The Cup O’ Karma (COK) Story
Luis Prado, previous owner of Into the Bean, donated his award-winning coffee shop to the Arizona based, National Advocacy & Training Network (NATN) for $1. NATN has changed the name of the coffee shop to Cup O’ Karma: Community Café for a Cause and opened to the public on June 16, 2008. Michael A. Pollack, Real Estate Investor and then owner of the Plaza, generously donated SEED funding towards Cup O’Karma’s initial operating costs.
Cup O’ Karma offers great beverages and snacks in a comfortable setting with free Wi-Fi, artwork and live entertainment Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. All proceeds from Cup O’ Karma support the programs and services offered by NATN, which includes the agency’s Support, Education, Empowerment and DirectionS (SEEDs) program.
SEEDs residents participated in a 12-week entrepreneurship program offered by Stealthmode Partners and developed a business plan, which included owning and operating a coffee shop. “NATN has been searching for the perfect business opportunity. This generous donation has allowed our agency to realize its dreams!” stated MonaLou Callery, Founder and former Executive Director of NATN. SEEDs residents operate the café while learning employable skills such as customer service, community relations, marketing and outreach, purchasing and management.
