RAISE THE BAR COFFEE INC.
Get involved
with RTB.
We've been building quietly. Now we're opening the doors and we'd love for you to walk through.
There are three ways to get involved with RTB right now. They are genuinely different in scope, time commitment, and responsibility. We have laid them out clearly below, so you can figure out where you belong.
Whatever the level, there's a seat for you. Read everything before you apply. And thank you, truly, for wanting to be here at all.
Every time we've put out a call, whether it's been for tickets, instructors, mentors, or volunteers, the response has completely overwhelmed us. We feel so lucky that our vision is also your vision. That means everything.
We will respond to every application, regardless of outcome, within 2-3 weeks of receiving it. Applications are open now and we're leaving them open a bit longer because we know it's a busy season for all of us. We're working to get onboarding started as quickly as possible while giving folks enough room to actually see and respond to the call.
3 ways in
Not sure which one is right for you? Read the cards. Read the linked materials. If you still have questions, email us at board@raise-the-bar.coffee before applying.
Option 01
Board of Directors
The legal, strategic, governing layer.
If you want to shape the organization itself, hold fiduciary responsibility, and help RTB build the infrastructure that makes the whole thing possible long-term: this is where you belong.
Board service is real governance work. Directors hold legal and fiduciary responsibility for RTB as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. You vote on budgets, approve policies, oversee the founding team, and help recruit the next generation of leadership. It is a working relationship, not a resume credential.
We're looking for people with specific skills: finance, fundraising, governance, law, education, workforce development, and yes, coffee industry expertise too. Our goal is for at least 25% of our board to come from outside the specialty coffee world.
4-6 hours / month
Legal Responsibility
2 year term
6 meetings / year
Skills-based recruitment
Option 02
Committees and Working Groups
Where the building actually happens.
Not looking for a governance seat but want to contribute your skills, perspective, and energy to what we're building? Committees are exactly the right place.
RTB's community working groups are open-application, non-fiduciary, and focused on doing: social media and community management, Level Up programming input, event operations and logistics, and mentorship program design. You don't need board experience or formal credentials to contribute meaningfully here.
These are volunteer roles. We're working toward a model where consistent contributors get a free or discounted ticket to a future Level Up event, and committee members are the first pool we draw from when paid project work becomes available. Neither is a guarantee, but we are working to make both options real.
~ 2-8 hours / month
Skill-matched roles
Volunteer (ticket pathway)
Non-governing
Rolling review, open now
Option 03
Level Up 2026 Instructor, Panelist, or Cafe Mentor
September 18-20, 2026
Can't do long-term but bursting to share what you know with our next Level Up community? Say less. You found the spot.
We're building the 2026 program and we want to hear your pitch. Whether you want to teach a workshop, join a panel, or mentor baristas during the pop-up café shift, this is a one-event commitment with real impact. Level Up brings together 80 working baristas for two days of programming built around four toolkits: Bar Craft, People and Service, Café Leadership and Career, and Coffee Knowledge.
RTB pays instructors. We communicate compensation in writing before the event. We pay within 7 days of completion, or earlier if you need it to arrange travel.
September 18-20 commitment
Paid Honorarium
Workshop / Panel / Cafe Mentor
One genuine ask before you hit submit: we know AI is everywhere right now and we're not judging you for using it. But please, typos and all, let us hear your voice in your application. We read every single one. What we're looking for is you: your actual perspective, your specific experience, the way you actually talk about the work you care about. A polished AI-generated application tells us almost nothing. A few honest, slightly imperfect paragraphs in your own words tells us everything. We promise we're not grading grammar.