To ensure a successful car wash fundraiser, you’ll need to get publicity. You need to visit many different areas to make sure everyone knows when and where the car wash fundraiser is going to be. The more people know about it, the more people will show up. You must alert the media and the community. Here are some great tips for your next car wash fundraiser.
PSA
PSA stand for ‘Public Service Announcements’. Radio stations have to make a certain number of public broadcasts to satisfy Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requirements. This is good for you because it means that you can advertise your car wash fundraiser on your radio station for all to hear. It’s basically free advertising for you. To get this free advertising, call the radio station and ask for the community service desk or public relations person. Be sure to list all relevant information such as: who, what, when, where, why and how.
You must be extremely nice to the radio people because radio time is valuable and others have requests for your events as well. Sometimes there are many more requests than time available. If you want a one-time offer to wash the radio station van for free at your fundraiser. Or give away free tickets on the radio in return. If the radio van shows up, the DJ or driver can call their cell phone or PCS for a live airlink.
“Hi everyone. I’m here at Gladiator High School supporting the DARE program. Bring your car and get a $5.00 car wash. It’s a great cause.”
This will add additional customers and help you earn more money. Three to four rush hour radio ads during the week before your event on an average local station will get an additional twenty-five to fifty cars.
I cannot stress enough that you need to be very nice to the staff at the radio station. you will be glad you did. They are generally personable, have a lot of energy, and are generally very easy to get along with, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
LOCAL NEWSPAPERS
When you call your local newspaper, ask if they offer free classified ads for nonprofit groups. If they do, place an ad. Then call back fifteen minutes later and ask for the community calendar section to include your event. If they have a community calendar section, call the next day and ask for the newsroom.
If they don’t have free classifieds for nonprofits, ask the operator for the calendar section. Post your event. Sometimes they will have a form to fill out. Have it faxed to you and fax it back. Be sure to check a week before your event to see if it will be listed if you don’t see it listed to date.
Please wait until the next day after you fax in the calendar section request to call the newsroom about your story. Perhaps your group is raising money for a special trip to the championship game in another state, to attend the National Boy Scout Jamboree, to a cheerleading competition, or to a religious event. These stories can be newsworthy. What are you earning money for and how much do you need? A religious event has a good chance of appearing in the Religion Section, sporting events in the Sports Section. Maybe you can make it to the first page. Wow! This will give you a hundred more cars. If they refuse to do a pre-car wash story, be nice. They may have too many other events to cover. If they have room for padding, you might be in luck, even if you don’t make it to page A-1. Lots of breaking events happen in your industry. You never know. Maybe you won’t get a pre-car wash story, but do get a photographer on the day of the event. This won’t add cars, but it will really help your group morale and make it easier to get volunteers for other fundraising events. It also works wonders for next year’s annual car wash fundraiser. If you need a good quote for your story, email [email protected] for a quote from the author of this book. He loves putting a good spin on a story to help a worthy organization.
CABLE STATIONS
Local cable TV stations have local news. Car wash fundraisers are good news on car wash day. Car washes with big lines are big news. Prewash stories work if the reason for raising the money is newsworthy. That, of course, varies from season to season, region to region, and story to story. I can’t tell you what is newsworthy and what is not. I’ve had lousy stories on TV and great stories without getting called back. You never know. You can tell the cable station that both newspapers will be out on Saturday to take pictures of your event. This will make them want to grab the scoop and make a story before the event. This could also backfire if not done tactfully. Be careful. Can I tell you something. If you have a three-minute segment on the local news from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, a lot of people will see it.
NEWSLETTERS
Word of mouth is still the best advertising. Members of your group talk to many people every day. So keep this event in front of them. It would be foolish not to. But remember that you don’t have the only newsletter. All city service clubs, corporations, universities, hospitals, government agencies, PTA parent club organizations, etc. they all have newsletters. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to ask for an article or mention of your event to be included in your newsletter. Even a paragraph will help you. If every entry in every newsletter nets you five cars, it’s worth it. The contacts you make and the goodwill you receive for your organization are worth the effort tenfold for subsequent community events and projects. By networking with other people who care, you’ll improve your chances of participating in joint projects, thereby uplifting both groups. If a local corporation likes the PR you give them, in return, they may adopt you as their favorite charity. Always and I can’t say this enough, look for the win-win in every phone call, meeting or discussion.
FRILLS
Flyers are a great way to advertise at a low cost. Find a local print shop that will advertise on the back for your printing costs or for a minimal fee. Go to soccer fields, softball games, office complexes, bulletin boards around town, and realtor mailboxes inside realtor offices. Don’t put them in cars. If a professional organization is helping you, such as a mobile car wash or mobile detailing company, pass out their flyers as well. Ask Domino’s Pizza and other delivery companies to attach flyers to their boxes or place them in their takeout bags. Ask grocery store managers to have delivery people put a flyer in each bag of groceries. The local video store; the same thing. Always be on the lookout for good places to put flyers.
Remember that the success of your car wash fundraiser will be directly proportional to your pre-planning advertising efforts, so think about this.