What’s new in CafeSmart 2026 – BeanScene

Every year, the Australian coffee community rallies together to contribute to CafeSmart – where $1 from every coffee sold goes towards localised campaigns to help people experiencing homelessness, and people at risk of experiencing homelessness.

After raising more than $200,000 in 2025, this year’s target has soared to in excess $300,000, with a whole range of new activations and features in place to help reach that lofty goal.

StreetSmart Australia Alan White recently appeared on The BeanScene Podcast to chat about everything that’s new in this year’s campaign.

Why this target?

“It is a big step up,” Alan says.

In fact, that step is about 30 per cent larger last year’s record-breaking marker, where 823 cafés contributed to raise $201,000.

Campos alone recruited more than 100 cafés to take part last year, being named the Top Roaster of the 2025 campaign, while Told You So in Queensland took part in its tenth year of the campaign.

It’s stories like these that Alan believes 2026 can be bigger and better than ever.

“The reason we believe it’s possible is that this campaign is loved by the sector, and the impact it’s had in the past 15 years is more than $2.5 million raised.

“We believe with the right support and the right tools, we can achieve that.”

What’s new

The Australian café market is arguably more challenging than ever in 2026. Rising costs – from labour to coffee to utilities, and just about everything in between – continue to buffet the sector.

While Alan says it’s difficult to ask cafés to give even more in the current environment, a critical part of the run-up to CafeSmart 2026 has been to make it as engaging as possible.

“We’ve heard loud and clear from the industry that times are challenging,” he says.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for them to take part in the campaign in a way that’s fun and enjoyable, so we this year have made it about one day, as opposed to sort of a week that leads into that one day.”

Part of this is the introduction of the “double shot of generosity”, where café customers will be given the option of adding a donation of their own when they purchase their coffee from participating venues.

“The idea behind the double shot is that we want cafés to donate $1 per coffee, as they have, but we want to utilise the right tools and resources to get them engaging their customers in doubling that dollar, because there’s real power in the idea of matching and doubling, because we can scale impact much quicker,” says Alan.

“We’re going to provide them with new tools, new resources, [and] new kits that help really put that messaging out there, but also make the ask easy. [We’re providing] the right technology, so people can tap and go their dollar, can add their dollar or a larger donation, [with] the idea they’re matching one for one with their café, who cares about homelessness.”

This double shot is far from the only new thing in this year’s campaign.

“We’ve got a new technology platform this year, which is really exciting, so people can involve their community in the campaign, get them involved in activities that are fun and joyful, raising funds on the day, but also raising awareness,” says Alan.

“For the first time, we’re investing in a national PR campaign. Something that we believe is important is that we want to drive customers into store. We want more people to go ‘that’s the day to buy my two coffees, or to buy my multiple coffees’.

“We’re going to drive customers in store, so that this campaign is a roaster campaign, it’s a café campaign, but it is your coffee consumer and your cafe lover who takes part as well.

“There’s new merchandise this year, which is really exciting. Some local artists got involved in the campaign because we really want this to be the industry’s moment, the industry’s movement, and so we’re looking to find as many ways as possible to add new value to the campaign, not just for this year, but for the years ahead as well.”

Cafés that register for CafeSmart between 13 June and 20 June will also have their donation matched by a funding partner.

“We’ve got some exciting things happening around matched funding, so cafés can know they can actually double their impact in certain areas by funds being donated from philanthropic and corporate partners.”

Get involved

Much in the same way the café landscape has changed in the 15 or so years since the first ever CafeSmart campaign, so has the face of homelessness across Australia.

Reporting from Homelessness Australia says three million people were at risk of homelessness in 2022, where one setback like job loss or illness could mean losing their home – a 63 per cent increase since 2016.

On census night 2021, there are more than 122,000 people without a home.

Between 2020 and 2023, the number of people seeking help because they couldn’t afford housing jumped 36 per cent.

“A lot of homelessness is hidden, where people may be sleeping rough on couches, in cars, between friends’ places. Homelessness is getting worse in Australia,” says Alan.

Homelessness Australia also reports First Nations people are overrepresented in homelessness and housing crises, with 29 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over experiencing homelessness in their lifetime.

Children and young people (0-24) make up 37 per cent of total people experiencing homelessness, with the experience of homelessness before the age of 16 a strong predictor of adult homelessness.

Alan believes the localised nature of the support StreetSmart provides through its fundraising helps cafés taking part in CafeSmart know they’re actively helping their own communities.

“When you engage with StreetSmart, you’re engaging with a network of 1250 community partners that we have provided funding, advice, or material aid to. When you engage us, give to us, or partner with us, you’re accessing a network of more than 1200 organisations doing incredible work,” he says.

“First Nations organisations, women’s domestic violence and family violence organisations, food security, crisis intervention, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, all the gamuts that make them up.

“We have to reach for the stars to make sure we can have the biggest possible impact at a grassroots, localised level. That’s why I think that target is absolutely achievable and possible, because we must. If we don’t, less people are helped. It’s really important we get there.”

Cafés and roasters can register for CafeSmart here.