BY LINDSEY QUICK

Now more than ever, it’s important for businesses to support the communities in which they operate. If you’ve never implemented a charitable giving strategy, it can feel overwhelming and difficult to begin. But by investing time in a strategy to give back, you create connections and a differentiator for customers while engaging and energizing staff.

For some washes, finding ways to support the community has been embedded into their core values and operations from the beginning.

That’s the case for Autobell Car Wash, America’s fifth largest conveyorized car wash company with more than 85 locations in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Virginia. Carl Howard, Chief Operating Officer for the company, said supporting communities has always been a fundamental part of their business model. “Throughout our more than 50 years in business, our charitable endeavors have included and extended beyond fundraising, ranging from youth sports and community event sponsorships to onsite blood drives, offsite waterway clean-ups, and donations from wash proceeds,” said Howard.

Echoing those sentiments was Ron Slone, President of Hoffman Development Corporation, which operates 30 locations between its three businesses: Hoffman Car Wash, Hoffman Jiffy Lube and Byrider. “We’ve been in some of our communities for 55 years, and we view ourselves as neighbors more than business operators,” he said, adding that their organization has received plenty of support from their communities and it was important to the business to return that favor.

Other organizations may find themselves called to get involved in their communities after recognizing a need.

That’s what happened for Car Wash Enterprises, Inc., the parent company for Brown Bear Car Wash, with 52 locations in the Pacific Northwest. In 1990, the organization was cited by the city of Seattle for letting hose water flow into a storm drain. For company President Victor Odermat, this was a light bulb moment. “At the time, charity parking lot car washes were commonplace throughout the city on any given weekend,” Odermat said. “They were totally unregulated and sending volumes of car wash runoff into the storm drain system.”

Odermat recognized this as not only a regulatory disconnect, but also a huge educational opportunity for the car wash industry. While the industry is strictly regulated to safely discharge their water, residential and charity parking lot car washes aren’t held to these same standards, and untreated runoff winds up in the nearest natural body of water. In 1990, this fact was largely unknown to both the public and regulators alike.

Odermat went about changing that. He brought together members of the local car wash industry to form the Puget Sound Car Wash Association (PSCWA). This group focused on providing education about the environmental benefits the industry delivers. And so far, their efforts have worked.

“It certainly raised awareness that we are a ‘green’ company,” Odermat said. “We were at the vanguard of the green movement here locally and I am very proud
of that.”

GETTING INVOLVED

Many car wash owners and operators want to support community organizations, but are unsure of how to do it in a way that’s logistically realistic for the business to execute.

One of the most popular methods of fundraising is selling discounted wash vouchers and gift cards, with proceeds going to the nonprofit organization. But depending on how logistically involved a business wants to be, there are two approaches to this kind of fundraising.

1) Keeping Logistical Investments Low

The least logically involved method is for the car wash to sell discounted vouchers directly to the nonprofit, putting the nonprofit in charge of selling those vouchers at full price and allowing them to keep all the proceeds from those sales.

This was the route Odermat and the PSCWA took when they knew they needed to deliver more than education in order to gain meaningful public awareness.

“We had to step up and provide a fundraising alternative to those charities that had traditionally relied upon parking lot car washes,” he said. ”That is why we started the PSCWA charity wash program.” The program creates a win-win solution for the organizations they support: Charities avoid the logistical hassles of planning events and sell the tickets on their own schedule without worrying about a rainy weekend undermining their fundraising efforts.

And in 2007, Odermat and his team at Brown Bear decided to start their own, and it’s been a huge success in the region. The Brown Bear Charity Car Wash Program has raised more than $9.2 million for more than 1,200 local charities.

Slone noted that Hoffman Development Corporation uses this same approach through their program, Hoffman Helping Hands, pointing out how easy it is for everyone involved. “The benefit to this type of fundraising is that it allows us to help anyone who asks,” said Slone.

The Autobell Fundraising Program is very similar, although instead of selling vouchers, they sell discounted gift cards. “This is the most versatile and successful method for us, due to its simple premise, ease of use by a variety of organizations and its popularity with the public,” Howard said. “The program now raises more than half a million dollars annually for nonprofits and has exceeded $10 million raised since its inception in 1998.”

As Howard mentioned, this approach is incredibly easy for the wash owner, as it’s a one-time-only transaction.

2) Generating Onsite Excitement

The more logistically involved approach is to sell or give away the vouchers at your wash location. While this means more planning for the owner, it also generates more excitement at the business, which is fun for customers and staff alike. It removes the logistical burden for the nonprofit — they simply receive a donation at the end of the campaign.

Express Wash Concepts, the 32-location parent company of Ohio-based Flying Ace Express Car Wash, Moo Moo Express Car Wash and CLEan Express Auto Wash, supports charities both ways, but have found meaningful success with their onsite grand opening fundraisers and quarterly donation campaigns.

“We tie our grand openings to a philanthropy drive that directly benefits that new location’s community,” said Bethanee Martin, Marketing Director for Express Wash Concepts. “We give away our best car wash for free to everyone during that week, and in turn, ask our customers for donations, as well as sell discounted gift cards, where 100% of the proceeds are donated back to the nonprofit partner.”

For their quarterly donation campaigns, Express Wash Concepts works with one of their established nonprofit partners to raise money tied to seasonal themes, such as an end-of-summer campaign for Volunteers of America’s Operation Backpack. Express Car Wash collects donations at their POS and wash kiosks, and customers who make a donation receive a coupon for a free wash at their next visit.

IT PAYS TO GIVE BACK

Giving back, whether to local charities or larger charitable organizations, is good for business — not only in strengthening ties to the community, but in differentiating yourself among your competitors and potentially introducing yourselves to future customers. It can also lead to more engaged employees, who will in turn provide better service to customers.

Slone believes reputation goes a long way. “We are in a business dedicated to making people feel better, and that sentiment extends well beyond the length of any of our tunnels,” he said.

Martin echoed that sentiment. “For those of us in the express tunnel business, there may not be, from a customer perspective anyway, much difference in overall wash quality,” she said. “But customers do take notice of who is giving back consistently, and are savvy enough to support businesses that are consistently recognized for doing good things in their communities.”

Odermat agreed, saying, “People like to support businesses that invest in the community.”

Autobell’s Howard believes it’s been beneficial for their employees as well. “Being active in our communities further entrenches our stores, managers and team members in those communities,” he said.

Express Wash Concepts feels so strongly about getting their team involved that they provide a budget for each location to select their own charitable giving opportunities. “This gives them a feeling of empowerment and ownership,” said Martin. The company has seen that overall team morale is better, which translates to better customer relationships and experiences.

Finding a way to participate in charitable giving strengthens your relationship with the communities in which your business operates, differentiates you among your competition and engages your staff. While there are multiple ways to give back, with varying investments from a time and logistical standpoint, a successful program doesn’t need to be complicated. Find the solution that makes sense for your team and community, and then get moving.