Written by Ngoc Thach
February 5, 2021
Sioux Falls, SD, February 5, 2021 – MarketBeat is donating a total of $31,000 to the South Dakota-based organization Call to Freedom, a nonprofit that provides supportive services to victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The donation is a direct result of the company’s pledge to donate $1.00 for every burger sold at all 24 competing restaurants throughout this year’s 30-day Downtown Sioux Falls (DTSF) Burger Battle.
January was also National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, an important and timely tie-in for the local community said Becky Rasmussen, Executive Director of Call to Freedom.
“We are humbled and grateful for the generosity of MarketBeat, Chef Lance's on Phillips, and our wonderful community,” Rasmussen said. “This donation will go to help survivors coming out of human trafficking by providing much-needed resources including housing, medical, safety, and basic needs. Ending human trafficking takes a community, and our community has responded to the call.”
As a part of the initiative, MarketBeat Founder and CEO Matt Paulson dedicated his time to raising local awareness by creating and distributing resources to combat human trafficking in the community.
A Battle Where Everyone Wins
Created by Chef Lance's on Phillips, the MarketBeat burger featured a ground brisket patty topped with sharp cheddar, pork belly planks, spicy pickle mayonnaise, baby romaine, and Roma tomatoes on a Breadsmith bun. It’s also the first sponsored burger in competition history.
While restaurant owners Lance and Jenny White entered their first Burger Battle with confidence in their winning creation, Paulson was quick to ensure the collaborative effort was a win for the community as well, said Chef Lance White.
“I tell Matt quite often that I love how his brain works,” said White. “We’ve been working with Call to Freedom for years in support of their mission to help victims of human trafficking. What Matt did was bring a dark subject to light, and that’s when the competition became impossible to lose. Even if the burger didn’t win, our community would win.”
Beyond the community impact made by MarketBeat’s donation to Call to Freedom, a record-breaking number of participants contributed to a significant increase in burger sales. According to DTSF, the competition exceeded 19,000 burgers sold for a total of $268,000 in 2020, and this year’s battle yielded 31,000 burgers sold for a total of $436,606.
While showing a 163% increase on dollars spent year-over-year is impressive, the economic impact goes beyond the burger count said DTSF Community Outreach Coordinator Sadie Swier.
"Burger Battle has grown to become part of the Sioux Falls lifestyle,” Swier said. “Throughout January, whether you scroll through social media or start a casual conversation, the topic turns to Burger Battle. Not only is the number of burgers sold impressive, but the economic impact extends by driving more foot traffic to other downtown entities. MarketBeat and Chef Lance’s collaboration is what makes our city so special. DTSF looks forward to many more creative collaborations for future Burger Battles and other DTSF events."
“MarketBeat may be the first financial media company to co-create a burger for competition, but that’s not the obvious takeaway here,” said Paulson.
“Ultimately, I hope every business owner who witnessed our unconventional approach to competition is inspired to think creatively about marketing and business growth through collaboration,” Paulson said. “By partnering with Chef Lance’s on Phillips, we highlighted an up-and-coming small business in our community while making the MarketBeat brand better known in the Sioux Falls community. We then structured our charitable giving in a way that would optimize turnout for all competing businesses while maximizing the correlating donation to Call to Freedom.”
About MarketBeat
MarketBeat is a financial media company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. MarketBeat’s mission is to empower individual investors to make better trading decisions by providing them with real-time financial information and objective market research. More than 2 million investors receive MarketBeat’s flagship newsletter, MarketBeat Daily Ratings. MarketBeat also publishes a network of financial news websites that garner more than 15 million pageviews each month, a suite of web-based investment research software called MarketBeat All Access, and a mobile stock research app that is available on iOS and Android. For more information, visit www.marketbeat.com
About Call to Freedom
Call to Freedom is a non-profit organization based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The organization provides supportive services for victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation by creating a network of frontline providers who offer safe housing, mental health counseling, medical assistance, chemical dependency, transportation, and other supportive services. For more information, visit www.calltofreedom.org
About Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc.
Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc. (DTSF) exists to boldly lead the downtown community by fostering diverse experiences, economic growth, and a healthy environment. Visit www.dtsf.com for more information.
