Banned Car Wash Fundraisers – Are Our Youth At Risk?

There seems to be a new trend where car wash fundraisers are banned and this hurts non-profit groups. Some car washes have said they will allow nonprofit groups to sell coupons to their car washes and share in a portion of the money raised. The car wash gets a lot of public relations and community goodwill, and nonprofit groups no longer compete with the car wash on a busy, sunny Saturday. everyone wins right?

Well, this is what at least some environmental code enforcement personnel and some car wash owners would like you to believe. But the reality is that car wash voucher schemes at car washes don’t generate as much for nonprofit groups. Do non-profit groups complain about this? Well no, why would they? After all, $250 to 500 is better than nothing, but it’s nothing compared to the $5,000 they could have made if they had done their own car wash fundraiser the old-fashioned way, before they were banned.

Some car wash owners say it’s not, we have a new special program, really? The reality is that the “This time is different” concept regarding car wash voucher schemes is ridiculous. Many groups look at the treatment offered by car washes and choose not to do so. Others do it once, maybe twice and never again because it doesn’t work.

The environmental “just out of school” municipal stormtroopers don’t get it, they think they’ve solved a problem, actually they have and the whole community pays and in the long run, we all lose, a little bit of Americana and a few more good guys move on the dark side of society. A coupon car wash fundraising plan for PR car wash owners? Hmm?