Baltimore Eats for Good wants to unite local restaurants and nonprofits

The team behind Cake Cause Marketing came up with a concept to unite local businesses and nonprofits before the death of Freddie Gray sparked unrest in the city. Following the events of late April, plans for Baltimore Eats For Good weren’t altered. Instead, they took on added meaning.
Set to kick off June 21, the campaign looks to gather discounts from local restaurants and retailers into a single “digital deal book.” In turn, the nonprofits can sell the deal books as part of their fundraising efforts. The campaign also includes a landing page featuring video, social media embeds and other tools for each nonprofit that joins in.
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The crux of the campaign is the deal books, which provides businesses with a way to support nonprofits that adds value. That’s the idea behind Cake, a startup that emerged last year with an overall mission to create digital solutions to make benevolent efforts more beneficial for businesses.
“Community engagement is important, but businesses are more likely to support nonprofits if there is a positive impact on their bottom line,” Cake’s Justin Kersey said via email.
The deal books will be Cake’s second product, following the fundraising platform that launched last fall. Kersey described the effort as a “Living Social meets GoFundMe for nonprofits.”
Cake established Baltimore Eats for Good as a nonprofit to help launch the deal books. The effort is already getting response.
Restaurants like Bistro 3000, La Scala Ristorante Italiano, Wine Market Bistro and Warehouse 518 are signed on. Meanwhile, about 15 nonprofits are onboard, including Baltimore Humane Society, Baltimore Dance Crews Project and the Women’s Housing Coalition. Media outlets like WYPR and BmoreEvents are also helping to get the word out, Kersey said. Enradius is also providing geotargeted mobile advertising.
Kersey said he will continue making an effort to sign up businesses and nonprofits in the run-up to the official launch on June 21.
During the headline-grabbing unrest that followed Freddie Gray’s death, local restaurants were some of the most affected businesses in the city, suffering from fires and looting. Meanwhile, people have been looking to support nonprofits as they try to give back. With Baltimore Eats for Good established before those events took place, Kersey has been seeing more support.
“Businesses and nonprofits have come together and are supporting one another even more so than before,” Kersey said.