Wendy’s of Bowling Green received the Diamond Award for Best Cause Marketing at the Wendy’s annual convention Sept. 22-24 in Orlando, Fla.

The local chain was recognized for its fundraising efforts to support the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas started in 1992.

The Dave Thomas Foundation is the nation’s only public nonprofit charity that is focused exclusively on foster care adoption.

Wendy’s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Carl Loredo said Wendy’s of Bowling Green raised nearly $370,000 for the foundation through its Boo! Book and Frosty Key Tag promotions last year. That was a 209 percent increase in fundraising from 2017 to 2018.

Wendy’s of Bowling Green developed a layered incentive program to award restaurant general managers who helped sell the most Boo! Book coupon booklets and Frosty Key Tags.

All 57 restaurants in the Wendy’s of Bowling Green market earned the incentive. The top three general managers won a trip to the 50th anniversary convention.

Wendy’s of Bowling Green restaurants are selling the $1 Boo! Books, which feature five coupons – each one for a free Jr. Frosty treat – until Oct. 31. Eighty-five cents of each purchase is donated to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

In November, which is National Adoption Month, Wendy’s $2 Frosty Key Tags will be available for purchase, and customers can receive a free Jr. Frosty with any purchase for an entire year.

Wendy’s of Bowling Green, with its recent purchase of the Nashville market, now operates 101 Wendy’s locations in three states: Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. The franchise partners are Mike O’Malley of Clarksville, Tenn., and John Hughes of Bowling Green.

Wendy’s is the world’s third-largest hamburger fast food chain with more than 6,700 locations.