Getting your car wash business up and running can be difficult. When you have spent weeks or months setting up all the tools you need for your business, you simply want to start successfully. One easy way to get moving on the right foot is to promote using car wash fundraisers with your local schools, businesses, or local charities.

“People are generous. In fact, one of the most astounding charitable giving facts is that more than 95 percent of people participate in charitable giving. Giving a financial donation to a cause you believe in is an easy and effective way to show your support. And the facts about charitable giving show that it is a growing trend.”

Top five reasons why people give

To meet critical, basic needs

To give back to society by making the community a better place

A belief that those with more should help those with less

To bring about a desired impact or result

A request for money was made

Creating a car wash fundraiser can be easy and fun for you, as well as those involved. There are many different ideas you can create for a fundraiser. Here are just a few examples some other car washes have done:

• Boys & Girls Club
• School Supply Drive
• Food Drive
• Specific Person in Need of Medical or Financial Help
• Search and Rescue
• Therapy Programs
• Theft Victims
• Dog Rescues
• Rotary Clubs
• Local Churches
• Sports Teams at Any Level
• Larger Foundations Such As Be The Match or Susan G. Komen

The opportunities are endless when it comes to who, how, and when you want to set up your fundraiser.

Now, we know you may be thinking, “What does this do for me?”

Well, to start off with, it gives your location(s) a better view to the public. Not only are you getting more people in your wash, but you are providing them a needed service they may not have known you had previously. In addition, you are showing your local community you care about issues they care about. When a business is willing to put their hard earned dollars towards a local or a national charity that people care about, customers are more likely to come back and support your business. People want to make an impact in their communities, and on a bigger scale. This is one easy way to not only help them, but help your business too!

SIX REASONS DONORS GIVE

Impact

People want to know they are making an impact. Whether it's on the environment, or a single person, people will donate when they know they are impacting a good cause.

Appreciation

Impact is one thing, but being appreciated for your donation for a cause is what drives people to keep giving. Thank your customers who donate to the cuase you are fundraising for.

Mission

If your cause digs right into someone's personal mission in life, you can almost be assured they will donate. When the topic is close to heart, money doesn't tend to be an issue.

Impulse

Cute kids and animals can help this one right along. Impulse buys of door to door sales can be a huge help or having cards available at your counter for purchase to donate to a cause.

Recognition

Much like appreciation, people want to be recognized for helping. Make sure you recognize the groups you are fundraising with and those who donated. This can easily be done through social media or personal cards.

Benefit

Ultimately when there is a fundraiser, your goal is to benefit someone or an organization. This is what drives people. Knowing their funds are going to help someone directly.

A few interesting facts about charitable giving:

64% of all donations are made by women.

With this in mind, catering some of your advertising towards women may be helpful especially considering they typically tend to wash less. Getting more women in your wash may benefit you in more than one way!

72% of all charitable contributions are made by individuals

Meaning it’s not big corporations creating a giant piece of the pie when it comes to donating. Individual donations to a certain cause are a big chunk of the pie you could be eating!

Matures and Baby Boomers donate most often to places of worship while Gen X and Millennials donate most often to children and youth development.

Again, something to keep in mind as you are creating momentum around your fundraiser. Who are you trying to raise money for? What category does it fall into and therefore, who do you market more to?

12% of all giving happens in the last 3 days of the year

Everyone loves a good tax write off, right? Or maybe they have a few extra bucks from the holidays? With weather being particularly bad during the last several days of the year, it’s a great time to be running a fundraiser as well!

Email results in one-third of online fundraising revenue.

It helps to send an email to a list of people or customers you have telling them about the fundraiser. If the group you are fundraising with has a list, you should also email them. Get the word out to as many people as you can. On average, fundraisers will get $40 for every $1 spent when sending email campaigns around their fundraiser.

So, What Next?

Start fundraising! Of course!

Ok, so it’s not quite that easy. Take it one step at a time and you’ll be ready in no time!

First, advertise! Either that you can do car wash fundraising for groups, or start one of your own and advertise for it! Whether it’s through social media (find out some tips of how to succeed in mobile marketing), flyers, the back of your local grocery receipts, you can start creating awareness for a cause.

Then, be prepared with how you are going to manage that fundraise. WashCard has software that is made to create, manage, and monitor all aspects of a fundraiser. You can set up residual amounts to go back to the fundraiser and not have to touch another thing! You can run 3-4 fundraisers at a time if you wanted!

You can also set up prepaid cards to be sold for fundraisers. $10 for a $20 card, or $15 for a $25. With our software, you can set it up on your terms. The organization you are working with would purchase each card at $5 so they are still making a profit, and you are as well, as well as increasing traffic to your location. WashCard allows customers to purchase cards online using our Account Portal. Here you can add promo codes for cards to include in your fundraisers.

From there, it’s important to continue to advertise and market your fundraiser and your business. Creating loyalty with your customers is one of the easiest and best ways to keep them coming back.

Final Thoughts

Car wash fundraising can be “FUN” (no pun intended). Between expanding your business profile, you are meeting new people within your community. When good service is provided word of mouth can be one of the most powerful assets you have to market your business. Whether you’ve just opened a location or you have been there for a while, using a fundraiser to attract new business can be a big benefit (again, no pun intended).

You have the freedom to choose when and how you run your fundraiser. There are tons of different ways. As a WashCard customer you can work directly with our sales and marketing team to determine what would be best for your business.

Want more? Email sales@washard.com to get more information about how fundraisers can work for you!