Restaurant Fundraising: Is It Worth It? Overview, Pros, and Cons

What goes great with raising money for a worthy cause? Delicious restaurant food—a perfect complement that fuels the fundraising spirit with a delightful experience. 

Restaurant fundraisers are fantastic for school groups and organizations both big and small. Whether it’s an ice cream social, a pizza party, or a taco night, there are plenty of enticing restaurant fundraising ideas to choose from. 

Make the most of restaurant night fundraising with this helpful guide. And, to double your earnings and impact, find out how you can incorporate gift card fundraising into your next restaurant event.

What is a restaurant fundraiser?

A restaurant fundraiser is a great way for organizations to make money without a lot of extra effort. Instead of recruiting volunteers to provide a service, it’s the restaurant’s job to make and sell food to your community members—it’s what they do best, after all.

Restaurant fundraising is pretty simple:

1. Reach out to local or chain restaurants where you’d like to have a fundraiser. Many places already have fundraising models explained on their website, so you can find out exactly how they do it. 

2. Pick a night that works best for both the restaurant and your community members. Restaurants will typically only allow you to choose from weekdays (when they’re generally less busy).

3. Promote the event to your community members. Most restaurants will require guests to show a flier to count their purchase toward your fundraiser, so remind everyone to bring a flyer, or have them available at the restaurant.

4. Enjoy a night of good food with a supportive community!

Restaurant fundraising is mutually beneficial to you and the restaurant. The restaurant gets more customers to come (and, hopefully, come back) to their establishment, while you get to collect a portion of the profits for your cause. 

Raising money with restaurant fundraising

Fortunately, there aren’t many costs associated with restaurant fundraising aside from the optional marketing or flyer printing expenses. The biggest factor to consider is the profit margin you’ll collect from the restaurant. 

All restaurants run fundraisers differently, so you’ll want to compare the percentages to find the best fit for your fundraising needs. Donations can range anywhere from 5% to 35% of sales; this may include food sales only or the total amount of sales.

You may decide to host your restaurant fundraiser as a single event, but some restaurants allow your fundraiser to run regularly, either monthly or weekly. If you choose this route, you’ll be able to continuously earn money for your cause. 

In our recent survey of experienced fundraising managers, many find restaurant nights to be highly successful. With minimal upfront costs, your organization can easily make a few hundred dollars in just one night. By hosting these fundraisers quarterly, your group could potentially raise several thousand dollars within a year! 

Example of Chipotle restaurant fundraising flyer

Pros and cons of restaurant fundraising

If it’s your first time putting together a restaurant fundraiser, it’s a good idea to weigh the pros and cons of this strategy.

The advantages of restaurant fundraisers are:

• Low effort
• Inexpensive
• Enjoyable

You can also diversify your restaurant fundraising program, as you don’t necessarily have to fundraise at the same restaurant twice. Offering your community members different cuisines could keep their engagement up.

However, there are some downsides, such as:

• Low profit margins – Depending on what the restaurant’s fundraiser policies are, you may not be making much money.
  
  
• Scheduling conflicts – Sometimes, your community members won’t be able to attend your fundraiser because of work or other commitments, preventing them from being able to support your cause.
  
  
• Personal taste differences – Simply put, you can’t always please everyone. Some people may choose not to come to your fundraiser because they dislike the food or that particular restaurant. 

To minimize the negative aspects of restaurant fundraising, you can combine it with something even more effective: fundraising with RaiseRight.

Make the most of your restaurant fundraiser with RaiseRight

RaiseRight is the perfect complement to your restaurant night fundraiser. You and your supporters can raise money simply by shopping online or buying gift cards from hundreds of brands to pay for meals, everyday expenses, or retail purchases. With every purchase, your organization earns up to 20% back, with the earnings coming directly from the restaurant or business.

To incorporate restaurant fundraising with RaiseRight, you can:

• Start by enrolling with RaiseRight. Sign up online for free and get approved within just a few days.
  
  
• Invite fellow members and families to join your program, and encourage them to buy gift cards from the restaurant that’s hosting your fundraiser. Or, choose from hundreds of retailers in every category. 
  
  
• Instead of paying for their meal with a credit or debit card, participants can use their gift cards. This way, your organization is earning money both through gift card sales and restaurant sales!