Music has fueled what we do since we opened the first OTTO in Portland’s Arts District in 2009. We have employed, supported, and fed creative types for the past 14 years. We’ve hosted live music, sponsored live music events, and we personally program the music we play in our restaurants every day. Music is an essential ingredient for us. We’ve seen first-hand how music can foster creative collaboration, encourage the exchange of ideas, and build community, and in 2023 we are committed to making an impact, at a time when music education funding is being reduced or eliminated.
Maine Academy of Modern Music
Starting April 1, $1 from every Seasonal Special pizza sold in Maine and Massachusetts will be donated to local non-profit organizations working to make quality music education available to students.
In Maine, $1 from every Seasonal Special pie sold will be donated to the Maine Academy of Modern Music, a nonprofit organization serving over 2000 students statewide – over 1600 of which access quality music programming at a free or reduced cost. Additionally, MAMM regularly provides music education programs to schools, civic organizations and other non-profit organizations throughout Maine.
In Massachusetts, $1 from every Seasonal Special pie will go to Berklee’s City Music Boston, a nonprofit program that provides music education to 4th-12th graders in underserved communities in Greater Boston (and beyond).
City Music Boston
OTTO’s Seasonal Specials rotate on a quarterly basis, often utilizing a creative mix of fresh, in-season toppings. Many of these quarterly signature pizzas have become customer favorites over the years, eventually finding their way onto our year-round menu. Our current special is Asparagus, Prosciutto & Pesto, available through May 31, 2023, with a new special announced June 1.
We are excited to kick off this partnership with MAMM and City Music Boston. Next time you order one of our Seasonal Specials, know that you are helping to power music education, one pie at a time. Place your order today! 🎶🍕
In many ways, 2021 felt like a repeat of 2020 — a year of uncertainty and unprecedented change in how we live our daily lives. Our friends, families and communities have all been affected in some way by the continued impacts of COVID-19. Amidst the chaos and uncertainty, however, there has been a constant; the tireless dedication of those who work so hard to support those in need, despite the challenges.
Although COVID impacted the ways in which we typically have supported our communities, we have partnered with many wonderful organizations in a variety of ongoing programs, and you — our customers — have made it possible for us to maximize support of many deserving recipients doing important work.
Seasonal Special Donations
In Massachusetts, we continued our ongoing partnership with Cooking Matters MA – an organization which helps connect families with affordable and nutritious meal options. “Cooking Matters is helping end childhood hunger by inspiring families to make healthy, affordable food choices. [Their] programs teach parents and caregivers with limited food budgets to shop for and cook healthy meals.” $1 of each monthly special pie sold from our Massachusetts locations goes to Cooking Matters MA. This year, we have donated over $11,000 directly to the organization.
In Maine, we continued to work with Full Plates Full Potential as one of their FEED Kids partners. Full Plates, Full Potential is an organization dedicated to ending child hunger in Maine. “[Their] work focuses on increasing participation in school breakfast, after school meals, and summer meal programs.” We’ve donated $1 of each monthly special sold from our Maine locations to Full Plates Full Potential since March. This has allowed us to donate over $12,000 directly to the organization.
Feeding the Frontline
Another group that’s been severely strained by this pandemic is healthcare workers. They have gone through extraordinary efforts to heal and protect their patients and our communities, working tirelessly around the clock dealing with scenarios that many of us cannot imagine. In April of 2020, we began our Feeding the Frontline initiative – a donation-based framework that supports both restaurants and frontline workers during the COVID-19 crisis by turning customer donations into nourishment for healthcare workers throughout Maine and Massachusetts.
In 2021, we received over $75,000 in customer donations that we’ve turned into countless orders, feeding thousands of healthcare workers and first responders ($125,000 in donations have been received since May 2020, the start of the initiative). We are both amazed and extremely humbled by the support we’ve received, and can tell you first hand how appreciative our healthcare heroes have been to benefit from this program. Below are a few of the facilities we’ve made deliveries to as a part of this initiative:
Maine Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston Children’s Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Maine General Hospital
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Boston Medical Center
Salem Hospital
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center
Carney Hospital
Maine Cancer Center
Mid Coast Hospital
Mount Auburn Hospital
Mercy Hospital
US Coast Guard
Preble Street
Good Shepherd Food Bank
Various vaccine sites throughout Maine and Massachusetts
Tips For Kids
In 2020, a new initiative was started at our Southie location in which all tips are donated to a deserving local charity. This initiative has since grown to include our South End and Beverly locations.
In 2021, customers of these locations have made the following donations possible:
With all of that said, we owe a huge thanks to our customers. The programs and initiatives above would not be possible without your support. While many of us continued to spend much of the year in relative isolation, the power of community has never been more evident. As we reflect on this difficult year, we are incredibly thankful for our staff, our customers, our partners and our communities. We wish each of you a healthy and happy holiday season, and look forward to seeing your smiling faces in the new year.
The Greater Beverly Y is committed to strengthening communities, educating and nurturing children and promoting healthy living in spirit, mind, and body.
