First Watch Donation Request: How to Ask for a Gift Box for Your Fundraiser (2026 Guide)

First Watch, the daytime breakfast, brunch and lunch chain, doesn't publish a donation program page, but it does give to local fundraisers. Requests go through the contact form on firstwatch.com: choose "Donation or Sponsorship Request" as the reason for your message. Approved donations are usually a gift box built around First Watch gift cards, picked up at your local restaurant. About 15% of First Watch donation requests tracked on TheShareWay succeed, so apply early and line up a backup. You can start from First Watch's contact page and track your request on First Watch's TheShareWay page.

What are your odds?

Figures as of October 2026, from applications tracked on TheShareWay.

About 15% of First Watch donation requests tracked on TheShareWay succeed. Nonprofits logged 264 First Watch requests in the last 12 months. Outright declines are uncommon. Most requests that don't succeed never get a reply, which is why the timing and follow-up advice below matters.

What First Watch donates

Nonprofits that received a First Watch donation most often describe a gift box: First Watch gift cards, often two $20 cards, packed with branded extras such as a cookbook, socks, a mug or tumbler, and a bag of First Watch coffee. Others received gift cards on their own (some call them "Brunch Bucks"), buy-one-get-one coupons, or vouchers for kids' meals. First Watch donations tracked on TheShareWay are typically worth $75–$100, with a median of $100.

That makes a First Watch donation a ready-made raffle or silent auction item. You won't need to assemble anything.

How First Watch handles donation requests

First Watch's best-known giving is national: partnerships such as its kids' meal fundraising for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Those aren't programs you apply to. Requests from local schools and nonprofits come in through the website's contact form. Decline letters nonprofits have shared on TheShareWay are signed by First Watch's communications team, and one says the request was forwarded to the local management team, so your nearest restaurant is part of the decision.

First Watch doesn't publish eligibility rules, a lead-time minimum or a list of causes it favors. Schools, PTAs and other groups have all logged approvals on TheShareWay, including gift boxes and coupons for teacher-appreciation events.

How to submit a First Watch donation request

1. Count back from your event date. First Watch doesn't publish a deadline, but approved First Watch requests tracked on TheShareWay were submitted a median of 74 days before the event. Aim for two to three months.
2. Open the contact form on firstwatch.com/contact and choose "Donation or Sponsorship Request" under "What is this in reference to?".
3. Write a short, specific request. Name your organization and what it does, your event's date and purpose, the First Watch location nearest you, what you're hoping for (for example, a gift box for your raffle), and how you'll thank First Watch at the event. Our donation request letter template gives you the wording to adapt.
4. Submit well ahead, then note the date. Since approved donations are usually picked up at the restaurant, naming the right location saves a step later.
5. Log the request on First Watch's TheShareWay page so you have a record of when you applied and a reminder to follow up.

After you apply

First Watch responds to donation requests in a median of 8 days, based on applications tracked on TheShareWay, but about one in four replies takes four weeks or longer. If you're approved, expect to pick the donation up at your local First Watch. Most approved First Watch donations tracked on TheShareWay were collected at the restaurant, though some were shipped.

If you haven't heard back after about three weeks, send a polite follow-up through the same contact form, and give the restaurant manager a heads-up that your request is in. If you're declined, a later event with more lead time is worth another try. Once the donation is in hand, a thank-you letter to the restaurant keeps the door open for next year.

Getting the most from a First Watch donation

A First Watch gift box is a natural centerpiece for a brunch- or coffee-themed raffle basket. Our raffle basket ideas with 87 donation request links and 50 creative silent auction basket ideas help you build around it, and a silent auction bid sheet helps you display it. Gift cards and coupons also fit well as prizes at a pancake breakfast fundraiser.

If First Watch isn't an option

First Watch doesn't run a grant program for outside nonprofits, and TheShareWay's directory has no First Watch funder record. With odds around 15%, it's worth asking other restaurants at the same time. These chains donate food and gift cards, and each has its own TheShareWay guide:

• Raising Cane's donates food, gift cards and merchandise, and about 56% of requests succeed. Read our Raising Cane's donation request guide.
• Nothing Bundt Cakes gives through its local bakeries, and about 36% of requests succeed. Read our Nothing Bundt Cakes donation request guide.
• Texas Roadhouse donates food and gift cards, and about 20% of requests succeed. Read our Texas Roadhouse donation request guide.
• Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers donates gift baskets, gift cards and food, and about 16% of requests succeed. Read our Freddy's donation request guide.

For more options, see 20+ useful restaurant donation request links, restaurants that donate gift cards for fundraisers, and popular in-kind donors in Florida, where First Watch is headquartered.

How TheShareWay helps with your First Watch request

First Watch's page on TheShareWay keeps the request route and outcome data in one place, and lets you track this request next to every other ask for your event. To round out your donor list, browse popular in-kind donors by state or city.