The Birch Bark Coffee Company Foundation Fund
The Birch Bark Foundation Fund
When you find something you believe in, you build for it.
Birch Bark started with water.
Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow is Ojibwe, a citizen of Whitefish River First Nation. He built this company because too many First Nations homes in Canada still cannot trust the water coming out of the tap. Coffee was the way to fund something about it.
That was the beginning. It has grown since.
The Fund
On November 29, 2024, Birch Bark established the Birch Bark Foundation Fund at the Ottawa Community Foundation.
The Ottawa Community Foundation holds it. They send the money out, keep the records, and report every year. Birch Bark recommends where support should go. That way the giving is steady, and it outlasts any single good year.
Each year, up to five percent of net income goes into the Fund.
We say up to because some years are stronger than others. In a good year it is the full amount. In a building year it is less, so the company that funds the giving stays healthy enough to keep giving.
Seven Grandfather Teachings
The Fund supports seven organizations. Each one carries a Grandfather Teaching.
Wisdom - First Peoples Innovation Centre. Indigenous youth and the technology skills that open real doors.
Love - First Peoples Wellness Circle. Mental health support for communities that have carried too much for too long.
Respect - One Drop Foundation. Clean water, because clean water is not a privilege.
Bravery - Indigenous Clean Energy. The sustainable infrastructure reserves deserve.
Honesty - Canadian Council for Indigenous Business. Economic power back where it belongs.
Humility - Inuuqatigiit Centre. Inuit children and families navigating two worlds at once.
Truth - Edmonton 2 Spirit Society. Because every person deserves to be fully seen.
Mino-Bimaadiziwin. The good way of life, in balance with all of creation.
Where we are
The first contribution is under review for 2026. Growth came first, and what we set aside in that time is what goes out now.
What comes next
Birch Bark coffee is turning up in more colleges and universities every year. That opens a door.
Indigenous students go hungry at rates most people never hear about. They are building futures on empty. If our coffee is going to be on those campuses, we want it to mean something to the students there.
We are working toward a second stream of giving for campus food security. It is not running yet. When it is, we will say so here.
Its name is Wiisiniwin. In Anishinaabemowin, nourishment.
Give directly
You can contribute to the Fund through the Ottawa Community Foundation, which is the registered charity and issues the tax receipts.
Chi-Miigwetch. Every cup counts.