In the local business community, bars and restaurants are known for their philanthropy. From hosting charity events to sponsoring little league teams, we give back to our communities because it’s the right thing to do. But it’s not just good for others. It’s also good for your bottom line.
First, giving back to your community can boost staff morale. This time of year can be hard on your staff. They are likely busier than usual, both inside and outside of your restaurant. If you provide them the opportunity to get paid and do some good, that can lift their spirits.
Partnering with local charities can also offer a substantial amount of advertising. Your charities will want to help you get the word out about your philanthropy. Promoting your business through their network and social media can drive a lot of new business to your doors.
Additionally, giving back is good for your brand’s image. No one will consider you the local money-grubbing Ebenezer Scrooge if you commit to giving to the community that provides you with your business, allowing you to set yourself apart from your competition.
Best of all, making the world a little bit better doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are 6 charity drives you can host that will help others and your bar or restaurant.
1. Charity auctions
Offering your restaurant space for a charity auction is one way you can give back this holiday season, and it’s a great way to introduce your business and your location to the local community. On the other hand, if hosting the event yourself isn’t an option, you could offer to cater it.
Also, donating gift cards in varying denominations can be a great way to market your restaurant, drive business, and help your local community. It might be smart to create a few limitations. Clearly stating things like expiration dates and eligible purchases might help you motivate the highest bidder to visit your restaurant during those traditionally slower times of year between New Year’s and Valentine’s Day.
If you want to get creative with your charity auction offerings, you can give away free cooking classes with your chef, free bartending classes from your bar manager, or free dinners for a week, a month, or even a year. These kinds of experiences are harder to quantify than a gift card. For that reason, they can bring in top dollar for your charity of choice while also getting the word out about your brand.
2. Charity events
But it’s not just charity auctions you can host. Schools, booster clubs, PTA groups, youth athletics, legal aid societies, and other volunteer organizations can make great philanthropic partners. Most will need a physical space to gather, and your bar or restaurant could make the perfect location.
Whether you close your restaurant down for a private event or reserve a section of your restaurant for your charity, hosting an event can drive new customers to your business and increase your brand awareness within your community.
Beyond providing a physical space, you could also donate a portion of your sales to the charity. If you want to get more creative, you could offer a special prix fixe menu for the night and donate a certain amount or percentage of every sale. A prix fixe menu offers you a little more control when it comes to your ingredients, portion sizes, and profit margins.
Of course, this would require you to design a new menu. This can be a fair amount of work on top of what you are already doing for your charity. If you need ideas or help creating a new menu for this event or any others, you can find professionally-designed and customizable menu templates from services like MustHaveMenus.
3. Food and toy drives
Food and toy drives are a holiday classic because they are effective and easy to host. Set aside a small space in your dining room for a collection bin, and let your customers know they can donate non-perishable food items or toys. That’s it. Your customers will do the rest.
If you want to make your drive a bigger success, you can incentivize it by offering freebies and discounts. Something like $5 off a meal or a free beverage for qualifying donations can generate buzz and help those in need.
There are plenty of local organizations that use this kind of charity. More than likely, you’ve been approached by one in the past. If not, your local chamber of commerce and your local better business bureau can point you in the right direction for all of your charity questions.
4. Local food banks
In addition to hosting food drives, you can also donate unused food from your restaurant. While local regulations vary on what and how you can donate from your back-of-house, giving your unused ingredients to a local food bank for them to distribute is a great way to help those in need in your community.
Not only can giving away unused food be good for hungry people, it’s also good for the environment. The restaurant industry is a major contributor to food waste globally. Not only does this seem morally wrong, given all of those in need around the world, but unconsumed food ends up in already overflowing local land fills, where it decomposes and contributes to rising greenhouse gas emissions.
If local regulations allow, donating your extra ingredients can help feed hungry people and reduce your ecological impact, making it a win-win for everyone.
5. Restaurant fundraisers
Raising funds for a local charity is another way your restaurant can give back to its local community this holiday season, while also promoting your brand and getting customers to your tables.
The easiest way for you to host a fundraiser is through a fundraiser dining event. During your event, you can donate a predetermined amount of your proceeds to your partnering charity. You’ll want to be clear about the exact percentage or amount you will donate, and you might want to think about what does and does not count as a qualifying purchase. Other than that, fundraiser dining events are easy.
The best part is that your partnering charity will be as committed to the success of your event as you will be, and they should help you promote your fundraiser and your restaurant across all of their marketing channels.
While you may be giving away a part of your profits to a deserving cause, a well-marketed fundraiser can pack your front-of-house, making it a perfect addition to your holiday event calendar, especially for a slower Monday or Tuesday night.
6. Meal donations
If you are looking to do some good this holiday season, donating hot meals to families in need makes a lot of sense. After all, you have everything you need to do it. You can invite local families to your restaurant, or you can work with a charity that will pick up and distribute meals for you.
It’s also a nice way to get your staff involved. They can help prepare, cook, and package meals, making them feel like they are getting paid to do more than just what’s good for your business, serving people who might not even be able to afford your meals.
If you want to prepare and donate entire meals but don’t know how to do it, your local chamber of commerce and other business organizations should be able to get you in contact with someone who can help.
Don’t forget to promote!
Finally, don’t forget to tell your customers and social media followers about all of the charity drives your restaurant is hosting, and let them know how they can get involved.
You can promote your events inside your restaurant with marketing materials like posters, flyers, and table tents, but your most powerful promotions will likely be on social media. Philanthropic positive energy is perfect for digital marketing. Keeping your posts light, bright, and full of good vibes should reward your account with a lot of engagement.
Three to four posts per week is ideal for your social media promotions. This is enough to keep your business on your customers’ minds but not enough to fill their feed and annoy them with constant updates. If you want to highlight your restaurant’s charity drives, try to dedicate two posts per week to it.
If you don’t consider yourself a social media whiz, or if it’s difficult to find time to brainstorm, draft, and post new content, you can find plenty of social media templates online to get you started. These templates are free, easy to customize, and easy to share.
Mark Plumlee is the senior content manager for MustHaveMenus, a leading design software and template provider for bars and restaurants.
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