Samuel Adams

From the very beginning of the Boston Beer Company, we have understood our responsibility to be a good corporate citizen.

While there wasn't a budget to support charities in the early days, we estimate that we gave away between 5% and 10% of the first shipments of Samuel Adams beer to charities that were hosting fundraising events. This year we will almost certainly donate more beer to charities than we brewed in 1985.

Once we were up and running, we expanded our support. Since opening our Boston brewery to the public in 1988 we've asked visitors for small donations during our free tours which have gone to a variety of charities over the years including: Youth Enrichment Services, the Old Granary Burying Ground where Samuel Adams himself is buried, and Boston Cares to name a few.

While we still support hundreds of organizations each year, more recently we have been able to create larger partnerships benefiting:

Brewing the American Dream

In June of 2008, Jim and The Boston Beer Company launched a program called Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream® to provide low and moderate income food & beverage small business owners (typically employing between 1-5 people) with the financial support and mentoring they need to achieve their dreams even when the odds are stacked against them. Jim has not lost sight of his humble beginnings or forgotten how hard it was in the early years, which is why he felt it was important to give back to other passionate small business owners. In launching the program, The Boston Beer Company partnered with ACCION USA, the domestic arm of Boston-based ACCION International, a global microfinance nonprofit. The Boston Beer Company committed an initial $250,000 to establish the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Loan Fund, providing much needed capital to lower and moderate income small business owners whose businesses would not be approved for a bank loan. The microloans offered through Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream range from $500 - $25,000 with an average loan size of $7,000.

In addition to providing loans, the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program also seeks to assist hundreds of other microentrepreneurs through coaching and mentoring workshops offered to local small business owners. Through educational opportunities like Speed Coaching workshops developed by Samuel Adams employees, the program provides an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to meet one-on-one in 20 minute intervals with Boston Beer employees to get advice and ask questions about web development, marketing, packaging, design, publicity, pricing and sales & distribution for help in starting their own businesses.

To find out more about Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, click here.

The Leary Firefighters Foundation

www.learyfirefightersfoundation.org

The Boston Beer Company partners with The Leary Firefighters Foundation to support its continuous efforts of providing funding and resources for fire departments. The Leary Firefighters Foundation works to obtain the highest level of equipment, technology and training as well as providing resources to the families of firefighters who have perished or been injured in the line of duty.

The Leary Firefighters Foundation was founded in 2000 by Worcester, MA native and actor Denis Leary, in response to the Worcester fire tragedy in 1999. Leary's cousin and childhood friend were two among the six firefighters killed in the blaze. Since then, The Foundation has built The Leary Firefighters Foundation and EMC Corporation Burn Tower and Training Facility. The facility opened in November 2002 and is currently training firefighters throughout Central MA.

HandsOn Network

http://www.handsonnetwork.org/
http://www.bostoncares.org/

The Boston Beer Company works with HandsOn Network, the largest volunteer network in the nation which includes more than 250 HandsOn Action Centers in 16 countries. HandsOn Network inspires, equips and mobilizes people to take action through programs that turn their ideas for change into impactful projects, like wheelchair ramp construction, watershed protection projects and tutoring programs. Annually, the network delivers approximately 30 million hours of volunteer service valued at about $600 million. For many years, The Boston Beer Company has continued a partnership with Boston Cares, the Boston arm of the HandsOn Network. Boston Cares leads more than 100 volunteer service projects a month in the greater Boston area. Throughout the year, Boston Beer provides financial and in-kind support and works with Boston Cares in a number of hands-on ways that include completing service projects, hosting volunteer events and fundraisers benefiting the organization.

The Sean McDonough Foundation

Nationally renowned sportscaster Sean McDonough and his sister Erin established the Sean McDonough Foundation in 2002 with the goal of raising and distributing funds to children's charities throughout Massachusetts. Together with friends and family Sean and Erin established the Foundation that has raised and distributed nearly $2.4 million in 8 years to 116 different Massachusetts children's charities. The Boston Beer Company is a proud founding sponsor of the Sean McDonough Charitable Foundation, through its annual support of the Samuel Adams® Celebrity Draw Party & Auctions, which kick off the Celebrity Golf Classic held the next day. For more information, contact the SMC Foundation at 617.984.0660 or via email at seanmcdonoughfoundation@comcast.net.

Neely Foundation

www.camneelyfoundation.org

The Boston Beer Company is proud to support the work of Boston Bruins hockey great, Cam Neely. He is a true example of the difference that one dedicated, caring person can make in the lives of thousands of those in need.

After losing both of their parents to cancer, Cam Neely, Scott Neely and their siblings Shaun and Christine were inspired to help others living with cancer. In 1995, they launched The Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care, a not-for-profit organization, whose mission is to provide comfort, support and hope to cancer patients and their families. The Foundation's two programs are The Neely House, a residential facility, and The Neely Cancer Fund. Its primary focus is to fund initiatives that are tangible and deliver more immediate and present day support to patients and families.

If you are working with a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and you would like to learn more about the ways The Boston Beer Company might be able to support your effort, please get in touch by writing to us. Our criteria for support and our guidelines do change, but we will fill you in on what programs are active in the present time.