Section 1: Finding Charitable Opportunities
Section 2: Using Community Involvement as a Human-Resources Tool
Section 3: Avoiding Legal Difficulties

Section 1: Finding Charitable Opportunities
The first step is to decide which charitable activity is right for your restaurant. There are many charities to work with or donate to, but you must pick the organization that feels right for you. Here are some options to consider.

• Look for existing organizations that you can join. Many communities hold a "taste of" event for which the local restaurant association or chamber of commerce organizes the foodservice community to provide a fun-filled day of food and entertainment to benefit charities.

• Listen to your customers. For example, you might hear about a local charity that they support. Your customers can act as a link between you and the community.

• Ask your customers. Some companies designate a day to donate a percentage of sales to a given charity and they poll their customers to find which charities they support and they donate to the charities most often listed by their guests.

• Watch the news and read local newspapers. Restaurants often donate food to emergency-aid workers and community residents after a disaster. You can also hear about community festivals and other events where your restaurant could provide food.

• Work with your local schools. You could sponsor a local school and provide students with special luncheons and prizes in exchange for reaching attendance and coursework goals. You could also provide apprenticeship opportunities to interested students.

• Donate surplus food to a food bank. If you don't have leftovers, considering creating some. Use your buying power to purchase large quantities of food at wholesale prices and/or cook extra food to donate. For more information about food banks in your area, go to www.secondharvest.org.

• Donate part of your sales to hunger-relief programs. Many nonprofits organize benefit days where restaurants donate a percentage of sales to their cause. This is an easy way to be part of a national effort for an important cause. These nonprofits will promote the program -- as well as your restaurant's involvement.

• Host a holiday celebration for people at risk of hunger or others in need.

Once you begin working with a charitable organization, you can leverage your good deeds to boost employee morale and retention.

Section 2: Using Community Involvement as a Human-Resources Tool
The key to leveraging community involvement as an employee recruiting-and-retention tool is to get staff "buy-in" on projects. According to People Report, a Dallas-based research organization, 88 percent of restaurants surveyed that are active in their communities found that their charitable involvement had a positive impact on employee morale. And 33 percent said it helped improve employee retention. Here is what you can do:

• Listen to your staff. For example, you might hear that several are involved with the same charitable organization. You can contact that organization through your employees.

• Observe your staff for in-house charitable opportunities. For example, you might discover that some employees lack basic literacy skills. This might be an opportunity for you to contact a literacy organization to help your staff improve their skills and to provide charitable work for the literacy group.

• Organize community-service projects for staff, such as helping to construct a house. By working together outside the restaurant with your staff, you can build more camaraderie.

• Encourage your chefs to teach cooking-and-nutrition courses to individuals at risk of hunger and malnutrition.

• Hire local high school students. The People Report cites studies showing that 73 percent of high school students perform volunteer work. These students could work at your establishment and on your charitable project at the same time.

• Encourage community activism in your employee manual.

• Foster a diverse staff by employing people with disabilities.

• Promote your restaurant's activism. The National Restaurant Association, in conjunction with The American Express Company, holds an annual Restaurant Neighbor Award which recognizes restaurants for outstanding community service. A panel of judges selects two national winners from among the state finalists. The winners receive $5,000 each to support their community efforts. For more information, call the National Restaurant Association at (800) 424-5156, extension 3679.

Before you begin your charitable work, you must take precautions to avoid civil or criminal liability.

Section 3: Avoiding Legal Difficulties
Despite good-faith efforts, restaurants may face liability claims for their charitable works. Here are tips to help you avoid legal problems.

• Review the "Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act," which was signed into law by President Clinton on October 1, 1996. The Act protects donors from liability when donating to a nonprofit organization. It also protects donors from civil and criminal liability should the product donated in good faith later cause harm to the needy recipient. However, your state laws may provide additional protection for donors.

• Donate foods that are in case lots or are canned or unopened and refrigerated. Perishable foods, such as those removed from steam tables, should not be donated.

• Remember that you are entitled to a deduction for a contribution to a charitable organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 170(e)(3).

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