Stakeholder Voices Shaping Community Engagement at b.good

What happens when a restaurant decides to share its brand with its customers in the quest for social impact? b.good, a “fast-casual” restaurant headquartered in Boston, MA, decided to find out. Using four methods of customer-led engagement—the Burger Brigade, the b.good Family Foundation, Community Partners, and in-store fund-raisers—b.good has fostered deep community engagement through a wide variety of activities all identified and led by customers.

b.good offers its brand, its restaurants, food, and some resources, including burger suits, to a hearty band who run the Boston Marathon every year and to its customers as they identify social causes and nonprofit organizations they would like to support. The customers do the rest. Over the years, this has led to a customer-centered corporate foundation, a partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the Boston Marathon, systematic food donations to local nonprofit organizations, and a host of other initiatives. As b.good expands its footprint, however, its approach to customer-led social impact priorities presents challenges. This chapter concludes with questions about the implications of b.good’s innovative community engagement strategy for future demands on staff time and capacity, business focus, and creating deep, sustainable social impact.