Looking to add a feel-good factor to an event without incorporating a full-blown fund-raising component? Here are four vendors that support charities while serving an event's purpose.
1. Profits from the rental of event space at Evergreen Brick Works—an environmental community centre that's set to open on the site of the old Don Valley Brick Works in May—will be directed into the organization's education and food programs, says communications spokesperson Anthony Westenberg. "We're a social enterprise so we're a hybrid model. We are a not-for-profit but we'll also be running money-generating activities that will feed our programs," he said. Venue rental fees will support programs designed to green local school yards and community garden projects.
2. The catering company Eini & Co.—which specializes in cupcakes—has partnerships with the Hospital for Sick Children, the AIDS Committee of Toronto, and the Canadian Cancer Society. When placing an order clients can select which of the three charities they wish to support and a portion of the company's profits will be donated to the organization.
3. Artscape, a not-for-profit enterprise that supports city building through the arts, rents event space at Wychwood Barns—located in the old Toronto Transit Commission streetcar yard. Proceeds from the rental of spaces like the Covered Street Barn, which is available year round for community events, conferences, and festivals, support the organization's community arts initiatives. The Wychwood facility also houses 13 nonprofit organizations, 15 artist studios, and a community gallery.
4. At Vert Catering, supporting the local community is key to the company's overall philosophy, says director Marilyn Simms, who owns and operates the company alongside Pedro Dos Santos. Vert donates untouched leftover catering food to the Toronto Community Hostel and also works with Sketch (an arts organization for street and homeless youth) and the Stop Community Food Centre. A percentage of the proceeds from holiday events and weddings are donated to the Stop. "It's really a big part of what we do," Simms says.
