How to Make Restaurant Community Sponsorship Work for Everyone
Imaginative restaurants, cafes and pubs can receive so much more with sponsorship support dollars – you can build excellent long-term benefits when you connect with socially active people and groups.
It’s also important to separate your own personal support for a cause and decide whether it’s suitable for business sponsorship, e.g. support for overtly religious organisations, which maybe negative for some customers. Or your enthusiasm for a sporting team with few followers in your area.
Why sponsor a non-profit, community or sporting group?
Make Your Brand Well Known: become better known in the local community by putting your name, logo, and brand message in front of potential customers. When people think of dining out or ordering food, the sponsored restaurant should come to mind first.
Build a Positive Community Image: create a positive reputation as a community supporter. An important part of ‘not competing on price’.
Connect With Your Target Customers: by sponsoring events or groups that attract the restaurant’s ideal customers.
Create Networking Opportunities with other local businesses and influential people in the community. These people can be valuable local customers.
Increase Sales and Customer Loyalty: through exclusive offers for event attendees, discounts for group members, or special promotions linked to the sponsorship.
Many groups seeking sponsorship focus on themselves or their group’s immediate needs rather than the wants and needs of the business they’re approaching. They often lack a marketing mindset or business experience. Just telling you that donating will ‘support the community’ or ‘make you popular with the locals’ isn’t enough these days.
A restaurant can respond to sponsorship requests by asking how the sponsorship will fit with their business and marketing needs – this could be set out on a simple application form:
How does your event or group align with our restaurant’s values and target audience?
We are particularly interested in unique and creative ways to engage with event attendees or group members – what can you offer?
What are the expected outcomes of this sponsorship for our restaurant, and how will this be measured?
Is the sponsorship package flexible to meet our business goals and needs?
I’ve been involved in the local rugby club for many years, and we sponsor junior and senior teams. They’ve now developed the Short Blacks training group for young people under 7 (boys and girls), and each coach can give out one Kid’s Meal & Drink voucher as a reward at each session. Of course they bring their family along, who will also want breakfast. I also sponsor a local group who care for kids with disabilities, and give them vouchers for their raffles. I add a dollar for every member of that group who comes in for coffee – it adds up to several thousand every year. Chris Petersen – Coffee Culture, Bowral & Mittagong NSW
Restaurant sponsorship that’s not just handing out cash.
What can you give of value instead of money?
Raffle or competition prizes of ‘Dinner to the value of $50’ to support a group’s fund-raising. A good example of a ‘soft dollar’ item is where the actual cost to you is less than the perceived value.
Complimentary room hire for group functions on off-peak nights (another ‘soft dollar’ item).
Breakfast or lunch platters for community events or sporting games
Dessert for free when a group books a party – your delicious gelato or mousse will have everyone thinking sweet thoughts about your generosity. By offering products, you sidestep price haggling.
Other sponsorship offers you could include:
Promote the group through your social media and email newsletter.
Provide equipment for their events eg cooking equipment, tables or chairs.
Place information about the group on your website, with links and contact details to promote membership. Ask them for photographs to make it stand out.
Branding and display of their logo or badge. These can be a great addition to a hotel’s sports bar.
Hosting and promoting award dinners and socials. Many groups don’t have the experience or follow-through to promote events properly. Your marketing experience can be very helpful, and if this means the event is larger, everyone benefits.
Help them to make dining together a fundraising event. Some restaurants offer 20% back to organisations that book special dinners with them early in the week, even helping with promotional tips and flyers.
A hotel could offer a percentage of bar proceeds supporters spend at a certain time each month. Modern Point of Sale systems and apps can link a loyalty card to a group account. Every time they spend with you, it’s recorded toward the group’s total for the year, with financial support in proportion – ask about this with the account manager of your ordering system.
We have a special Community page on our website, with information about We Care Wednesday, when we donate 10% of sales once a month to a good cause. Plus there’s information about our other local sponsorships.
Our team sponsorships are all junior teams, which is strategic for us – as well as money for the team, we give player award vouchers. One is given out each week with a $10 free spend in the bakery. It doesn’t cost us $10, but children then come in with siblings and mum or dad, so it brings more sales to the bakery. We also add information about these community initiatives to our community page. In October, the cricket club did “pinking up Warrandyte” to raise money for the McGrath Foundation. All the businesses put pink lights in their windows – it was amazing! We made pink iced vanilla slices that month and donated $1 from each one on top of the We Care Wednesday. This was more than other businesses did, and definitely brought people in – the local pub even did a pink cocktail! Natasha Biddick, Biddicks Bakery, Warrandyte VIC.
What should a sponsoring restaurant expect in return?
First, you want regular patronage! But many local social and sporting groups have little understanding of sponsorship ‘etiquette’ beyond a thank-you letter (if you’re lucky). Educating them about what’s expected will be part of building a relationship that works for both sides. Show them you’re running a business and accountable for where the money goes – just like they are with their club.
Other expectations you may have:
Find out how the group uses their money. Ask for bank account and insurance details, years of operation, office bearers and references.
Ask for the first option to renew sponsorship after an initial period, and make sure they understand that sponsorship may not be ‘forever’.
If the group has a newsletter, what will they include in each issue? Make it easy for them by supplying logos, artwork and design specifications. Ask for a link to your business from the group’s website.
If your logo or badge will appear on uniforms or equipment, where will it be?
Ask for a report on sponsored events – tell them what you want to know about the number of attendees, length of time, etc.
Can you present prizes at their annual awards or social night and receive event invitations?
