Our Relationship with McDonald’s

McDonald’s restaurants are a significant partner in the development of Ronald McDonald House Charities around the world.  Each Ronald McDonald House Charities chapter is independently licensed and operated and develops an individual relationship with the restaurants in their community.  The partnership is unique and extremely beneficial, but often misunderstood by the general public.

The McDonald’s Corporation provides a license agreement allowing individual Ronald McDonald House Charities chapters to use the trademarks of the corporation.  Each chapter is governed in full by a separate Board of Directors, establishes its own mission and policies and manages its own budget and fundraising process.  Assets are not co-mingled. It is the responsibility of each chapter to cultivate a fundraising relationship with their local McDonald’s owner / operators.

Our local McDonald’s restaurants wholeheartedly support Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest by participating in various fundraising activities that occur inside and outside the restaurants.  The prominent placement of donation boxes in each restaurant makes it easy for the community to support families facing a medical crisis.  The funds collected by our local restaurants contribute between 20-25% of our annual operating budget.

Additionally, our local owner-operators and their suppliers personally provide financial support and in-kind product donations to Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest.  Through McDonald’s, our chapter has access to the services and support of national donors and suppliers.  For example, The Coca-Cola Company supplies vending machines and free bottled water, juices and soda to all chapters nationwide.  Chapters collect and use the change from the machines for programs for families.  In addition, Coca-Cola offers free, heated, secure storage of the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile vehicle, saving the program upwards of $1,000 per month.  The generosity of local owner-operators, their suppliers, and McDonald’s is fundamental to the mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest.