is an Authorized SCA Trainer. Emma Griffin Warren is also an Authorized SCA Trainer for the program.
• Coffee Knowledge HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Sustainability Reporting course delivery through Coffee Knowledge Hub platform. Course provides on-demand access to 20+ pre-recorded lessons for coffee professionals.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Fairtrade International: Global certifier and advocacy organization focused on fair-trade coffee supply chains. Comparable because it operates in the same producer-support and coffee-sustainability narrative space, albeit at significantly larger scale and as a standards body.
• Heifer International: Large international nonprofit focused on ending hunger and poverty through agriculture and community development. Comparable because TCC's Incubator projects (livestock, agricultural inputs, women-led income diversification) follow a Heifer-style model of community development in coffee-growing geographies.
• TechnoServe: Large international nonprofit focused on economic development in coffee and other agricultural value chains in developing countries. Comparable because it operates at greater scale but pursues the same community-led economic development model in coffee-growing regions.
• Specialty Coffee Association (SCA): Global trade association that sets the Coffee Sustainability Program curriculum TCC delivers. Comparable because it owns the educational framework TCC commercializes and represents both an upstream partner and a broader incumbent in coffee education.

Direct peers

• Coffee Quality Institute: Nonprofit focused on coffee quality education and Q grading. Comparable because TCC's Impact Lead is pursuing the CQI Assistant Instructor Program, and CQI plays an adjacent role in coffee professional education and producer capacity building.
• Root Capital: Nonprofit agricultural lender active in the coffee sector that also invests in farmer cooperative capacity building. Comparable because Root Capital collaborates with TCC on multi-country coffee sustainability projects and targets the same producer organization segment.
• Coop Coffees: Fair-trade specialty coffee cooperative of roasters operating across Latin America and Africa. Comparable because Coop Coffees partnered with TCC on the Carbon, Coffee, and Climate project and shares the smallholder producer focus.
• Sustainable Food Lab: Nonprofit multi-stakeholder organization that works on sustainable supply chains in coffee and other commodities. Comparable because they co-executed the 2020–2023 Carbon, Coffee, and Climate initiative with TCC and provide consulting-style advisory services to corporate coffee buyers.

Emerging players

• Cool Farm Alliance: Nonprofit that maintains the Cool Farm Tool used by TCC in coffee farm carbon measurement projects. Comparable because it is a technology/standards provider in the coffee sustainability ecosystem where TCC operates its programs.
• Digital Coffee Future: Organization focused on digital tool adoption across the coffee value chain. Comparable because TCC's Programs & Evaluation Lead also works for Digital Coffee Future and the two organizations share Fellows and partner on consulting projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=de1q9qZZ-Vk
• Facebookfacebook.com/thechaincollab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Chain Collaborative