Giving Tuesday: Ideas for How Your Business can Give Back

The Texas Craft Brewers Guild meeting from July 2021, hosted by Denton County Brewing Company. Image courtesy of Denton County Brewing Company.

‘Tis the season of reflection as another year comes to a close. And oof, what a couple years it’s been! Everyone in hospitality knows just how many hurdles the industry has faced recently, and it’s hard not to get the warm fuzzies when you think about all the hard work you and your team have accomplished.

We also recognize those less fortunate that got knocked down instead. The love of community and passion behind building it runs through all of our veins, so this Giving Tuesday, we want to highlight some admirable fundraisers from our friends in the industry, as well as give you some ideas on how to get started giving back yourself!

The History Behind Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a holiday that fell on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving with the intent to inspire people to simply do good. It’s a global movement encouraging the idea of “radical generosity: the concept that the suffering of others should be as intolerable to us as our own suffering.” 

Since then, Giving Tuesday turned into a global year-round celebration of generosity, intended to motivate the act of giving, no matter how small. This means anything from speaking up in your community about something you’re passionate about, or donating time and money to a cause you care about.

No act is too small and each smile is a sign you’ve done the movement proud!

Friends Who Are Doing Good in Their Communities

Here are some initiatives that our friends in the industry have taken part in. Excuse us while we toot your horns for you!

Image courtesy of Seattle Cider Company.

1. Seattle Cider Company & City Fruit

Seattle Cider Company not only blends delicious beverages showcasing Washington apples and other fresh ingredients, they make a point to source the fruit in a sustainable manner. The team partners with City Fruit, a nonprofit organization that picks apples, figs, and other fruit from backyards and local orchards in shared community spaces. The “ugly” fruit that can’t be donated to food banks or nonprofits was previously being wasted, and that’s where Seattle Cider stepped in. After all, ugly fruit can still make good cider!

Seattle Cider presses and ferments this fruit to make their sweet beverages, and donates a portion of their proceeds back to City Fruit. Their partnership has been going strong since 2014!

2. Salty Turtle Beer Company + Karen Beasley Turtle Rescue & Rehabilitation Center

Salty Turtle Beer Co. in Surf City, NC shares a town with the largest sea turtle hospital east of the Mississippi. It was a no-brainer for Salty Turtle co-founders Daniel and Dean to partner their turtle-branded brewery with the hospital that supports the endangered animals that Surf City is famous for. 

Every quarter, Salty Turtle donates a portion of their beer sales to Karen Beasley Turtle Rescue & Rehabilitation Center.

3. NoDa Brewing Company + Rotating Nonprofits

In addition to brewing special beers for particular initiatives they care about (like Black Is Beautiful) Charlotte-based NoDa Brewing Company also hosts a weekly benefit for a rotating list of local nonprofits. Every Tuesday, they host You Drink, We Donate where a new organization is invited to speak about their work, and encourage donations and support. NoDa cross-promotes to get the word out, and donates $1 of every beer sold that night to the nonprofit. 

NoDa also recently started using Arryved’s Donation Feature at checkout, prompting guests to donate to a nonprofit by either rounding up their tab, or donating a whole dollar amount. In the 2 months since NoDa made the feature live, they’ve raised over $2,000 for local charities!

Dolores Huerta, Marsha P. Johnson, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg mural at the Lady Justice Brewing Company. Image courtesy of Lady Justice Brewing Company.

4. Lady Justice Brewery + Local Artists

The sole reason Lady Justice Brewery started was to be a philanthropic brewery. (You can read more about their founding story here!) 

It’s obvious the focus this all-female-run brewery has on supporting local artists when you walk into their space and see the beautiful floor-to-ceiling mural of Dolores Huerta, Marsha P. Johnson, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Chelsea Lewinski. Located in Colorado’s Aurora Cultural Arts District, Lady J has become a hot-spot for drinkers during the yearly summer event Colfax Canvas, where they’ve connected with many local street artists. It’s a community of people that the people of Lady J hadn’t connected with previously, and a connection that they continue to cherish!

5. Wise Man Brewing + Forsyth Humane Society

Wise Man Brewing partnered with their local humane society to fundraise in order to reduce the society’s kill rate. Wise Man hosted a WiseMinster Dog Show with adoptable pets that walked the red carpet, complete with guest judges like the mayor! Guests at Wise Man voted for their favorite pup with money that directly benefited the local humane society, and all of the dogs were adopted that day. Talk about an adorable way to give back!

Who Should Your Brewery Benefit?

Whether it’s Giving Tuesday or any day of the week, here are some ideas on which organizations to donate to!

Regional Guilds

Did you know every state has a Brewers Guild, and every guild is a nonprofit trade association? Most guilds actively do lobbying work and advocacy at the state capital on your behalf. This constant engagement with local legislation makes your tasting rooms, taprooms, and events possible, and their commitment to working with the Brewers Association at the federal level is done with your success top of mind. 

All’s to say, you should join your guild! Find yours here, and consider your local guild as a beneficiary of any fundraising you do down the road!

On the right, Christopher Glenn, founder of Bottleshare, poses with a collab beer from Arches Brewing. Image courtesy of Bottleshare.

Bottleshare Collective

Another cause Arryved feels passionate about benefiting is Bottleshare Collective. Bottleshare is a charitable organization founded to keep craft players in the game when times get tough. With a vision of uplifting the craft community, instilling hope, and celebrating life, Bottleshare supports industry workers and their families in the darkest of times. 

It was founded by Christopher Glenn after he was struck by a drunk driver upon closing down a tasting room in Kennesaw, GA. He continues to experience the emotional trauma and brain damage caused from that accident, but passionately leads his nonprofit in the hopes of inspiring fellow craft folks. Learn more about Christopher’s story and how to donate to Bottleshare here.  

We also have this list of 10 food and beverage nonprofits who are changing the world and would be perfect beneficiaries of your fundraising efforts.

Ideas for Starting Small

You know how important it is to give back to your community, but launching a plan around how to do it can be daunting. Here are some ideas we got from a panel of creative craft experts during the recent webinar Creative Ways to Give Back in Your Taproom. (You can watch the full recording here!)

1. Ask your staff

Chances are you have a few staff members with nonprofits in mind that they feel passionate about. Plus, this is a good way to get your team involved and get the ideas flowing.

2. Ask your community

If your guests are gung-ho for a nonprofit, the chance that they’ll donate time and money is much higher. Ask your community about causes they care about, events they like attending, and involve them as volunteers.

3. Start with something that sells well

If you have merchandise that is flying off the shelf, you should make a branded merch item that is specific to the benefiting nonprofit. You can take the cost of making the merch out, and donate all of the profit to the organization. This is a lower lift for you and your team and a great way to start creating buzz for organizations. Plus, it pays for itself and you’re not losing money from your main revenue source.

4. Provide the beverages for nonprofit events

Reach out to nonprofit organizations and ask if they have an upcoming event that you can provide the beverages for. This is a great way to get your brand out in your community, and nonprofits always appreciate the help. (After all, auction bidding arms are always a little looser after an adult soda!)

5. Encourage donations at checkout via your POS

Encouraging donations at checkout is an easy way to prompt fundraising from your guests. Since making our own Donation Feature live, Arryved POS has seen just shy of $20,000 raised across all of our participating businesses in the past 2 months! 

To say we’re frankly GIDDY over that amount is an understatement. We’re so appreciative to the businesses and their guests for using this feature for good. 

If you have questions about how to set up the Donation Feature for your Giving Tuesday needs, ask our support team. OR, if you’re interested in a POS system that offers awesome features like this for free, set up some time to chat with a specialist!