Using Fundraisers for Community Education
May 12, 2014
In addition to helping cover costs, fundraising
events provide important opportunities for
community education and engagement. The
key is to design the fundraiser so that area
businesses and civic organizations can
participate in a variety of ways beyond the
traditional role of the principal event sponsor.
This is the strategy that the Northeast Iowa
Food Bank takes with its bi-annual Empty
Bowls Fundraiser.
The core concept behind an “Empty Bowls”
fundraising event is serving guests a simple
meal of soup and bread in a locally crafted bowl, which guests are invited to take home with them as
a reminder of hunger in the world. This concept lends itself to community engagement through
opportunities for businesses and organizations to provide volunteers, bowls, soups, and a venue.
The recent Empty Bowls event in Waterloo included bowls donated by local artists, schools, a local
decorate-it-yourself ceramics business, local woodworkers groups, and area art centers. Soups were
prepared and donated by local chefs, including a high school culinary class. The partnerships with
schools and woodworkers groups engaged students and craftspeople who might not otherwise
participate in a fundraising meal. The partnership with the ceramics business brought in people who
enjoyed decorating bowls but would not want to take their work home with them. These new
customers learned about both the ceramics business and the work of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank.
The venue was provided by the United Auto Workers, who was a principal sponsor alongside
Networking Solutions, Aspro, and the Community Services Committee. The Northeast Iowa Food
Bank created further opportunities for corporate sponsorship and community involvement by holding
a live and silent auction of donated items during their Empty Bowls event.
By intentionally creating opportunities for area businesses and civic groups to participate in their
Empty Bowls fundraiser, the Northeast Iowa Food Bank was able to reach far more people than the
400 who purchased tickets to the event itself.
For more information about the Empty Bowls concept, visit www.emptybowls.net. For more
information about the Empty Bowls event hosted by the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, email Niki Litzel
at [email protected].
Page | 81