Do you belong to or know of an organization or group that needs to raise money for a good cause? Rather than wash cars, bake cookies or hold a raffle simply enjoy a delicious dinner at The Lafayette Inn & Restaurant.
Inn owners Alan and Kaye Pyles introduced “Cause Thursday’s" (Later modified to "Cause Night's" - most often on Sundays). The goal of each evening is to raise money for an organization by re-allocating a certain percentage of member's dinner bill back to the organization.
“Rather than investing in advertising to fill The Lafayette Inn’s restaurant on non-Friday/Saturday nights, we chose to reinvest those dollars back into our community,” Alan explained. “The evenings are fun for us and for the organization. Everyone has a chance to enjoy great food while supporting a cause that is close to his or her heart. The more success they have, the larger our donation is — it is a win-win for everyone.”
The Pyles donate 20% (*) of the evening’s dinner sales to a group’s cause if the group agrees to do the following:
• Use its best efforts to assure 20 dinner guests or more attend their specific “Cause Night's.”
• Send a pre-event press release to local media promoting their cause.
• Send a post-event press release to local media.
• Have a minimum of four representatives from the organization participate in the evening.
• Agree to let The Lafayette Inn use their name and photos from the evening for promotional purposes
(*) Organizations are encouraged to have guests call the Inn directly (24/7) to make reservations or e-mail. If guests elect to reserve via OpenTable, the reservation fee is deducted from the donation.
Cause Group provides volunteer servers. (Builds teamwork and helps the Cause Group connect with their guests).
All Gratuities (historically 18% or more due to the nature of the evening) are then placed into a pool and ALSO DONATED to your organization.
(Servers are invited to arrive early and enjoy a dinner at 50% off prior to the event dinner service)
Several organizations have sent flyers, had volunteers make calls to their local following and provided an informational reception area for dinner guests during the evening to raise dollars for their cause. Some groups have even managed seating to maximize their donation opportunity. One organization even provided complimentary child care so parents could enjoy a “parent’s night out” dinner.