Milwaukee-based Zizzo Group Engagement Marketing hosted its 10th annual Donut Smackdown Live Event this week, and the mini-donut-eating contest didn't just hit its fundraising goal — it blew past it. The event, held at the historic Oriental Theatre and benefiting Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, set out to raise $100,000 to help repair an already aging basketball court at Camp Whitcomb/Mason, whose damage had been worsened by severe spring storms.
By the end of the night, organizers had far exceeded that target. According to the event's own Donut Smackdown website, this year's contest raised $137,549 for the Boys & Girls Clubs. The court the money is meant to help rebuild sees heavy use, with more than 6,000 youth relying on it annually, as reported by BizTimes.
Mini Donuts, Big Stakes
The contest itself centered on 25 teams racing to see who could eat the most mini donuts in two minutes, per BizTimes. Exactly how many people took part is a bit murky: BizTimes put the field at nearly 100 Milwaukee community leaders and business executives, while the event's own site tallied 25 teams and 76 participants. Either way, each squad faced the same challenge — smacking down 105 DonutNV glazed mini donuts in the two-minute window, according to the event website.
The night recognized both the top three donut-eating teams and the top three fundraising teams, the same account notes. When the dust settled, the Wisconsin Center District repeated as champion, successfully defending the title it won the previous year. The event's Grand Champions were named as Brian Rutkowski, Brandon Anderson and Drew Dawson of the Wisconsin Center District, per the site's own recap.
Celebrity Emcee and Matching Gifts
Green Bay Packers legend Donald Driver helped emcee the event and crowned the Wisconsin Center District, BizTimes reported. DonutNV served as the event's title sponsor, according to the Donut Smackdown website.
Fundraising got an extra boost from two matching gifts. Former Milwaukee Bucks star Pat Connaughton provided a $25,000 challenge grant through his foundation, while former Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele contributed a matching $25,000 gift for the second year in a row, the event site states. Abele also serves as a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs National Board of Governors, per BizTimes.
A Decade of Donut-Fueled Giving
Zizzo Group — led by founder and CEO Anne Zizzo, with Joe Zizzo serving as account director — has now run the Donut Smackdown for a full decade, with Jeff Snell, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, among those benefiting from the partnership, according to BizTimes. The event has grown considerably since its eighth edition, when it raised more than $60,000 for the clubs, as the Milwaukee Business Journal reported at the time.
Last year's ninth annual event also carried a $100,000 goal, aimed at replacing a gym floor at the Daniels Mardak Boys & Girls Club after historic flooding damaged it in August, according to WISN. At the time, that gym served more than 200 students daily but couldn't host after-school activities because of the damage, the station reported. TMJ4 similarly covered that contest's push toward the same $100,000 goal for the flood-damaged gym floor. Event photographs from this year's Donut Smackdown were credited to Kenny Yoo.
