Milwaukee: Pizzeria Piccola

Fundraising

As a part of a wonderful community that has been so supportive of us and of our sister restaurant, Ristorante Bartolotta, we are very excited to announce “SOCIETY SUNDAYS”. On at least 2 Sundays a month, we are opening our doors to community organizations which need to raise money through fundraisers. Our first Society Sunday hosted the Marching Band from Wauwatosa East. They provided us with 10 volunteers, and in 5 hours raised $700. We have hosted a couple of other groups and have several more on the books. We are anxious to work with other organizations in the community as well. If you have an interest, or know of anyone who does, please contact Irene Lannoye at the Piccola, 414-443-0800.

Keys to Successful Society Sundays
Pizzeria Piccola

Develop a communication strategy

How many people do you want to invite/get the word out to? As an approximate rule, 200 diners will result in $500.
What message do you want to send? Take the following into consideration:
- We can only accommodate approximately 65 people inside and weather permitting another 12 outside. Perhaps you associate last names with dining times, i.e. A – G from 4pm – 5:30pm H – P from 5:30pm to 7:00pm and so on.
- Mention that take-out orders can be placed in advance. We will par-bake or completely bake the pizzas and they can be finished or re-heated at home in the oven.
- Mention that we will have frozen Margherita, Sausage, and Spicey Salami (pepperoni) pizzas available for sale. That way, if someone would like to support the cause, and is unable to dine at the Piccola that night they have an option.
- We have found that a good majority of people attending these events have never dined with us before; you may want to direct people to our web site www.pizzeriapiccola.com for directions and a copy of the menu.
- As we are trying to raise as much money as we can for your cause, we will not accept any coupons during your event. We will stamp our punch cards.
- “Free” entertainment is another great people mover. Consider your school’s band, cheerleaders, athletes, members of the drama department dressed in costume, offer a contest with door prizes to the most creativity dressed, etc.
What vehicles will you use to communicate your message?
- Press release to local media
- Invitations in the mail
- Envites
- Posters
- Reminders
- Word of mouth
- Announcements
- Send letters home with children
- Don’t forget about family and friends
- You will need to provide us with a poster that we can post on the door 2 weeks in advance of the event

Select and confirm date
You will need at least three weeks to promote your event.
Immediately begin publicizing the event.

Volunteers
You will need to provide at least 12 volunteers; they will need to arrive one hour before we open at 3:00pm. We will conduct a 10 minute orientation, and begin assigning “opening” tasks to all. It’s a unique opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at everything that goes into opening and closing a restaurant. All volunteers are required to sign a release form, and any minors, under 18, are required to have a form signed by their parents.

We will provide soda/iced tea to all volunteers. Under normal circumstances, we would offer to feed the volunteers, however you will have to make this determination.

Miscellaneous Tips

Photos
Create a memory to promote your cause after the fact, designate a photographer to take photos during the entire event – volunteers getting ready to open and close the restaurant, the entertainers, the patrons, etc. You can also use this to send out a press-release after your event for those that didn’t pick up the story to begin with.

Information on the cause
As we do not close to the public, our regulars take an interest in the causes that we are supporting. Having information on hand – photos/flyers, etc., helps to spread the word.

Tip Jar
Additional funds may be collected at the register and upstairs in the dining room. 100% of those funds go directly to your cause. On a recent Society Sunday, an additional $450 was raised in contributions.

Again, as we are not closed to the public, and they do take an interest in what we are supporting, they will often dump their change in the tip jar, and sometimes, even add a couple of extra bucks. Every penny counts.

We hope that these suggestions are helpful. If you have any additional questions, please contact Irene Lannoye, General Manager, at 414-443-0800.