Tipping in favor of a good cause

The tip jar has become a staple at restaurants and cafes and food trucks, as common as hot sauce at a Mexican restaurant or waffle cone at an ice cream shop.

Yet for a long time, the owners of Mity Nice resisted having one out. It seemed too much like like begging. For perhaps two years, the only tips we received were handed directly to the staffer or given to management after a large party or event.

Then for Art Fair a couple of years ago, we agreed to set out a tip jar, in part because we were collaborating with Tea Haus and their staff expected one. It also was an experiment to see how it felt.

Our staff liked it, and we decided to embrace it, by adding our Mity Nice approach: Half the tips collected each month go to a local charity.  We’ve given them to Food Gatherers during September’s Hunger Awareness Month and The Breakfast at St. Andrews.

This year, we decided to allow our staff to select the charities, as long as they are within our cause areas of concentration.

Half of the cash in the tip jar goes to local charities

So for May and June, Nia has chosen to donate tips to Growing Hope. Growing Hope creates and supports neighborhood community gardens in Ypsilanti, and has developed a new farmers market for that city too.  (For a few years, Mity Nice has been one of the “restaurants” and donors to a beautiful fall fundraiser called Hopes Harvest that supports Growing Hope. That’s where we first met Nia.)  July’s tip jar – a big one because of Art Fair – went to Groundcover News, which helps housing challenged by creating sales and writing opportunities.  In August, David chose Ozone House, which works with youth.

And in September and October, we’re giving the money to the Breakfast program, which serves a free hot meal every day just a few blocks from our Detroit Street location.

Someday we’ll put up a sign on our tip jar – the 50/50 approach is worth a shout-out, so everyone knows that the quarters and dollars deposited there are enriching our staff and our community too.

 

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