“Give it away” sounds like a curse word for a pizza shop owner trying to juggle payroll, food expenses and utilities. But what if that giveaway made you more money and more customers? I’m not talking about handing out free food to just anyone, I mean giving strategically to people and causes that benefit your pizzeria. Follow along to see how our sales grew 10% in just one year with this model.

How Do We Donate?

We all get donation requests. Your local T-ball team needs to sell pizza slices to buy new uniforms. A spaghetti dinner is raising money for a family in need. Emergency responders are braving fires and storms. So, do we donate to them all? Yep, we sure do! If a request comes from a cause or event within our community, we donate in some capacity.

What Do We Donate?

Strictly pizza, breadsticks or a set-up at a local event. We do not donate cash to any event or charity – with one heartfelt exception. In 2024, we lost a beloved previous employee. To honor his love of music, we donated a portion of sales from his favorite pizza to fund children’s music lessons through a local music store.

How Do We Manage It?

All donation requests go through our website. Due to the number of requests, we now manage it centrally. Previously, individual stores handled donations, but now we track where our contributions go and ensure we’re present at key community events.

Community Events Matter

In 2024, we attended 10 community events – parades, trunk or treats, fraternity car washes, cancer walks, homelessness awareness initiatives and feeding pizza at the shelter. At these events, we set up branded tents, tables and delivery vehicles, serving free pizza in branded boxes with a bounce-back coupon (usually for a free order of breadsticks or a personal pizza).

Even after 27 years in business, we’re always shocked by how many people have never tried our food. These events introduce us to new customers in a way that traditional advertising can’t.

The ROI of Giving It Away

So, what was the return on all this generosity?

• $8,800 worth of 14-inch and 18-inch 1-topping pizzas donated to events, parades and shelters.
• 1,800 free slice and/or breadsticks coupons handed out (249 of those coupons were redeemed).
• Total estimated cost: $11,000 (including labor).

The result? 9,556 more orders than the previous year and a 10% increase in sales at all locations. Nearly all of this growth came from our community presence (not advertising), since we spend less than $1,000 per year on traditional ads.

Your Turn

Try giving it away. Attend a few local events, hand out free slices with a bounce-back coupon and watch your order count rise. We’ve yet to attend a community event where another pizzeria showed up – so go ahead, outshine your competition!

Zachary Black is the chief experience officer at Jason’s NY Pizza in Maine.