Fogo de Chão Donation Request: How It Works and What to Expect (2026 Guide)

Fogo de Chão says it is "happy to consider worthy organizations that provide a benefit for the community," and its FAQ asks for donation requests at least six weeks before you need the donation. But its donation requests page has no request form, process or contact address, and its online contact form has no donation option. The odds are low: about 2% of Fogo de Chão donation requests tracked on TheShareWay succeed. When Fogo does donate, nonprofits most often receive a $125 gift certificate. Treat a Fogo request as a long shot, ask your local restaurant directly, and line up backup donors. You can track your request on Fogo de Chão's TheShareWay page.

What are your odds?

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

Approvals have become rarer, not more common. Nonprofits on TheShareWay logged 313 Fogo de Chão requests in the last 12 months, and none sent since February 2026 has a logged approval. Most requests never get a recorded reply, and when a reply does come it is usually Fogo's standard decline, which says the company "contributes a significant amount to different organizations throughout each year" and can't approve every request. Across 2,018 donation requests tracked on TheShareWay, Fogo de Chão responds in a median of 44 days.

What Fogo de Chão's donation page says

Fogo de Chão's official guidance is short:

• Who it considers: "worthy organizations that provide a benefit for the community." It names no causes, eligibility rules or donation types.
• Lead time: The Fogo de Chão FAQ asks for requests "at least six weeks in advance of your desired delivery date."
• How to submit: The FAQ sends you to the donation requests page, and that page doesn't say how to submit. The site's contact form covers location feedback, gift cards, rewards and general questions, with no donation category.

What this means in practice: there is no application to fill out, so your request has to reach a person, and the most direct person is the manager of your nearest restaurant.

How to ask for a Fogo de Chão donation

1. Start at least six weeks out, ideally more. Fogo asks for six weeks, and replies take a median of 44 days. Our guide to timing, follow-ups and event size explains why earlier asks do better.
2. Find your nearest restaurant. Fogo de Chão has about 95 US restaurants across 28 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, with the most in California and Texas. Use the Fogo de Chão locations page.
3. Prepare a one-page request. Cover what your organization does, the event and date, expected attendance, what you're asking for (a gift certificate for your auction or raffle) and how you'll recognize Fogo. Start from TheShareWay's donation request letter template, and have your 501(c)(3) determination letter ready.
4. Ask the restaurant directly. Call or stop by and ask for the general manager, then leave your letter. Ask whether that restaurant hosts fundraising dinners as well: some Fogo restaurants have hosted them for local nonprofits, such as a 2024 fundraising dinner for a Fort Lauderdale disability services nonprofit, though Fogo publishes no program for them.
5. Log it and follow up. Record the request on Fogo de Chão's TheShareWay page so you know when to check back, and follow up with the restaurant if you haven't heard anything a few weeks before your event.

If you do get a yes, a thank-you letter after the event goes a long way with a restaurant that says no to most requests.

If Fogo de Chão isn't an option

Fogo de Chão doesn't run a grant program for outside nonprofits that TheShareWay tracks. Since a Fogo request is a long shot, send it alongside requests to donors who approve far more often:

• Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants donates a wine tasting or a larger Magnum package through an online form, and about 48% of requests succeed. See our Cooper's Hawk donation request guide.
• Raising Cane's donates merchandise, food and gift cards in 29 states, and about 56% of requests succeed.
• Lettuce Entertain You, with restaurants in Illinois, Texas, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada and Washington, DC, donates gift cards, and about 23% of requests succeed.
• Texas Roadhouse donates food and gift cards through its local restaurants, and about 20% of requests succeed. Our Texas Roadhouse donation request guide explains how to ask.

If you were hoping for another Brazilian steakhouse, note that Texas de Brazil is just as hard: about 3% of its requests succeed.

For more options, browse popular in-kind donors in California and Texas, or see 20+ restaurant donation request links and restaurants that donate gift cards for fundraisers.

How TheShareWay helps with your Fogo de Chão request

Fogo de Chão's page on TheShareWay keeps the donation page link, lead time and outcome data in one place, and lets you track this ask next to the rest of your event's requests. To find donors more likely to say yes, browse popular in-kind donors by state or city.