Give Back This Holiday Season With a Giving Tree at Your Brewery
The holiday season is about more than decorations, special beers, and ugly sweater parties. It’s also a great opportunity for breweries to become a gathering place where the community comes together to help others.
One simple way to make a difference is by hosting a Giving Tree at your brewery.
A Giving Tree allows your customers and staff to select gift tags representing items needed by a local charity, food pantry, shelter, family, or nonprofit organization. Customers purchase the requested items and return them to the brewery, creating an easy way for your patrons to give back while supporting a local cause.
Partner With a Local Organization
Start by finding a local nonprofit that has a specific holiday need. This could be a food pantry, children's organization, senior services organization, homeless shelter, animal rescue, or organization helping families during the holidays.
Talk with the organization before launching your Giving Tree so you know exactly what items they need, their deadlines, and any restrictions on donations.
The more specific the requests, the easier it is for your customers to participate.
Turn Your Tree Into a Brewery Attraction
Your Giving Tree doesn't have to be an afterthought sitting in the corner of the taproom.
Make it part of your holiday décor.
Decorate a large Christmas tree and hang gift tags from the branches. Each tag can list an item or need—for example:
Children's toys
Winter coats
Gloves and hats
Books
Nonperishable food
Personal-care products
Pet supplies
Gift cards
Include the name of the organization you're supporting and clear instructions for returning donations.
You could even create a small display explaining how many families or individuals the organization serves. Giving your customers some context can make the project feel much more personal.
Give Customers a Reason to Participate
While the goal is helping your community, you can make participation part of the brewery experience.
Consider offering a small incentive when customers bring in a donation:
$1 off their next pint
A brewery sticker or koozie
Entry into a holiday prize drawing
A discount on merchandise
A special Giving Tree beer release
A free appetizer or snack with a qualifying donation
You don't need to give away much. The incentive is simply another reason for someone to remember to bring their donation when they visit.
Make It a Community Event
Consider kicking off your Giving Tree with a special event.
Host a holiday trivia night, ugly sweater party, Christmas movie night, cookie exchange, or live music event and encourage everyone attending to bring a donation.
You could even make the Giving Tree part of your brewery's regular trivia night. Give teams a bonus point for bringing an eligible donation.
That turns a charitable collection into something your customers can participate in together.
Promote It Early and Often
Don't wait until the week before Christmas to announce your Giving Tree.
Start promoting it several weeks ahead of the donation deadline. Use your social media channels, email list, website, taproom signage, and staff to spread the word.
Show your tree as it fills up. Post photos of donations coming in. Thank customers publicly for participating.
And don't forget to share the results afterward.
A post showing the mountain of toys, coats, food, or other donations your customers collected is a powerful way to demonstrate what your brewery community accomplished together.
Get Your Staff Involved
Your employees can help make the Giving Tree successful.
Have staff members mention it to customers, keep the display organized, and make sure donations are collected and stored properly. You could also challenge your staff to see which team member or shift can collect the most donations.
Most importantly, make sure everyone working in the taproom knows what you're collecting, who you're helping, and when donations are due.
Make It an Annual Tradition
The best part about a Giving Tree is that it can become an annual brewery tradition.
Customers may begin asking about it as the holidays approach. Local organizations may look forward to working with you. And your brewery becomes known as more than a place to grab a beer—it's a place where people come together to support their community.
That's the kind of reputation that can't be created with an advertising campaign.
This holiday season, put up a tree, hang some tags, partner with a local organization, and give your customers an opportunity to give back.
A few weeks of donations can make a meaningful difference—and give your brewery community something worth celebrating together.
