Bring this project to your city

STEP 1: Connect with a local cafe

You likely have a neighborhood gem of a cafe in your neighborhood or somewhere within the world of your daily and weekly routines. Reach out to that cafe to share this idea with them. You can start by email or messaging through social media, but we’ve found that showing up in person is also very effective. It also gives you the chance to try one of their tasty lattes.

Most cafe owners are going to be excited about free sleeves. You can explain the project using the language on our homepage. A cafe is a good fit if they are: locally owned, surrounded by a community, and they must have a use for coffee sleeves.*

*Some cafes use insulated cups, so they don’t need sleeves. If you come across this don’t be discouraged. Just seek another cafe to partner with.

STEP 2: Bulk order blank coffee sleeves and markers

Are you ready to own more coffee sleeves than you ever thought possible? In the early days of us doing this project, it was hard to source blank white coffee sleeves. We’ve tried working with the craft brown colored sleeves, but found that the colors don’t show up as well. Maybe you’re thinking, “oh I just want 100 sleeves.” Good luck! From our experience, the best pricing happens when you order in bulk. You’re also in luck, because you get to learn from our mistakes. We currently use Sleeve Supply for our bulk order of coffee sleeves. You need to order these at least a month out from your event. For markers, we recommend permanent markers, which you can buy on Amazon.com.

STEP 3: Find a venue for your gathering

We’ve had the best luck hosting this event at breweries in our city. You should pick a slow evening/afternoon so your event doesn’t have to compete with other happenings (usually Mondays - Wednesdays). And this event is meant to be a communal gathering, where even someone who walks in unexpectedly can join in on the fun. We recommend a 2-hour span of time for hosting a gathering. You should plan for 30 minutes to set up and 30 minutes to take down the event. You can reach out to venue options using their websites and social handles. From our experience we’ve never had to pay for a space.

You can also use other venue spaces, like your church, school, or community center. Seriously, get creative!

STEP 4: Promote and attend your event

We use Eventbrite to help us manage attendees and get a headcount that we pass along to our venue. And we promote our events through social media, as well as press releases to local news media (hey, you never know). In the past, we’ve also partnered with Meetup groups to help spread the word. No matter how large or small your event is, it’s going to be a good time. On the day of the event, be sure to either start it with a formal announcement that tells people what to do, or have instruction sheets on the tables. We always tell folks to write a fun greeting, quote, affirmation, or a fun pun on the sleeve. And if they are totally drawing a blank, to write “have a nice day.”

STEP 5: Donate the sleeves

Important: For quality control, you must sort through the sleeves before putting them into a bag for donation. Some folks have the best intentions but their sleeves may not deliver the kind of message we’re going for. Some folks think they’re funny and they really aren’t. Our goal is to spread positive and fun messages to cafe patrons. You can recycle the sleeves that don’t make the cut. Our cafes have enjoyed these sleeves for years. And it’s good vibes every step of the way. Good luck with your event and remember to have a nice day!