The New York State Brewers Association (NYSBA) is dedicated to building a more inclusive, sustainable, and connected craft beer community. Through our social impact initiatives, we strive to foster an equitable industry by expanding access to education, employment, and leadership opportunities. We are committed to encouraging environmentally responsible brewing practices that protect natural resources, supporting brewery-led community engagement projects, and empowering the next generation of brewers and leaders.
The NYSBA will invest $10,000 annually in scholarships and grants ($2,500/quarter), allocated through a member-driven application process that supports social impact initiatives aligned with the association’s goals.
The New York State Brewers Association is committed to supporting a more inclusive,
sustainable, and connected craft beer community. Through its social impact initiatives, the
NYSBA aims to:
NYSBA Members can submit their project proposal and supporting documents via this application form: https://forms.gle/PfkneGPbogxU1G8e7
Founded in 2025, the Social Impact Committee is comprised of 8-10 members of the NYS craft beer community of various backgrounds and capacities. They meet regularly to set goals, share resources, and discuss how to help the NYSBA uphold its Social Impact mission. If you’d like more information about how you can get involved, please email Dawn Schulz at dawn@prisoncitybrewing.com
The path to promoting diversity and inclusivity within the New York State Brewers Association is not a clear-cut or straightforward one. A lot of us devote our professional lives to craft beer because of how open and welcoming the community is. It truly is a great unifier. So we understand how it can be hard to hear criticisms that there are practices within the community that are harmful or not accommodating to certain groups. That doesn’t mean that people in the industry are bad people, but rather that we can all stand to reflect on our actions. It may feel like it’s not up to you to “fix” these problems, or that these issues don’t have a place in craft beer. It may feel easier to leave it to the experts. After all, you have a business to run. But we believe that we can all do small things to be good neighbors and community members. Those small things add up to create a more resilient business for you, and a better environment for us all.
We choose to view this mission as an opportunity for giving people hope and we invite you to come along with us as we build on that.
Michael Jackson Foundation
The core mission of the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling is to advance technical education and facilitate career opportunities for people of color within these industries in the US. Over $165,000 has been raised to fund scholarship awards to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color within the brewing and distilling trades. In the addition to 504 NYS breweries, the NYSBA has contributed $2,500 to the foundation & encourages anyone who is able to make a donation.
Breathing : Conversations by Finback
Lead by NYC based brewery, Finback, The Breathing: Conversations Project encourages breweries to “have a conversation about race and record the sentiments on a beer label.” Finback then asks participants to donate a portion or all of the proceeds from the beer to a foundation that furthers the mission of racial justice and equality for people of color.
People Power
Beginning in 2018 NYC based Threes Brewing led grassroots efforts inviting fellow brewers around the country to all launch their own version of a beer called People Power and donate 10% of sales of that beer to the American Civil Liberties Union. After reaching out to a wide swath of breweries around the country, 75+ breweries representing over 25 states signed on, including many high profile names in craft beer.
Open Waters Internship Program
Sloop is committed to equipping their Open Waters trainees with technical knowledge, valuable connections, & the expertise to empower them as future industry professionals. They hope to dismantle barriers in the craft beverage industry, & pave the way for positive change in the world of brewing & craft beer by creating a more inclusive, welcoming industry.
The training program is open to anyone over 21, with no prior experience or brewing knowledge required. Trainees must commit to at least 20 paid hours a week over a three month period, & applications are being accepted now for Q3 beginning in July 2022. Applications are collected year round & applied to the applicant pool of the closest upcoming quarter for consideration.
Bronx Brewing + Beer Kulture Production Internship
Bronx Brewery is proud to partner with Beer Kulture on an internship dedicated to creating opportunities for Black, African-American, Hispanic, Native North American, Pacific Islander and other BIPOC and under-represented communities in craft beer. This 2-month paid internship is designed to provide experience across everything needed to know across all aspects of beer production — and the time needed to do more than just observe.
Beer Kulture
Beer Kulture Inc. is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes in accordance with section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Beer Kulture’s passion is to BE THE CHANGE, do good in our communities and build a brighter tomorrow by starting with what we can do today.
Do you have a story about diversity in craft beer in your community? Are you hosting an event, or want to share a resource that is helping to foster a more inclusive craft beer environment? Please click the link below, we’d would love to hear from you to add to our best practices and resources.