We owe a ton of thanks to our Beverly staff and the generosity of our customers for making these donations possible. We know that, now more than ever, a helping hand goes a long way. Whether customers place orders online, via phone, or in-house, every tip will be put to work supporting the the Greater Beverly YMCA and their mission.
As part of the ongoing Tips For Kids initiative, OTTO’s South End location has selected Franciscan Children’s to be the recipient of all customer tips from December 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022.
Since 1949, Franciscan Children’s has served children and adolescents with complex medical, mental health, and special educational needs. Located in Brighton, Massachusetts, Franciscan Children’s is an integral part of Boston’s health care system. They are the only pediatric post-acute facility in New England, and often tackle the challenges that others can’t or won’t. These critical needs are met by people who are committed to excellence, innovation, and family support… so that children can reach their fullest potential and live their best life.
We owe a ton of thanks to our Southie staff and the generosity of our customers for making these donations possible. We know that, now more than ever, a helping hand goes a long way. Whether customers place orders online, via phone, or in-house, every tip will be put to work supporting the mission of Franciscan Children’s.
At OTTO, giving back to our communities has always been a priority. In the past year, we’ve begun two ongoing programs: our monthly specials donations, in which we’ve partnered with Cooking Matters in MA and FEED Kids in ME to donate $1 from every monthly special pizza sold, and Feeding the Frontline, where we’ve turned customer contributions into countless deliveries, feeding thousands of healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic.
We are so excited to announce that, as of this month, we’ve reached $100,000 in donations to our Feeding the Frontline program! We’re so grateful to our incredible customers for making this initiative so successful. Both Feeding the Frontline and our monthly donations program would not be possible without your support. We can also say firsthand how appreciative the frontline workers we’ve delivered to have been to benefit from this program.
Because of your generous donations, we’ve been able to make deliveries to over 75 healthcare facilities in Maine and Massachusetts, including:
Maine Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston Children’s Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Tufts Medical Center
Maine General Hospital
Mercy Hospital
Boston Medical Center
Fenway Health
Beverly Hospital
Mid Coast Hospital
Mount Auburn Hospital
Emerson Hospital
Although we have reached an amazing milestone, we’re not out of the woods yet. If you’re able, please consider making a donation with your next order, so we may continue to support our healthcare heroes and fuel them through their shifts as they work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.
There’s really no other way to put it; 2020 has been a trying year for all — a year of uncertainty, social upheaval, and unprecedented change in how we live our daily lives. Our friends, families and communities have all been affected in some way. While we could go on and on about the challenges of this year, we’d like to reflect on a few of the positives.
Giving back has always been a part of the OTTO culture. In the past, we’ve donated to countless organizations in our communities through fundraisers, in-kind donations, and of course, pizza. The nature of this year forced us to restructure our entire giving program. With schools closed for much of the year and fundraisers canceled due to gathering restrictions, we had to rethink our entire Good Food, Good Cause initiative.
Of course, we had no plans to stop giving back to our communities. More than ever, our communities needed our help. Fortunately, we were able to partner with two amazing organizations in Maine and Massachusetts that directly align with our mission – to end child hunger and provide better access to food in the communities we do business in, and beyond. Starting in March of 2020, we began donating $1 from every monthly special pie sold to these organizations.
In Massachusetts, we partnered with Cooking Matters MA – an organization which helps connect families with affordable and nutritious meal options. “Cooking Matters is helping end childhood hunger by inspiring families to make healthy, affordable food choices. [Their] programs teach parents and caregivers with limited food budgets to shop for and cook healthy meals.” $1 of each monthly special pie sold from our Massachusetts locations goes to Cooking Matters MA. This year, we have donated over $7,000 directly to the organization.
In Maine, we’re working with Full Plates Full Potential as one of their FEED Kids partners. Full Plates, Full Potential is an organization dedicated to ending child hunger in Maine. “[Their] work focuses on increasing participation in school breakfast, after school meals, and summer meal programs.” We’ve donated $1 of each monthly special sold from our Maine locations to Full Plates Full Potential since March. This has allowed us to donate over $8,000 directly to the organization.
Another group that’s been severely strained by this pandemic is healthcare workers. They have gone through extraordinary efforts to heal and protect their patients and our communities, working tirelessly around the clock dealing with scenarios that many of us cannot imagine. In April, we decided to get on board with an initiative called Feeding the Frontline – a donation-based framework that supports both restaurants and frontline workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Through purchasing gift cards or meals from participating businesses, those working on the frontlines are provided with nourishment to help fuel them through their shifts.
We had no idea what to expect at the start, but we quickly learned that our customers enthusiastically wanted to be a part of this effort. To date, we’ve received over $40,000 in customer contributions that we’ve turned into countless orders, feeding thousands of healthcare workers and first responders. We are both amazed and extremely humbled by the support we’ve received, and can tell you first hand how appreciative our healthcare heroes have been to benefit from this program. Below are a few of the facilities we’ve made deliveries to as a part of this initiative:
Maine Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston Children’s Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
South Portland Fire Department – First Responders
Tufts Medical Center
Maine General Hospital
Lynnfield Fire Department – First Responders
Anna Jacques Hospital
Boston Medical Center
Beverly Hospital
Melrose Wakefield Hospital
Franciscan Hospital – Brighton
Maine’s Midcoast Hospital
Mount Auburn Hospital
Emerson Hospital
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
With all of that said, we have to give a big shout out to our customers. The programs and initiatives above would not be possible without your support. While many of us have spent much of the year in relative isolation, the power of community has never been more evident. As we reflect on this difficult year, we are incredibly thankful for our staff, our customers, our partners and our communities. We wish each of you a healthy and happy holiday season, and look forward to seeing your smiling faces in the new year.
