Digital Fundraisers Revive Restaurant Sales Amid Pandemic

Digital Fundraisers Revive Restaurant Sales Amid Pandemic

McAlister’s Deli, On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina, and Modern Market roll out a new solution for restaurants to engage local community groups

Think restaurant fundraisers are a thing of the past? Think again: Restaurant fundraisers have gone digital and the results are staggering.

As dining restrictions continue to evolve, restaurants can now host digital fundraisers that promote their digital + other off-premises order methods. This is all made possible by the latest feature on GroupRaise – the nation’s leading restaurant fundraising platform.

Over 5,000 restaurants – including brands such as MOD Pizza, On the Border, Wendy’s, and McAlister’s Deli – have found great value in hosting digital events for fundraising groups as:

  • Digital fundraising events have increased average sales in 2021 by 27%
  • Month-over-month demand for digital fundraisers has grown 200% through the GroupRaise platform

On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina kept their event sales up during 2020 by offering takeout and dine-in fundraising events. As of 2021, they have 12% higher average sales than they did at the peak of normalcy in 2019. Tara Barnett, the Senior Manager of Off Premise and Local Marketing mentioned:

“Before GroupRaise, each general manager just handled our fundraisers by phone call logs. We had to produce emails and produce other materials to support these events individually. GroupRaise has really helped in managing that and automating email communication. It took a lot of work off us on a corporate level, and also at the restaurant level.”           

The Saxton Group, who operates 80+ McAlister’s Deli locations, restarted their fundraising program in the midst of the pandemic in September of 2020. Lily Saer, the Marketing Manager comments on the topic:

Ultimately, we were to implement a new fundraising structure that included digital ordering, and that has been the biggest help and greatest option for us. A lot of organizations have been so thankful as they were looking for support during the pandemic that we weren’t able to get them. And now that we’re able to, and we’re offering a new way to do it through those online ordering systems- and it has been so fantastic.

Modern Market, based on the west coast where widespread stay-at-home orders had been in place, have hosted fundraising events solely through online orders. Teresa, their Director of Operations Services says:

GroupRaise has helped our brand host online events by providing our operators with an easy to manage dashboard. The dashboard facilitates the entire process from start to finish, from inquiries to scheduling to reporting. The communication function allows us to easily chat with event organizers to help enforce our policies and check up on attendance ahead of time, fostering relationships with our communities.”

Local restaurants and national brands alike join GroupRaise for the increased brand awareness, extra sales, new customer acquisition, promotional tools, and automated operational support.

Want to learn more about how you can increase your restaurant’s bottom line while elevating your brand name in the community? Contact calla@groupraise.com for more information.

GroupRaise is the nation’s leading restaurant fundraising platform, connecting local individuals and groups who want to host a fundraiser with restaurants in their area excited to host. GroupRaise works with over 10,000 restaurant locations across the U.S. and has helped over 75,000 local organizations raise funds for their causes. To find out more, visit www.groupraise.com.