Arby’s Foundation

What Arby’s Foundation does

Arby's Foundation is the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of Arby's, operating as a division of Inspire Brands Foundation. Founded in 1986 and headquartered at 3 Glenlake Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia, the foundation's stated mission is to help America's kids dream big and pursue their dreams. Its programming is organized around three pillars: childhood hunger, youth leadership, and career readiness.

The foundation delivers its mission primarily through four operational programs. The School's Out, Food's In (SOFI) program distributes free Arby's Kids Meal cards through local school systems to address summer food insecurity, with over 3 million meals reported provided to date. The Make a Difference Campaign is an in-restaurant point-of-sale fundraiser collecting $1 guest donations during designated campaign months. The Arby's Kids Meal Donation Program embeds a per-purchase donation into the regular Kids Meal purchase channel. The Supplier Partner Program is a tiered B2B sponsorship structure monetizing contributions from Arby's suppliers in exchange for stakeholder engagement within the Inspire Brands community. Complementary support is delivered through Core Partnerships with No Kid Hungry, Junior Achievement (3DE), Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Folds of Honor, and the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation.

Funding flows from four streams: corporate contributions from Arby's/Inspire Brands operations, in-restaurant point-of-sale donations, per-Kids-Meal contributions, and Supplier Partner contributions. The foundation does not accept unsolicited grant requests — all grantees are nominated by members of the Inspire Brands community. Its board is composed of senior executives from Arby's and key franchisee organizations (Panda Inc., ARCOP, KBP Inc., Brumit Restaurant Group, DRM Inc.), and the organization has contributed more than $100 million to youth-related causes since inception.

Name

Arby’s Foundation

Legal name

Arby's Foundation Inc.

Website

https://foundation.arbys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arby's Foundation is the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of Arby's (Inspire Brands), founded in 1986 and based in Atlanta. It funds childhood hunger, youth leadership, and career readiness programs through in-restaurant fundraising, the SOFI meal card program, and supplier partnerships, and does not accept unsolicited grant requests.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation / Youth Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs (BPADAJAD), Child Nutrition & Meal Programs (CACFP/Snack Programs) (EDACAMAA)

Keywords

• Youth charitable foundation
• Childhood hunger relief
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Corporate philanthropy programs
• Youth leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Contributions: Funding from Arby's corporate operations supports foundation programming and grants.
2. In-Restaurant Fundraising (Make a Difference Campaign): Guests make $1 donations at Arby's restaurants during designated fundraising months, generating grassroots donations at point of sale.
3. Arby's Kids Meal Donation Program: A per-purchase donation is made to the Foundation with each purchase of an Arby's Kids Meal throughout the year.
4. Supplier Partner Program: Arby's suppliers support the foundation through their participation in the Foundation Partner Program, contributing financially in exchange for partnership benefits and access to Inspire Brands stakeholder community.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Arby's Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that funds and operates programs addressing childhood hunger, youth leadership development, and career readiness. It runs the School's Out, Food's In (SOFI) summer meal card program, the Make a Difference in-restaurant fundraising campaign, and the Supplier Partner Program, distributing grants through partner nonprofits such as No Kid Hungry, Junior Achievement, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Folds of Honor, and the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation.

