---
title: "Tampa Bay Times: Dairy Queen Franchisee Uses Profits to Support Charitable Mission"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/93c58271-f26d-4d87-adbd-b45547dc5f5d
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/tampa-bay-times-dairy-queen-franchisee-uses-profits-to-support-charitable-mission-4904
category: "Snacks & dessert"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Snacks & dessert"
published: 2016-06-10T20:15:21.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:15:15.471Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/cada231c5c8c358782e57ec4e5ac7e88786160822161629.png
---

# Tampa Bay Times: Dairy Queen Franchisee Uses Profits to Support Charitable Mission

**TL;DR:** Dairy Queen franchisee Lakeview Associated Enterprises uses profits from two DQ Grill & Chill locations to support the Lakeview Center, a behavioral health and child protective services provider. The organization plans to open eight more locations to diversify its revenue base.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-06-10. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/tampa-bay-times-dairy-queen-franchisee-uses-profits-to-support-charitable-mission-4904).*

## Story

Two *DQ Grill & Chill*® locations in Pasco and Hillsborough counties allow locals to indulge in "guilt-free treats," as 100 percent of the profits go to the Lakeview Center, a Pensacola behavioral health and child protective services provider.

Eight additional stores like these are in the works, says COO of Lakeview Associated Enterprises, Tra Williams, with the goal of diversifying the organization's revenue base from heavy doses of state and federal funding.

"The budgets don't always balance, and funding doesn't always come through the way we want it to. So we decided to make our own money, support our mission and offset some of the liability of being so state- and federal-dependent," Williams told the Tampa Bay Times.

When searching for the perfect franchise concept that aligned with the mission of Lakeview Associated Enterprises, Williams noticed immediately that *Dairy Queen*® was the perfect fit.

"There were some franchisors who were scratching their head a little and had a tough time wrapping their mind around the corporate structure and how it was going to work," Williams told the Tampa Bay Times. "When we walked into the door in Minneapolis and met the executive team at *Dairy Queen*, it was so obvious how well-aligned they were with us from a core values standpoint."

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- franchise expansion (topic)
- Dairy Queen (company)
- franchise concept (topic)
- revenue diversification (topic)
- charitable mission (topic)
- state funding (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/tampa-bay-times-dairy-queen-franchisee-uses-profits-to-support-charitable-mission-4904). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/93c58271-f26d-4d87-adbd-b45547dc5f5d).