Building Customer Loyalty Through Charitable Affiliation

For 22 years, Melting Pot has offered guests the opportunity to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through the St. Jude Thanks and Giving® campaign. Guided by the philosophy to “ask every table, every time,” the brand raised more than $18 million to support the charity’s mission of finding cures and saving children.

This holiday season, guests are once again participating through Melting Pot’s “Donate & Dine” program, where a $20 donation to St. Jude earns $40 toward a future visit. As the brand rallies to raise $1.6 million this year, the campaign remains deeply rooted in both guest experience and company culture.

A driving force behind Melting Pot’s partnership with St. Jude, Bob Johnston celebrated the company’s 50th anniversary in 2025 as CEO before transitioning into his current role as chairman and principal owner. His relationship with the brand started when he was 14 with washing dishes. Six years later, in 1985, he dropped out of junior college and joined his brothers to buy the concept from the original owners. As the brand began to see success, Johnston and the leadership team felt it was important to align with a charity that matched Melting Pot’s values. 

“Once we began to enjoy modest success, we felt the brand needed an affiliation with a trusted charity our customers would want to support,” he said. “We considered other charities, and visited some as well, but the values of St. Jude were very similar to our own.”

That first visit to the St. Jude campus proved decisive.

 “It was an unexpected, amazing experience,” Johnston said. “I didn’t know it would be such an uplifting experience, and that was the ‘aha’ moment. We knew St. Jude and the Thanks and Giving campaign was the right affiliation.”

Beyond philanthropy, the partnership has strengthened Melting Pot’s connection with its guests. 

“There is all kinds of consumer research about affinity for a brand reaching a higher level when customers know about a charitable affiliation,” he said. “That’s especially true when it is a pristine charitable brand like St. Jude, which has done a remarkable job growing awareness and maintaining the impeccable reputation of the brand.”

While programs like Donate & Dine help drive repeat visits, Johnston emphasizes the emotional impact.

 “It also draws the consumer closer to Melting Pot in terms of their emotional connection,” he said. “The research is there to support that consumers are more likely to choose and remain loyal to a brand that has a charitable heart.”

That emotional connection is just as powerful internally. Over the years, Melting Pot has brought franchisees, managers, and team members to the St. Jude campus to witness firsthand the impact of their fundraising.

“I think of the families that you see and hear from,” Johnston said. “Understanding how much St. Jude means to them and how grateful they are for their child’s care and for how St. Jude takes care of the family, too.”

He’s also struck by St. Jude’s commitment to sharing its discoveries. “They are making these ground-breaking discoveries and sharing them—they are not affixing a price tag before anyone else can use them,” he said. “That’s extraordinary and it got our attention.”

One moment, in particular, has become a tradition for Johnston during campus visits. “I go to the same spot first every year because there's a photograph when she was a young patient girl—her name is Caitlin,” he said. “Hers was the first patient family we all came to know at Melting Pot.”

Caitlin and her family attended one of the brand’s annual conferences, making the mission tangible for franchisees and team members. “That made it real for us,” Johnston said. A decade later, during Melting Pot’s 10th anniversary with St. Jude, the family returned—this time during Caitlin’s senior year of high school. “All of our long-tenured franchisees will remember that moment. There was not a dry eye when they shared their story.”

Those visits play a critical role in motivating fundraising efforts across the system. “We can tell them, but there's nothing like being there,” Johnston said. His wife, Katina, helps plan visits that allow team members to experience the impact firsthand. “Even if they don't work shoulder to shoulder, they're much more affected hearing from other team members.”

That inspiration is then channeled back into restaurants during the campaign. “We are confident support will continue to grow by staying committed to our goal to ‘ask every table every time,’” Johnston said. “If we create the opportunity for guests to be generous by supporting St. Jude, our partnership will just strengthen.”

The campaign also aligns with Melting Pot’s culture of celebration. “It’s a time of year when our minds turn to gratitude for the blessings in our lives and the people in our lives,” Johnston said. “At Melting Pot, we celebrate all year long. … We’re thankful to have this opportunity to set up a table where our guests can celebrate with people they care about—that’s an honor.”