WASHINGTON -
There are a lot of places in Washington where you can get an ice cold beer. But what about an ice cold beer that warms your heart?
Hammers are swinging and saws are buzzing inside an old building on 9th Street Northwest. A sense of community is what they're trying to build. It's called a philanthropub. It's a combination of the words - philanthropy and pub.
The name of the place is Cause. The owners think it's the first restaurant of its kind in the world. They'll give 100% of their profits to charitable organizations. That's right, a restaurant that plans to make no money.
Raj Ratwani is one of the co-founders. He's a scientist who teamed up with a graduate school friend.
"It actually really took fruition I think when we were sitting at a bar over a beer. We were watching all this action going on around us. People have fun. Money changing hands and we thought 'Why can't we do this?'," says Ratwani.
The idea is to raise social awareness and charitable giving by having people keep right on doing what they had been doing.
"Of course, everybody goes out. But why not be able to overlap those two things? Why not make it easier for people to give and have fun?" says Ratwani.
It'll feel like any other bar or restaurant except that when you pay you'll be able to pick what charity you'll want your money to go to. They're keeping costs down by hiring a professional chef who is doing the carpentry work. They're using lots of recycled, local materials.
On-line donations are helping them keep construction debt low. All of the financials will be regularly posted on-line.
Other than the check, you'll never be asked for money. They want to make helping others feel better than ever.
LINK: http://www.causedc.org/