The group must agree to your normal terms and conditions, including guaranteed numbers when functions are held at your restaurant.
They should agree to avoid activities that would damage your reputation or the local community: drunkenness, drug-taking, harassment, violence or vandalism.
I never say no to a local charity. We give a $25 voucher to every local charity or fundraiser and increase it if it’s a charity close to our heart. It’s a voucher for meals, so it doesn’t cost us $25 and it often brings new customers who appreciate the support we give to community groups. We sponsor the local rugby league club and local arts productions, so we are attracting a number of audiences. We get loads of support from our sponsorships. We have always sponsored the annual music festival and in turn we get to host the opening night and get paid to feed the artists. We hold fundraisers for a number of charities. We put community first in everything we do and it comes back to us. Donna Carrier, Bent on Food, Wingham NSW
What about restaurant sponsorship for international groups?
Supporting an international aid group like B1G1, Oxfam or World Vision can be meaningful and impactful – a connection with ‘something bigger’ than just local issues.
Ensure that the aid group’s mission and activities align with your business’s values and goals, and think about how customers will understand this. You’ll want the group to have a high standard of accountability and transparency – they usually do this very well through their websites. Many of them operate in regions with different cultural norms and practices – there may be a need for further explanation, and there could be controversy. Support for overseas groups can inspire employees and the local community and help us all realise how lucky we are with our high standard of living.
Have a specific time of year that you allocate funds to charities, sporting teams etc e.g. Budget time in May. When asked, let them know the time of year that you allocate the funds, and that if they send you an email two months beforehand as well as a one month followup, they will be likely to be allocated. Follow through on your promise and make the allocations for the following year at that time and make the payments throughout the year to those groups only. Tim Niesler, FC Accounting Co.
When does restaurant sponsorship not get results?
It’s not your target audience: restaurants benefit most from sponsorships that resonate with their customer base. The results are often disappointing if the audience demographics or interests don’t overlap with the restaurant’s clientele.
Your brand is not visible: restaurants usually expect logo placement, mentions in promotional materials, or opportunities to display their products or services. If these needs aren’t met or are poorly done, it diminishes the value of the sponsorship.
The group is disorganised: infrequent messages, last-minute changes, or a general lack of professionalism will lead to frustration. Events or programs like these can reflect poorly on your brand.
No chance to meet potential customers: if the sponsorship doesn’t provide opportunities to connect – like setting up a food stall, offering sample tastings, or running a promotional contest, it often feels like a lost opportunity.
A month ago, we received a charitable donation request for a few cartons of beer for a school fundraiser. We decided to offer to be the beverage partner for the whole event.
I got a call from them yesterday saying that they raised $22,000 from drinks revenue and the fundraising beers (people bidding on cartons etc). That was enough to buy next year’s new books for all of grades 3-6! It was a massive win and well worth it, considering they’re now holding every parent’s or teacher’s social meeting here probably forever. The first one is for 30 people (fundraising volunteers) on Sunday! Sean Astill, Future Magic Brewing Co, Brisbane
Imaginative restaurants, cafes and pubs can receive so much more with sponsorship support dollars – you can build excellent long-term benefits when you connect with socially active people and groups.
It’s also important to separate your own personal support for a cause and decide whether it’s suitable for business sponsorship, e.g. support for overtly religious organisations, which maybe negative for some customers. Or your enthusiasm for a sporting team with few followers in your area.
Why sponsor a non-profit, community or sporting group?
Many groups seeking sponsorship focus on themselves or their group’s immediate needs rather than the wants and needs of the business they’re approaching. They often lack a marketing mindset or business experience. Just telling you that donating will ‘support the community’ or ‘make you popular with the locals’ isn’t enough these days.
A restaurant can respond to sponsorship requests by asking how the sponsorship will fit with their business and marketing needs – this could be set out on a simple application form:
Restaurant sponsorship that’s not just handing out cash.
What can you give of value instead of money?
Other sponsorship offers you could include:
What should a sponsoring restaurant expect in return?
First, you want regular patronage! But many local social and sporting groups have little understanding of sponsorship ‘etiquette’ beyond a thank-you letter (if you’re lucky). Educating them about what’s expected will be part of building a relationship that works for both sides. Show them you’re running a business and accountable for where the money goes – just like they are with their club.
Other expectations you may have:
What about restaurant sponsorship for international groups?
Supporting an international aid group like B1G1, Oxfam or World Vision can be meaningful and impactful – a connection with ‘something bigger’ than just local issues.
Ensure that the aid group’s mission and activities align with your business’s values and goals, and think about how customers will understand this. You’ll want the group to have a high standard of accountability and transparency – they usually do this very well through their websites. Many of them operate in regions with different cultural norms and practices – there may be a need for further explanation, and there could be controversy. Support for overseas groups can inspire employees and the local community and help us all realise how lucky we are with our high standard of living.
When does restaurant sponsorship not get results?
It’s not your target audience: restaurants benefit most from sponsorships that resonate with their customer base. The results are often disappointing if the audience demographics or interests don’t overlap with the restaurant’s clientele.
Your brand is not visible: restaurants usually expect logo placement, mentions in promotional materials, or opportunities to display their products or services. If these needs aren’t met or are poorly done, it diminishes the value of the sponsorship.
The group is disorganised: infrequent messages, last-minute changes, or a general lack of professionalism will lead to frustration. Events or programs like these can reflect poorly on your brand.
No chance to meet potential customers: if the sponsorship doesn’t provide opportunities to connect – like setting up a food stall, offering sample tastings, or running a promotional contest, it often feels like a lost opportunity.
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