Product overview

Arby's Foundation is a charitable organization structured as a single unified philanthropic operation focused on youth development. The Foundation operates four primary programs: the School's Out, Food's In (SOFI) summer meal card program providing meals to food-insecure children; the Make a Difference Campaign for in-restaurant fundraising; the Supplier Partner Program facilitating corporate giving and community engagement; and the Impact Report for transparent reporting of outcomes. These programs are unified under the 'Dream Big' initiative addressing childhood hunger, youth leadership, and career readiness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School's Out, Food's In (SOFI) Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3 million meals provided to children in need through the School's Out, Food's In (SOFI) summer meal card program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• No Kid Hungry (Share Our Strength)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArby's Foundation is a Core Partner of the No Kid Hungry campaign — the highest delineation for a partner. The foundation works with No Kid Hungry at all levels to fund long-term innovative programs and sustainable solutions to end childhood hunger. The partnership also includes the Chef's Cycle cycling event, where the Arby's Meat Pedalers team fundraises by cycling 300 miles over three days.
• Junior Achievement (3DE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Arby's Foundation supports 3DE by Junior Achievement — a fully immersive school-within-a-school program that brings real-world connectivity into everyday academic experience, creating an engaging and relevant learning environment where students connect with professionals and discover solutions beyond the classroom.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Arby's Foundation supports Big Brothers Big Sisters, which matches children ('Littles') with mentors ('Bigs') and actively supports mentoring relationships. Research shows one-to-one mentoring improves children's confidence, academic performance, and decision-making. The organization has been doing this work since 1904.
• Folds of HonorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Arby's Foundation supports Folds of Honor, whose mission is to 'Honor their sacrifice. Educate their legacy.' The partnership provides scholarships to children of America's fallen and disabled service members. In the most recent year, the foundation provided 80 scholarships to youth in communities across the country.
• National Restaurant Association Education FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Arby's Foundation partners with the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation to offer tomorrow's leaders training, planning, and confidence to pursue their professional dreams — focusing on the crucial first step in the career journey.
• Joey Logano FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Arby's Foundation teamed with the Joey Logano Foundation to support those in need in local communities, as reported in foundation storytelling.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• McDonald's Foundation: Charitable arm of McDonald's, the largest QSR brand; runs employee and customer giving programs, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and arch grants. Closely comparable as a QSR-affiliated, brand-embedded youth and community foundation with national restaurant distribution.
• Yum! Brands Foundation: Philanthropic arm of Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Habit Burger). Comparable QSR-affiliated foundation model with branded cause programs, hunger relief, and youth workforce initiatives leveraging multi-brand restaurant distribution.
• Chick-fil-A Foundation: Charitable arm of Chick-fil-A, focused on youth education, leadership, and community impact. Comparable as a QSR-affiliated foundation with strong focus on youth development programming and scholarship initiatives.
• Wendy's Foundation: Charitable arm of The Wendy's Company, supporting adoption, hunger relief, and youth programs. Comparable direct QSR competitor with brand-embedded giving programs including register fundraising and cause-marketing partnerships.
• Burger King Foundation (Have It Your Way Foundation): Burger King brand-affiliated philanthropic efforts including youth and education grants. Comparable QSR peer with national restaurant footprint used as the fundraising and program distribution platform.
• KFC Foundation: Charitable arm of KFC (Yum! Brands), including KFC Foundation endowed scholarships and youth workforce programs. Comparable as a QSR-affiliated foundation with branded scholarship and education funding programs.
• Domino's SMILES Foundation: Domino's Pizza-affiliated charitable foundation supporting youth, education, and community programs. Comparable as a QSR-affiliated foundation leveraging its restaurant network for fundraising and community impact.

Broad incumbents

• Inspire Brands Foundation: Parent 501(c)(3) of the Arby's Foundation, covering the broader Inspire Brands portfolio (Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, Jimmy John's, Dunkin', Baskin-Robbins). Comparable as the umbrella corporate foundation governing Arby's Foundation's operations and reporting.

Others

• No Kid Hungry (Share Our Strength): National campaign to end childhood hunger; Arby's Foundation is a Core Partner. Comparable as the leading childhood hunger program the Foundation funds and co-activates with, including Chef's Cycle co-fundraising events.

Regional players

• Darden Restaurants Foundation: Charitable arm of Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, LongHorn, etc.), supporting hunger relief and education. Comparable as a restaurant-industry foundation peer focused on food insecurity and youth causes, though attached to casual dining rather than QSR.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ArbysFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/arbysfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arby%27s-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/arbysfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arby’s Foundation