TOP TIPS: Choosing a venue for your restaurant fundraiser

In order to host the most effective restaurant fundraiser, choosing the right venue is key. With 5,000+ partner restaurants around the country, GroupRaise takes the stress out of organizing your event, the only thing left to do is decide which lucky restaurant it will be!

1. LOCATION: The most important consideration for a fundraiser’s success is location. If you want to have good attendance at your fundraiser, the restaurant must be close to your guests. Start planning your fundraising event by entering your zipcode into the GroupRaise search box or selecting your town on the drop-down list to browse restaurants in your area.
2. RESTAURANT CAPACITY & POLICIES: As you scan the list of restaurants in your city, consider the size of the restaurant compared with the size of your possible group. As your supporters may be coming and leaving throughout the event’s time frame, most restaurants will be able to accommodate large numbers. However, if your group is planning to share the meal together, it’s important to know that the restaurant can host everyone. You can check out the restaurant’s policies to make sure they are aligned with the type of meal you are organizing.
3. PRICE: Price range is an important factor. Generally, the more expensive the meal, the larger the cut of funds will be to donate. When selecting the restaurant online you can view the price range, as well as the percentage donated, next to each restaurant name. You should consider your attendees, for example college students generally have a tighter budget, so they may not want to eat at a more expensive restaurant. If you can’t decide between restaurants, why not host a fundraiser at both! You and your group can then see first hand how different restaurants provide different fundraising experiences.
4. AVAILABILITY: After selecting a restaurant, you have to choose a date. It’s important to consider both the times and days your supporters will be most available to attend your event. The calendar on the GroupRaise site only shows you the dates and times that the restaurant is available. If the restaurant is not available for your preferred date, you can go back to the list of restaurants to see who is!

What if there are no restaurants in my area?
On the off chance that there are no restaurants participating in your area, you will see the message, “We’ll contact you when GroupRaise comes to your town”. Here you can enter your information to receive an email alerting you when one of your local restaurants starts participating. GroupRaise is spreading rapidly throughout the country, so you should have more restaurants participating in your area soon!

Want to host a fundraiser at a restaurant that’s not participating in GroupRaise?
If you would like to host at a restaurant that is not yet participating, try leaving a note at the restaurant to check out GroupRaise. Many restaurants quickly become members after hearing this suggestion from the dedicated organizations that are integral parts of their communities.

Hopefully you now feel that you have the tools and knowledge to select the perfect restaurant for your fundraiser! For any further questions you can email info@groupraise.com or continue to check out the GroupRaise blog for more about hosting a restaurant fundraiser.

If you’re hungry to start planning, head to GroupRaise.com and organize your restaurant fundraiser today!