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  • Charity Policy?

    Hi folks,

    I, like most of you, receive probably at least a three or four requests a week asking me to donate beer to this-that-and-the-other local charity's latest "Won't Somebody Please Think of the ___" fundraiser. While I am generally in favor, both from a philanthropic and marketing standpoint, this still is, after all, a business. Don't need tax write-offs, we need cash up front. So I was wondering what sort of rules or protocols you all use to determine who gets what, and how much?

    My current feeling is a 1/6 free to a good cause, with free tap/jockey use if they're local. Then a charity rate, similar to the wholesale rate, for anything beyond that?

    Other ideas? Put them in a hat and draw a few out? Charity rate for all? Free beer within reason? Bah-humbug?
    Russell Everett
    Co-Founder / Head Brewer
    Bainbridge Island Brewing
    Bainbridge Island, WA

  • #2
    Charity

    I think you are right on with what you say. Unless you also see it as a good promotional opportunity for your brand the first one is free the others at retail or wholesale seems fair.

    Comment


    • #3
      Perhaps the best charity policy I worked with was:

      - Make a decision on our 'preferred' charity for the year and support them, which meant we could get good initial publicity for both the charity and ourselves, then we could work together over the year for maximum mutual benefit;

      - Establish a 'charity rate' for anyone else wanting to buy product.

      That way everyone knows where they are and we were able to focus on giving great support to our preferred charity but without having to say 'no' to anyone.

      The next year we elected a new 'preferred' charity, so each year every one got an equal chance and we were able to control the outflow of beer

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      • #4
        While not a brewery we deal with this same issue literally every day. We try to support charities as much as possible but we had to establish an annual budget and we take it first come first served. Those seeking donations late in the year usually get left out unfortunately but we had to draw the line somewhere.

        A little story. Last Christmas season a Fortune 500 company asked if we'd donate 228 bombers for their holiday event. They were essentially asking me to donate well over $1,000 worth of product. I told them I would donate the product if they would make equivalent donation to a charity of my choice. They are a Fortune 500 company and we are a small local business so it seemed fair. They said no.
        Owner
        Grind Modern Burger
        PostModern Brewers
        Boise, ID

        Comment


        • #5
          Charity

          After 1.5 years of being open, we are finally starting to get our policy set. When someone approaches us, we ask for all information in writing, including the Charity's Tax ID number (if they can't get one or don't have it we don't automatically exclude them, it just makes them work a little bit). We then try and look at them once a month or so and determine what we can do. We never give beer away (we will do tastings but only when a brewery staff member can be there to talk about our product). In my experience with giving product away is that it is seldom seen by the people drinking it as a donation and you generally get little if any benefit. What we generally will give is a Gift Certificate for our Tasting Room. That way, if they do get redeemed (which always isn't the case) then you are physically bringing someone in to the brewery where we have the chance to make them a customer. Giving hats or T shirts away may get your logo out there, but it won't necessarily have the same impact as having the one on one experience with a consumer in the tasting room.

          There are occasions where we do break these rules. Most notable when our best customer (accounting for 10% of our draft sales) has his annual fundraising golf tournament, we show up in full force with as much beer and promotional items as we can. But we do this very rarely.

          Also, we always say no when someone walks in 2 days before an event (that they've been planning for a year) asking for a donation. If we are that far down on their list we will not see any benefit.

          Cheers,
          Dave
          David Schlosser
          Brewmaster / Founder
          Naked Dove Brewing Company
          Canandaigua, NY

          Comment


          • #6
            My favorite are the charity fests that we bring 8 kegs several jockeys signs, tents etc. and the. Ask for 10 passes where 6 or 7 are for people actually working the event and get told that sounds excessive! Those extra passes go to the owner and a couple employees or friends of the brewery and they act like your putting them out. All the charity events get old after 12 plus yrs of the same old crap. We give free product and labor and lose a day off (theyre always on saturday) and they always give you a hard time on extra passes.

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            • #7
              We have had good success with a monthly "donation budget". This monthly maximum amount ($200 retail) and a "Donation Form" keep the flow of donations in-check. The donation form is given to every entity requesting something for free or discounted. It asks who they are representing, what the event is, what specifically they are asking for (surprising how many say "anything!") and when they would like it. This allows us to give them a considered answer. Often the answer is "I'm sorry, but our donation budget for this month is gone. Please come to us sooner in the future."

              Prost!
              Glacier Brewing Company
              406-883-2595
              info@glacierbrewing.com

              "who said what now?"

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Matt Dog
                My favorite are the charity fests that we bring 8 kegs several jockeys signs, tents etc. and the. Ask for 10 passes where 6 or 7 are for people actually working the event and get told that sounds excessive! Those extra passes go to the owner and a couple employees or friends of the brewery and they act like your putting them out. All the charity events get old after 12 plus yrs of the same old crap. We give free product and labor and lose a day off (theyre always on saturday) and they always give you a hard time on extra passes.
                We've made the decision a year ago to ONLY do festivals where 100% of the proceeds go to charity OR they buy the beer. The days of "for profit" beer festivals should be long over, but they aren't. It's absolutely crazy to "donate" beer to a festival, they donate $5k to a charity and then pocket $80K for their trouble.
                I don't know of a single brewery these days that has a lot of beer sitting around that they can't move, so why give it away so someone else can profit.

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                • #9
                  Capt. Bob, I agree with you that organizers of beer festivals shouldn't expect the brewers to donate beer to the event. When we do our events we pay full price for all the beer we pour and would never ask for free product of any kind because it disrespects the brewer and his/her craft. That said I think its unfair to say that for profit festivals shouldn't exist.

                  You didn't go into business to give away beer. You went into business to provide a great product and an experience. Its no different for the organizers of the festivals. So long as they are respectful of your efforts and pay for the beer they serve then they should have the right, just like you to profit from their efforts. The financial risk associated with throwing a festival is immense, in our case upwards of $200,000 including beer. For a brewer to suggest that a festival organizer shouldn't profit from his blood sweat and tears is just as insulting as a festival organizer asking you for free beer.
                  Owner
                  Grind Modern Burger
                  PostModern Brewers
                  Boise, ID

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