Food truck fundraising events aren’t just a great way to give back to the local community and charities. They offer opportunities to promote your business, create goodwill, and a new source of revenue. In fact, some of the biggest mobile brands like Kona Ice built their business on fundraising and partnerships.
You may have noticed this shaved ice vendor raising money for schools, youth sports teams, or other causes. Kona Ice trucks do revenue shares with these groups to help them raise money for everything from jerseys to food pantries. This creates the ultimate win-win situation between food truck owners and event organizers.
Of course you don’t need to sell shaved ice to take advantage of these partnerships. Any high-margin product can work well at these events including kettle corn, ice cream, coffee, fries, and even hot dogs.
So how can we connect with these events, while also making sure to keep enough of a profit margin to ensure happiness for both you and those you’re working with? This post explains how to do it.
Fundraising events for food trucks.
Structuring a Fundraising Event
Creating a win-win financial situation between a concession vendor and a charity is essential for two reasons. The vendor needs to cover their costs and make a profit to stay in business. Charities often rely on donations to fund its programs longterm.
To accomplish both parties goals, you need to make sure there’s a strong margin of profit built into each sale so that each party can benefit from each sale. Here’s how this approach might work between a hot dog truck and an animal shelter.
It all starts by crunching the numbers. Each hot dog meal, including the hot dog, bun, condiments, packaging, and overhead costs, would will cost about $1.50 to make. The hot dog truck might sell these meals for $6.00 each during the event. This pricing would allow a generous $4.50 margin per meal.
From this margin, a hot dog truck could donate $2.00 to the animal shelter for each meal sold. This would leave the vendor with $2.50 per meal, ensuring the food truck could still turn a profit.
The Possible Outcome
By the end of the day, if a hot dog vendor sold 500 meals, here’s what it would look like.
- Total Sales: 500 meals x $6.00 = $3,000
- Cost of Goods Sold: 500 meals x $1.50 = $750
- Total Donation to the Shelter: 500 meals x $2.00 = $1,000
- Vendors Profit: 500 meals x $2.50 = $1,250
The event was a tremendous success. The animal shelter received a substantial donation, and Joe’s Dogs not only made a profit but also garnered positive publicity and a loyal customer base who appreciated his community spirit.
You can also be playful at these events by offering special menu items. For example you could offer a “Shelter Special,” a hot dog with extra toppings for a small upcharge. And since part of the proceeds are going to charity, customers are more likely to be willing to spend a little more.
Finding Partnerships
Finding events to join can be hard depending on where you live. Instead of waiting to be picked for an existing event, consider creating your own opportunities by partnering with local organizations.
Proactive Partnering
Look for potential partners like nearby schools, churches, or other charities where you have or want to build good connections. These places often have monthly events, and if not, they are usually open to planning new ones.
When you approach these organizations, be ready with a clear proposal. Show the mutual benefits, like higher attendance and community involvement, which can mean more funds for their cause and more business for you. Suggest specific events where your food truck could be a good fit, like festivals, sports events, or community fairs.
Food trucks can help the community.
Cross Promoting These Events
For cross-promotion efforts, it’s crucial that all parties are enthusiastic and ready to give their best. First, focus on marketing: promote the event on your food truck’s social media accounts like Twitter and Facebook, and encourage other participating trucks to do the same. Additionally, involve the event organizer, especially if they’re new to this, like schools, to ensure they actively promote it too. There have been instances where poor promotion led to unsuccessful events, as seen with some fundraisers.
Take extra steps to maximize exposure. Issue a press release and notify local media and bloggers. Create a dedicated Facebook page for the event a few weeks in advance to serve as an information hub and to generate excitement. This page can be reused for future events, building momentum each time. Don’t underestimate the power of flyers; a colorful flyer displayed on a popular food truck can attract a lot of attention.
With the marketing in place, consider the various ways food trucks can be integrated into the event. Here are some ideas:
- Cater a sporting event
- Join an existing carnival or fair to boost attendance
- Host a “Food Truck Brunch” in a church parking lot after services
- Set up a “Family Movie Night Out” with food trucks providing snacks
- Position trucks at the finish line of a run/walk event
- Partner with local breweries for a fundraising rally
- Organize a “Food Truck Battle” featuring a friendly competition
When organizing or joining these events, ensure the location is high-traffic and easily accessible with ample parking. Effective publicity is essential to draw a large crowd. For events like the “Food Truck Battle,” try to secure local celebrity judges to enhance the appeal. Additionally, the event should offer more than just food trucks as entertainment. Include beverages, possibly from local microbreweries, and other activities to tie the event together. This way, the food trucks complement the main attractions, providing a well-rounded experience for attendees.
These factors will ensure high attraction for other trucks to participate, making even more people aware, building more attention and donation for the charity, and thus spreading your own truck to an even wider audience. Just ask some of the other experience truck owners that are leveraging fundraisers to build their business such as Kona Ice, HipPOPS, Topolo Tacos, and DUB Pies.
Building Long-Term Relationships
Maintain regular contact with your partners and stay involved in the community. This not only helps in planning future events but also strengthens your business’s reputation. Attend community meetings or events even when you’re not vending to show your support and build stronger relationships.
After each event, gather feedback from the organizers and attendees to understand what worked well and what could be improved. Use this feedback to enhance future events, ensuring that each one is more successful than the last.
Go the Extra Mile
Finally, if you really want to make an impact and build an even stronger relationship with these non-profit or organizations, there are smart ways to put in the effort and demonstrate the value you bring to a partnership like this.
- Press Release: Issue a press release to attract the attention of local media and bloggers. This can provide wider coverage and credibility to the event.
- Dedicated Facebook Page: Create a Facebook page specifically for the event a few weeks in advance. Use it to share information and generate buzz. If the event is successful, this page can be used for future events.
- Flyers: Don’t underestimate the power of flyers. A colorful flyer in the window of a popular food truck can do wonders in informing regular customers about the event.
By actively looking for and creating partnerships with local organizations, you can regularly take part in profitable fundraising events. This not only helps your business grow but also supports the community, making it a win-win for everyone. Take this chance to make a positive impact while building a new source of revenue for your concession business.
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