Philanthropy
Do Good. Eat Good.
That's our mission. We source from farmers who treat their lands sustainably and regeneratively, their animals humanely, and their teams ethically. When you spend your hard earned dollar with us, we endeavor to do the same.
It was a part of our original business plan to “support the community that supports us.” It hasn’t always been easy. Even when we haven’t had the profit to do so, we’ve found a way to give back. That takes the form of donating time (board service, volunteerism), talent (mentorship), treasure (donations, discounts), and testimony (becoming outspoken advocates for nonprofits we support). During one rough period of business when we missed a payment, a supplier told us, “Maybe if you’d spend more time on your business and less time volunteering, you wouldn’t be in this position.” After making it through that tough time and reflecting back, we realized and reaffirmed, “If we can’t do business the way we want to, then it’s not worth being in business.”
To date, we have supported almost 1000 nonprofit events and fundraisers. We create an annual Philanthropy Plan to spotlight a nonprofit each month that address environmental issues, food accessibility, and other missions close to our hearts like mental health awareness. Each lovingly becomes our “Charitable Cheese Cause;” it receives a portion of sales one day and promotion through our business. We also host Pop-Up Picnics, respond to emergency needs, and offer 10% discounts to all nonprofits.
One of our proudest achievements is winning a Generous Business Award from the Austin Chamber.
DONATION REQUESTS?
Please note that we receive literally dozens of requests weekly. You may Submit a Donation Request here if your event is over a month away. We will answer via email as we are able around the first of every month. While we will try to respond, please note that managing donation requests can sometimes be a fulltime job in and of itself. If you do not hear back from us, we are unable to support your event at this time. To go green, we do not take paper requests in the shop and we kindly ask that you not call to request, so that our cheesemongers can stay attentive to customer needs. All that said, we thank you for your nonprofit and charitable service, and we wish you the best of luck with your event!
YEARLY BENEFICIARY NONPROFITS:
American Cheese Education Foundation, American Gateways, Amplify Austin, Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund, Austin Gives, Cheese Culture Coalition, Cheeseletes, Daphne Zepos Teaching Endowment, Good Work Austin, Les Dames d’Escoffier Austin, Philanthropitch, Slow Food Austin, St. Andrew’s School, Thinkery
ORGS WE SUPPORT:
American Cheese Society, Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin Independent Business Alliance, Austin LGBT Chamber, Good Food Foundation, Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce, Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, Oldways Cheese Coalition, Slow Food USA
BOARD SERVICE (present or past):
Kendall: ACE Foundation, Les Dames Austin (Past President), Austin Child Guidance Center, Austin Food Bloggers Association
John: American Cheese Society (Past President), Thinkery (Past President), Philanthropitch, Local Business Institute
Nicholas: ACC - Culinary
NONPROFIT FRIENDS:
Austin Food Bloggers Association, Austin Sunshine Camps, Impact Austin, NAMI Central Texas, Texas Food & Wine Alliance, The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas
PAST CHARITABLE CHEESE CAUSES:
Environmental Sustainability: Austin Parks Foundation, Austin Outside, Central Texas Young Farmers Coalition, Farm Share Austin, Waterloo Greenway, Trail Conservancy, Tree Folks, Wildflower Center
Food Equity: Central Texas Food Bank, Green Corn Project, Keep Austin Fed, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Nourish Foundation, Sustainable Food Center, Urban Roots, Well Aware
Human Rights: Allgo, Allies against Slavery, Austin Justice Coalition, Caritas, CASA Travis, Equality Texas, Latinitas, Lifeworks, Multicultural Refugee Coalition, Out Youth, Survive 2 Thrive, Texans Care for Children
Other: AFSP, Austin Center for Grief and Loss, Austin Shift Meal, Austin Speech Labs, BIG Love Cancer Care, Breast Cancer Resource Center, Friends of the Children, Generation Serve, Girl Scouts of CTX, Girls on the Run, Good Politics, Texas Book Fair, Wonders & Worries