Donation Requests

Oldham Hospitality supports many charitable and civic organizations. We remain committed to building ties with the local community, but we simply cannot honor every request for assistance that is presented to us. If you are a non-profit organization seeking a contribution or support from us, we ask that you first review the guidelines below.

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A DONATION YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST THROUGH OUR ONLINE DONATION REQUEST SUBMISSION FORM BELOW. Donations will not be discussed over the phone. All requests must cover the required fields listed below. All requests failing to do so will be disqualified.

TIMING AND EVALUATION PROCESS. Unfortunately the number of applications seeking support will always exceed the funds and resources available and worthwhile programs cannot be guaranteed support regardless of merit. All donation requests must be received a minimum of 8 weeks prior to the event date.

All requests are reviewed by the Donations Requests Committee who may contact you for additional information or clarification.
If you are not contacted within 1 month of your event, this means that we are unable to honor your request

TAX EXEMPT STATUS. Our policy is to limit our support to organizations that have been recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATIONS. Although we do not limit our giving to only local organizations, we do give preference and priority to organizations that support the local community.

EXEMPT PURPOSE. We give preference to organizations which are dedicated to the following activities/goals (in no particular order below):

  • Soup kitchens, or other programs designed to feed, house, clothe or directly assist the needy
  • Preservation of the Smoky Mountains and the Heritage of the Smoky Mountains
  • Animal Safety and prevention of Animal Cruelty
  • Literacy, education and child development
  • Public health, particularly the immunization and screening of children
  • Environmental protection, preservation of clean air and water, the planting of trees, and the preservation of natural habitat and biodiversity
  • Prevention of cruelty to animals, including the spaying and neutering of domesticated animals, and the placement of stray animals into caring homes
  • Prevention of tobacco, alcohol and substance abuse
  • Amateur athletics, team sports, physical fitness
  • Preservation of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution
  • Preservation of buildings, property, monuments or structures of historic significance, and the preservation and recording of local histor

EXCLUSIONS. Dancing Bear Lodge & Appalachian Bistro does not support individuals or their projects, private foundations, political activities or advertising. As a matter of policy, Dancing Bear Lodge & Appalachian Bistro does not usually support the following:

  • We are inundated with requests for School Auctions of all types. We must limit this to 5 schools per year in the Blount County, Sevier County Area – at $50 per school per year.
    Each school must submit a form described above at least 8 weeks before the event. Sorry, but the requests for PTA auctions and silent auctions is just too time consuming and too frequent for us to take the time to support any more than 5 per year.
  • Recurring expenses for operations, programs or salaries, except that as described earlier
  • Projects, programs or organizations that serve a limited audience or a relatively small number of people
  • Endowments or scholarships
  • Biomedical or clinical research
  • Hospitals or nursing homes
  • Organizations whose principal impact is outside of East Tennessee