Tully’s Coffee, a brand of Waterbury, Vt.-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.’s specialty coffee business, unveiled Taste of Community, a community-centric program in partnership with non-profit organization Pomegranate Center.

Tully’s is rallying community members across the country this summer to share the unique places and stories that make their communities special through the Taste of Community contest. One community will be awarded a 2012 grant valued at up to $100,000 in services and equipment from Pomegranate Center, funded by Tully’s, to plan, design and build a social gathering place.

“Tully’s Coffee is thrilled to launch the Taste of Community program and engage people around the community spaces revitalization movement,” said Karen Yacos, director of domestic community outreach with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., in a statement. “We believe coffee is an inherently communal experience, and our goal through this program, and our alliance with Pomegranate Center, is to help people in communities gather together, make personal connections and, ultimately, improve the health and quality of life of the places we call home.”

Now through Aug. 31, visitors to Tully’s Facebook page can enter the contest by submitting a short essay and photo about what makes their communities special and how gathering places would help transform their communities. A judging panel, including representatives from Tully’s and Pomegranate Center, will review each entry based on the following: creativity, originality and thoughtfulness; benefit to entire neighborhood/community; and the need for a new community gathering place.

Ten contest finalists will receive a Keurig Brewer and supply of Tully’s K-Cup portion packs. In addition, Tully’s is giving the first 500 Taste of Community contest entrants two free bags of coffee, including a bag of Tully’s Community Spaces Blend, which is a limited-edition offering.

In addition to the Taste of Community contest grant, Tully’s kicked off the transformative movement in the greater Seattle area in 2011 by funding grants awarded by Pomegranate Center to four communities to revitalize public gathering spaces, including the following: Hunter Farm Gathering Place in Wedgwood, Wash.; Mercer Island Library Discovery Trail in Mercer Island, Wash.; Sumner Alley Gathering Space in Sumner, Wash.; and 132^nd Square Park Gathering Place in Kirkland, Wash. The four community space projects currently are in development with the help and engagement of community volunteers and staff from Pomegranate Center.