Student Coffee Shop Gives $250K Back to Community

Kyle Daniels started at The Meantime Coffee Co. as a first-year student slinging lattes, but he's leaving UNC Chapel Hill this spring as CEO of a nonprofit that's transformed campus giving.

Since 2016, Meantime has donated over $250,000 of its profits back to the University and Chapel Hill communities. In just the past three years, more than $179,000 has gone to service-focused student organizations, scholarships, and local nonprofits addressing issues like food insecurity.

The business model is as warm as their coffee. Each of Meantime's 38 student employees gets a "barista vote" to propose and advocate for organizations they want to support. An emergency fund stands ready to help groups facing urgent needs.

For Daniels, a double major in economics and environmental science, running Meantime became his real-world MBA. He learned product logistics, stakeholder engagement, sustainability initiatives, and marketing while still pulling espresso shots behind the counter.

The shop's name captures something special about the college experience. "Our experiences in college might seem transitory and may act as launching pads for our careers," Daniels said. "But there's always a legacy that we can leave behind and an impact that can compound over time."

That philosophy shaped Daniels' entire Carolina journey. As a teaching assistant, he contributed to research on turtle hatching. At UNC's Gillings School of Global Public Health, he studied electric vehicle charging across North Carolina. Last summer, he worked as a supply chain sustainability specialist at Hitachi Energy in Raleigh.

His senior capstone project? A 30-page policy proposal advocating for offshore wind projects along the North Carolina coast.

The Ripple Effect

Meantime's impact extends far beyond the bottom line. The shop has become a training ground for student leaders who learn that business success and community service aren't opposing goals.

Every cup of coffee funds a scholarship. Every pastry sale supports a local nonprofit. The model proves that even college students can build enterprises that put people and planet alongside profit.

For Daniels, the relationships formed at Carolina matter more than any achievement. "I wouldn't be the person I am today without the relationships I've built," he said.

He's graduating with more than two degrees this spring—he's taking with him proof that the next generation is ready to lead with both head and heart.