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Category: Food and Cooking / Food and Beverage / Charities

Charities, restaurants team up to offer dishes that make a difference

Thursday, 19 Jan 2017 14:27:23 | Laura Gartry

Young customer Harry Burlinson enjoys a rainbow charity donut (Supplied: JumpClimb)

Are you more likely to purchase a donut or some other meal if you knew some of the proceeds were going to a good cause?

Charities and restaurants say the answer is yes, and are offering consumers a growing number of "experience-based" donation options.

With the economic downturn continuing to bite in Western Australia, restaurants and charities have been feeling the pinch and have been working together in a bid to boost customer and donor numbers.

Major charities across WA had a tough year in 2016, with donations to St Vincent De Paul Society falling by about $400,000.

The organisation's chief executive, Mark Fitzpatrick, said new revenue streams targeting younger people were important to counter that drop.

"There is no question, most of my counterparts have found it tough in terms of fundraising, and the demand for services has also been up," he said.

Fiona Kalaf, the chief executive of mental health charity Youth Focus, agreed that charities needed to embrace "experience-based engagement" rather than relying on traditional methods and large ongoing donations.

"As leaders in the charity and not-for-profit sector we have a responsibility to be looking at ways to diversify and grow our revenue streams, to ensure we are going to be around for the long term and future generations," she said.

Higher volume, lower spends making a difference

Ms Kalaf said "micro-donation" campaigns seeking smaller amounts from a larger number of people, were proving to be a great way to raise money and awareness, and start conversations about a cause.

"We are seeing higher volumes of lower actual spends and that makes a huge difference," she said.

Mary Street Bakery in Highgate has teamed up with Youth Focus in bid to raise $10,000 for a Ride for Youth team, using proceeds from a specially designed rainbow donut and a donut drive.

Rainbow charity donut at Mary Street Bakery. Photo: For every special donut sold, Mary St Bakery will donate $1 to Youth Focus (Supplied: JumpClimb)

Owner Paul Aron said the campaign helped the charity and also had a positive impact on the business.

"The donation dollars come out of our end, but in a business sense we hope by driving sales, we will sell more donuts than we usually sell therefore it works for everyone," he said.

Campaign attracts 'groundswell of support'

The Shorehouse restaurant has introduced a chorizo breakfast with $2 from every dish going to the Swanbourne Surf Club for new equipment for the nippers.

Owner Scott Taylor said the venue had contributed $5,500 to charity by offering various unique dishes.

"There is a groundswell of support and people buy into it," he said.

"The sales of that dish probably went up 50 per cent as soon as we put the surf club label on there."

Scott Taylor standing in his restaurant The Storehouse. Photo: Storehouse owner Scott Taylor says charity dishes allow local eateries to give back to the community (ABC News: Laura Gartry)

Diner Craig Gibson explained why he ordered the dish.

"The ingredients were appealing but the feel-good factor of contributing to the community didn't hurt. I think if it was a spilt decision between a couple of dishes then that might turn it in favour of the charity dish for sure," he said.

And is it is not just restaurants, with bars also offering special cocktails with some proceeds going to charity.

Marketing specialist Laura Moseley said charity initiatives had become a growing trend in Perth venues over the past six months.

"I think now restaurants want to align their brand with local community initiatives and charities that mirror their own values," she said.

"Exciting campaigns certainly make you stand out from the crowd and give patrons a reason to visit your venue for the first time or return to also show their commitment to community."

Swanbourne locals Craig and Georgia Gibson. Photo: Swanbourne locals Craig and Georgia Gibson support the Shorehouse's charity dish initiatives. (ABC News: Laura Gartry)

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