Giving back has always been part of OTTO’s DNA since day one. When OTTO Southie (416 W Broadway) opened, the business model was designed to pay above average wages so that all tips could be donated to local youth-focused charities.
As a result, OTTO Southie has raised over $72,000 since March 2020.
* Condon Community Center, enhancing the quality of life for Boston’s residents by supporting children, youth and families through a wide range of programs and services.
OTTO Southie will be featuring a different organization each quarter.
We owe a ton of thanks to the OTTO Southie staff and the generosity of our customers for making these donations possible. We know that, now more than ever, charities and community organizations need additional support to continue offering the services they provide. We’re grateful that OTTO Southie has been in a position to help, and we hope to continue this tradition through 2021 and beyond.
Condon Community Center
Southern Boston Community Health Center’s Young Ambassador Program
We cannot thank our customers, communities and folks who have supported this initiative enough. This campaign has been a great demonstration on how communities hold each other up and work together during uncertain times.
Through the support of our OTTO community, we’ve provided:
Meals to over 50 frontline facilities
Thousands of pizzas delivered
Over $40,000 in food and beverages
Nourishment for hundreds of frontline workers including hospital employees, community health center employees, first responders, and homeless/teen center staff to name a few
If you’re interested in supporting our Feeding the Frontline campaign, click here to contribute. We’ve also added a contribution option to our online ordering pages. You can now order a meal and contribute to Feed the Frontline in the same transaction!
Please note: From time to time, we run into a situation where a hospital or healthcare facility is unable to accept a donation. In those circumstances, we direct food donations to other facilities being impacted by COVID-19, such as homeless shelters and food banks.
When a customer called Penguin Pizza in Boston and ordered pizzas to be delivered to frontline healthcare workers at a nearby hospital, it sparked an idea – we can support local businesses and feed critical frontline workers through one initiative.
Feeding the Frontline is a donation-based framework that supports both restaurants and frontline workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Through purchasing gift cards or meals from participating businesses, those working tirelessly on the frontline are provided with nourishment to help fuel them through their shifts.
On April 4th, we launched a Feeding the Frontline campaign at OTTO. Here’s how it works:
Our team reaches out to various frontline facilities that are currently accepting donations within our communities
Using the contributions from our website, we create orders to fit the specific needs of each facility
Deliveries and pickups are coordinated by our team, with the safety of all parties involved as our top priority
Contributors receive an email after their donation has been put to work
Resident physicians enjoying one of our first Feed the Frontline orders at BIDMC
We’ve had an extremely positive response from our community, and are happy to say we’ve already fulfilled several orders. The healthcare workers and first responders who have received orders could not be more appreciative.
We cannot thank our contributors enough for helping us make this possible, and promise to continue working hard to feed the frontline workers in our communities.
To contribute, please go to our website or feel free to reach out to us at contactus@ottoportland.com.
At OTTO, we strongly believe in investing in our communities, and are proud to support a variety of causes and local organizations. Since we opened our doors in 2009, we’ve worked with over 500 organizations – from hosting fundraisers, to sponsoring teams, and handing out pizza to 5k participants – giving back is an important part of what we do.
As OTTO continues to grow and expand into new communities, we are continuously redefining the ways in which we give back. It is important that we are intentional and impactful with our reach, and that we’re able to align our core values with our giving. As a restaurant, one issue that is extremely important to us is food insecurity. We believe that no child should ever go hungry, and that families, schools, and communities should have the tools and resources to combat food insecurity. We’ve recently partnered with organizations in Maine and Massachusetts which aim to do just that – end child hunger in our communities, and provide families with the resources to connect them to healthy and affordable food options. Starting March 1, OTTO will be donating $1 from every monthly special pizza sold to FEED KIDS in Maine, and to Cooking Matters in Massachusetts.
Full Plates, Full Potential is an organization dedicated to ending child hunger in Maine. “[Their] work focuses on increasing participation in school breakfast, after school meals, and summer meal programs.” We are proud to say that we are now one of their FEED KIDS Partners, and will be donating $1 of every monthly special pizza sold in Maine to Full Plates, Full Potential.
Cooking Matters is a campaign developed by Share Our Strength; a nonprofit that aims to end poverty and hunger. More specifically, Cooking Matters aims to end childhood hunger by “inspiring families to make healthy, affordable food choices. [Their] programs teach parents and caregivers with limited food budgets to shop for and cook healthy meals.” Cooking Matters helps connect low-income families with the tools and resources to prepare healthy food on a budget. OTTO will donate $1 of every monthly special pizza sold in Massachusetts to Cooking Matters.
Follow us to learn more about how we will be working with these two organizations to help end child hunger in our communities.
