Benefit Restaurants are low-friction/low-drag sources of funds for charities and non-profit organizations.
They provide money in two ways:
- pledging a percentage of on month's sales to a specific organization
- collecting voluntary donations from restaurant guests who choose at the end of their meals to lend their personal support to the beneficiary of the month.
What does "low-friction/low-drag" mean? A fundamental objective of Benefit Restaurants is to be a low-cost/no-cost source of funds for non-profits. Nearly all fundraising efforts require time and money to mount, consuming precious resources in an effort to find more. The Benefit Restaurant funding model seeks to reduce non-profit fundraising expense ratios by offering their contributions unsolicited.
All Benefit Restaurants ask in return for the funding commitment is that their effort be mentioned in the beneficiary organization's normal outreach - on their website, in their newsletters and email blasts, on their bulletin boards - so their stakeholders know that dining at a Benefit Restaurantâ„¢ during their month will help that cause they love.
Sounds simple? It is. By design.
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P.S. - Earlier today I explained in a post on tenthousandrivers, my blog that will be exploring our shared social challenges, how I will be organizing my blogging going forward.

How do you choose non-profits? Can one apply or suggest a recipient of your monthly support?
Posted by: Brian Thompson | 10/15/2009 at 11:39 PM