Giving back one cup at a time.

This has been the mission and motto of The Bean Counter — a locally owned and oper­ated coffee shop located inside the Med5 Federal Credit Union on 5th Street in Rapid City. The Bean Counter is the only nonprofit coffee shop in South Dakota, and exists thanks to the vi­sion of Med5 Federal Credit Union in Rapid City.

Since its establishment in May of 2019, The Bean Counter has donated all its profits to support 15 local nonprofit organiza­tions in the Rapid City area. This past summer, The Bean Counter made a change in its giving plan and commit­ted to donating its profits exclusively to Youth & Family Services in order help YFS fulfill its mission to support children and their families in being capable, caring, and contributing members of our community.

“YFS spoke to us and was a single organization that had outreach in so many areas. We were happy to find an organization that was so committed to children and families, and stays in our area,” shared Ray Graff, Manager of The Bean Counter.

In addition to providing monetary support to YFS, Ray is currently working with staff from YFS’ Middle School Program to help them get their coffee counter up and running. “Integrating a coffee counter into the Middle School Program was a spe­cific request from the middle school students as we started the planning for this program,” stated Corey Odle, YFS’ Middle School Program Coor­dinator. “Ray has been great to work with. He’s so kind and has been a great resource to turn to as we work to set up our coffee counter.” Ray has visited YFS’ Middle School Center and provided education to staff and enrolled youth so they better under­stand all aspects of the espresso machine, how to properly time each component as they make a drink, as well as providing guidance on different types of coffee beans and how to better understand different flavor profiles.

“We plan to utilize our coffee counter to help teach lessons surrounding accounting, kitchen safety, business administration, and science,” said Corey. “We’re so thankful for our partnership with The Bean Counter and hope to pursue job shadow/ca­reer mentoring experiences for the kids as well.”

For more information about The Bean Counter, to view their menu, and see their hours of operation, visit their website at https://thebeancounter-med5fcu.com/.