Food is important in any workplace — and the non-profit sector is no exception. Serving delicious meals at staff meetings, for example, is a great way to boost the mood and improve productivity. Food has a positive influence on volunteer attendance, community satisfaction, and donor engagement, too. Whether you need to raise funds to expand a hospital’s oncology wing or gather volunteers for an on-campus event, free catered meals could help you reach those goals.

There’s no denying the value of non-profit catering, but it also comes with unique challenges. From limited budgets to staffing limitations and tax regulations, professionals in this sector have a lot of hurdles to get past. Fortunately, ordering food for non-profit events doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. With a handful of tips, non-profit catering can be so much simpler and more rewarding.

The challenges of non-profit catering

Virtually every non-profit struggles with tight budgets. You may want to host a huge event to raise money and awareness for a new child cancer hospital wing, for example, but you likely don’t have unlimited funds. Around 20% of non-profits have an annual budget under $100,000, so blowing half of that on a fancy fundraising dinner is not an option. Thus, you’re tasked with finding affordable vendors that can pull off an elegant and memorable event. 

Adding to the challenge, those affordable vendors must also be able to accommodate a tax-exempt catering order. After all, every dollar counts, so making sure your organization gets its rightful tax breaks could be the difference between a successful event and a costly accounting lesson.

As a non-profit professional, you know those challenges better than anyone. Sure, finding the ideal caterer may not always be easy, but it is incredibly satisfying. In your line of work, you excel at tackling these challenges by getting creative, being resourceful, and thinking outside the box. When you succeed, you get to watch the fruits of your labor: staff feeling appreciated with their catered lunches, volunteers coming back to help time and time again, and donors making your projects a reality. It’s rewarding. 

The best catering tips for non-profit organizations

No doubt, the work you do makes a measurable and positive impact on the world. And though you’re skilled at navigating hurdles, planning catering for meetings and events has its own set of unique challenges. These five helpful tips can help you detangle the details and create a more seamless ordering process. 

1. Take advantage of your tax-exempt status

Your organization’s tax-exempt status means you don’t pay sales or meal tax on catering orders. Those precious tax dollars you save can be a game changer when it comes to stretching your catering budget. When placing your order, remember to inform the caterer of your organization’s tax-exempt status. They may need to see your state tax certificate, so be sure to carry a copy of it with you.

Restaurants are usually willing to make accommodations for non-profits, even if they don’t have experience with tax-exempt catering. However, there’s a simpler way to get your food. With ezCater, you can upload your tax certificate to your corporate account once and automatically apply it to all future orders. That means no more explaining your organization’s unique status. Plus, if you share an account with a colleague or larger team, anyone can place an order confidently.

2. Match participants with their favorite foods

Non-profit catering yields the best results when everyone is happy with their meals. As a food-orderer, it’s your job to play matchmaker between participants and menu items. Sometimes, that’s easy. Foods like pizza, tacos, and sandwiches and wraps are so popular that chances are your volunteers will love them. But what if someone has a food allergy? Or what if you have a picky eater on your volunteer team? Suddenly, safe bets don’t seem so safe anymore… Fortunately, the solution is simple: put participants in charge of their own food.

That’s exactly what ezCater’s Group Ordering feature does. Here’s how it works: you choose a local restaurant, set a per-person spending limit, and share the link with participants. Then, they’ll browse what’s available and pick their own meals. Everyone is happy: you leave the guesswork behind and volunteers get to enjoy a meal they’re truly excited about.

3. Stay on budget with pre-set spending limits

As a non-profit organization, you’re likely dealing with a tight budget. For example, let’s say you’re given a $400 budget to get dinner for 20 team members after a long volunteer day. So, when you search for a restaurant on ezCater, you can set a $20 per person spending limit to find a restaurant that works for your budget. 

4. Search for restaurants by supplier diversity or dietary needs

Maybe you’re on the board for a non-profit women’s empowerment organization and are organizing a luncheon to welcome new volunteers. Use this opportunity to uplift another woman in your community by using the ezCater filters to find a woman-owned business. There are other filters you can use to find exactly what you’re looking for, like specific cuisines or highly-rated restaurants… but you can also get more detailed. Filter by dietary restrictions, like vegan, kosher, halal, or gluten-free; search for restaurants with last-minute availability; or filter results by the diversity of the business owner. 

5. Get help with multiple orders at once

You work at a non-profit organization, so you’re probably no stranger to multitasking. Maybe you’re organizing a city-wide volunteer day, with some folks cleaning up the beach and others helping out at the senior center. When it comes to catering, ezCater makes it easy to place and manage multiple orders at once, so everyone gets fed — wherever they are. With ezCater, you can place two catering orders, from two restaurants, to be delivered to two locations. Because after all, well-fed volunteers are happy volunteers. 

Coordinate your next non-profit catering order

You don’t have to cut corners when it comes to non-profit catering. In fact, there are many ways to get the most out of your next order, whether you need catering for an upcoming event or crowd-pleasing meals for hungry volunteers. Explore restaurants in your area and learn more about ezCater today.