Do you belong to or know of an organization or group that desires 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 Nights". 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 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 best efforts to assure 20+ guests for their specific “Cause Night”.
• 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 (6-8 typical) volunteers participate in the evening.
• Allow The Lafayette Inn use their name & 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.
(Reservations 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.
(Volunteers encouraged to arrive early & enjoy a dinner at 50%)
Several organizations have sent flyers, had volunteers make calls to their local following and provide 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 complimentary child care so parents could enjoy a “parent’s night out” dinner.