Feeding the Passion of the Culinary World

The James Beard Foundation sets a standard of excellence, one that's revered not only in the culinary industry but across pop culture. In their pursuit to celebrate and support the people behind America's food culture, pushing for new standards in the restaurant industry requires creativity, imagination - and of course, funding. As with any non-profit organization, maximizing limited resources without sacrificing the quality of their programs and events is a delicate balancing act; the members of the Development  team focus tirelessly on creating memorable membership and donor engagement programs. 

As Manager of Development Operations at the James Beard Foundation, Janae Butler constantly imagines new ways to connect their donor and membership bases to the emerging talent and experiences flourishing in the culinary world.

The foundation’s patron program allows people who are interested in or connected to the culinary arts - or are passionate about promoting the independent restaurant and hospitality industries - to feel like they're insiders to the work that James Beard is bringing to life. As each new patron joins, they receive a welcome benefit corresponding to their membership tier. Each membership tier’s subscription comes with member swag that Janae and the team are responsible for sending to them. 

With their limited capacity, the Development Team faced challenges with managing and fulfilling member swag and benefits, which previously involved time-consuming packing days and manual shipping processes.

Where efficiency unlocks creativity

The James Beard Foundation partnered with Loop & Tie to leverage its gifting platform to streamline and personalize the fulfillment of member benefits and donor gifts. When a new batch of members signs up, the Development team builds a report in Salesforce and deploys their gifts through Loop & Tie. New member gifts can be sent within a week instead of almost a month with their previous process. Additionally, Loop & Tie manages its gift inventory and takes on the cumbersome logistics of its initial gifting process. 

To infuse more creativity into their donor experience, Loop & Tie’s campaign tool helps the James Beard Foundation track the lifecycle of each gift, from delivery to redemption, providing valuable visibility into donor interactions. This feature allowed the team to see who engaged with their gifts, which items were most popular, and when recipients took action—all in real-time. These insights enabled the Development team to optimize its outreach strategy, ensuring that every interaction with its members feels intentional and meaningful.

By using Loop & Tie’s Campaigns tool, the Foundation has transformed gifting from a one-time touchpoint into an ongoing engagement strategy, strengthening donor relationships and reinforcing its goal of including them in a greater experience.

The partnership with Loop & Tie resulted in significant improvements for the James Beard Foundation:

• Streamlined Fulfillment: Loop & Tie's ownership of the gift fulfillment saved the foundation valuable time and resources, eliminating the need for manual packing and shipping.
• Enhanced Donor Engagement: The curated gifting experience with gifts sourced from their community strengthened relationships with donors and members, fostering a sense of connection and appreciation.
• Data-Driven Insights: The visibility into donor engagement through gifts allowed the foundation to track donor preferences, enabling data-driven decision-making and targeted outreach.‍
• Increased Efficiency: The platform's features for storytelling and customization facilitated efficient and impactful communication with donors and members.

Conclusion

The James Beard Foundation in collaboration with Loop & Tie demonstrates the power of connection through intention. By enhancing donor engagement and streamlining non-profit operations, the foundation was able to create a more efficient, impactful, and data-driven approach to improving its donor relations and membership programs.