Students organizations turn to local businesses for fundraising

With the right partnerships, buying coffee can become a way to support Campus Kitchen

Erika Kengni • February 5, 2024

Students support Campus Kitchen by buying breakfast at Season’s Yield.

Student organizations are setting their sights off campus to raise money and host events.

In one type of fundraising partnership, called a “percentage day,” local businesses agree to give a certain percent of profit from each purchase on a given day to an organization.

In turn, the organization promotes the business to their supporters. Businesses hope that the increase in marketing will draw more customers in, making up for any revenue that they donate to the club.

Campus Kitchen has had two such fundraisers at the Season’s Yield Cafe at Haywoods, with the most recent one on Jan. 24.

Emma Conover, ’24, who is on the executive board at Campus Kitchen, said she is “really grateful” to Season’s Yield for giving 15 percent of their sales to the club.

Campus Kitchen received $300 from the January fundraiser, said Ryan Brink, the Campus Kitchen Coordinator. That can cover about half of the weekly expenses for the Campus Kitchen backpack programming, he said. The program, founded in 2009, provides bags of food to local students who receive free or reduced-price lunch so they can have nutritious meals over the weekend.

Brink said the partnership between Campus Kitchen and Season’s Yield grew organically from a relationship that he had with the organization’s staff.

Another student organization that often partners with local businesses is the Student Environmental Action League Club (SEAL). For their Taste of Lexington event, they invite many local businesses to give a sample of their food to attendees.

“We thought that by showcasing their products, and their stories and the owners behind them, people would be more inclined in the future to visit those businesses and put their money back into the local community,” said Shae Reinberg, the president of SEAL.

Even though the Taste of Lexington has only been hosted twice, Reinburg is hopeful that SEAL can build more relationships with local businesses.

Campus Kitchen also hopes to expand its connections to local businesses. Brink said Campus Kitchen is planning another percentage day, this time at the local Dairy Queen. The fundraiser will follow Campus Kitchen’s annual Souper Bowl, hosted on Feb. 4, which brought local restaurant owners together to serve soup and raise money for the organization’s initiatives.