Donation Requests

Thank you for considering The Hot Chocolatier as part of your donation/gift request!

As you may or may not know, The Hot Chocolatier is locally owned and operated and is not part of a franchise chain or brand. It is one-of-a-kind, Chattanooga-grown company, started from the ground up by Brandon and Wendy Buckner, and has only been able to exist because of its frugal budget. Since 2008, the business has been built as simply as possible - tweaking recipes to reduce waste, trying to find the most effective and affordable advertising/marketing options, streamlining packaging, and relying heavily on word-of-mouth and a quality line of products to keep people interested in the shop. While the ingredients used in production and labor cost for our staff are the highest priority, we have other necessary overhead costs like rent, utilities, repairs, etc. to contend with on a day-to-day basis. We have not had the luxury of splurging on anything save the necessary kitchen equipment for production. We have to consider our bottom-line daily and save whenever possible for the unexpected. We realize that many events, organizations, and foundations rely heavily on community support; and we have selected several causes that are dear to our heart to support whenever possible. We hope you understand that we are not always able to provide items for donation every time a request is made. The Hot Chocolatier does not have any financial backing to help with gift giving; we are, essentially, the definition of a mom & pop/small business. We have been very fortunate to be able to continue to provide donations to the causes we feel closest to and hope to be able to offer more as we grow as a business.

Due to the number of requests received throughout the year, we can only provide so much to events and organizations. We have to consider our operational budget as well as any donation pledges we've already committed to fulfilling. Occasionally, we find that we can squeeze in an extra donation here or there. If you're still interested in requesting a donation, we need to know a little about your organization and/or and its needs. Please take time to fill out our questionnaire and we will review each request to determine whether or not we can provide any support through donations/gift-giving.

ATTENTION:  WE HAVE REACHED OUR DONATION LIMIT FOR THE YEAR.

THANKS FOR THINKING OF US!