Dine and donate is a way of fundraising for non-profit organizations through restaurants. A certain percentage of proceeds throughout the day will go towards the non-profit.

In the past, Harp says that about a dozen clubs held bake sales throughout every school year, and that dependability on bake sale funds vary. 

“The profits depend on what they are offering and advertising,” said Harp.

East senior and president of the Black Student Union (BSU) Brittany Bibby said that BSU has held bake sales to fund the organization. 

“For years BSU has relied on bake sales for funding and now we have to try other fundraisers and hope we can make the same amount,” Bibby told Spark. “Luckily we’ve budgeted well and have enough savings. However, other clubs with bigger expenses might struggle.”

Bibby also expressed her concerns about the 3:30 timing, as there would be fewer customers. 

“From my experience, the majority of our sales happen between 3:00 and 3:20,” said Bibby. “By 3:30, most students have already left the school or been asked to leave.”

East senior and co-president of Asian American Association Sarang Back agreed with Bibby on the 3:30 sales timing and the difficulty it creates. 

“I feel like the sales will go down by a lot because I don’t think many students will stay that late to buy a baked good,” Back told Spark. 

Even with the idea of dining and donating, Back still thinks the guidelines make fundraising more difficult.

“It is definitely going to be a lot harder to raise money for our club since most of our funds are from the bake sale from last year,” said Back. “Even if we get a restaurant to host a fundraiser for us, I don’t think we will get as much money as we did.”

East senior Shaun Dickerson is a co-president of a new club which focuses on the mental health of student-athletes, STRIVE, and the organization wanted to hold a bake sale for the first time. 

“We proposed the idea of having a bake sale but were told it would have to be at 3:30,” Dickerson told Spark. “After being told of the timing, we came to the conclusion that we should have a bake sale at an East game.”

On February 11, STRIVE held a bake sale from 6:30-8:30 p.m. during a boys varsity basketball game. 

“I think that it went well,” said Dickerson. “However, bake sales after school make more, because there’s a way bigger population to sell to.”

Looking towards the future, and potentially leaving bake sales behind, Bibby, Back, and Dickerson all agree that they can work around the challenges.

“I trust our leadership can find another way to raise money,” said Back.