Nonprofit bookstore and coffee shop

Amanda Bullock, Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

Locations: New York, NY

Biggest Challenge

Getting value out of a lean nonprofit advertising budget
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Housing Works Bookstore Cafe is not your typical bookstore and coffee shop. It’s run based on donations and volunteers, and all profits benefit people affected by HIV/AIDS and homelessness. That means that staying lean is crucial. Every dollar spent on advertising must bring in enough charitable contributions so that the advertising more than pays for itself.

“We don’t have a lot of staff or resources, so we’ve always relied on advertising where we get more bang for our buck,” said Amanda Bullock, director of public programming for Housing Works. Since Housing Works has had success connecting with customers on social media, Bullock researched all kinds of paid digital advertising options to attract new customers. She tried Foursquare Ads first.

"...with Foursquare Ads, it was an accessible price point for us, and it’s been successful in targeting new customers. We are really happy with the results."

Bullock said she found Foursquare “measurable in a way that the other things we were considering using weren’t. With a sponsored tweet, it’s just once and then it’s done. But with Foursquare Ads, it was an accessible price point for us, and it’s been successful in targeting new customers. We are really happy with the results.”

For every $1 that Housing Works spends on Foursquare Ads, they generate roughly $2 in charitable donations from book and cafe sales.

Business Results

Avg Customer Spend Per Visit $4.0
Return on Investment 91%

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