A charitable auto dealership gives to nonprofits in the form of money and vehicles. The best thing to do is make a list of car dealers in your area, and call the managers of the local dealerships. Ask for dealer donations to your nonprofit.
Many car dealers, like other companies, collect donations from employees for charity. You may be able to get your charity on their donation list. The donation may be cash or a vehicle, but if it is cash, the dealer can guide you through the steps of vehicle purchase, and may even discount it considerably.
Nearly 90 percent of car dealers keep their donations in the local community. Most of their donations go to support community service and local organizations. More than 65 percent organize staff volunteer opportunities in their localities.
Getting Dealer Discounts
If you have collected donations from a local business with the intention of buying a car, again, your local car dealer may work with you to arrange for discounts so that the money you collect will be enough to pay for a car.
Board of Directors
Check with your board of directors to see if anyone has contacts with local car dealerships. Personal relationships are the best way to get donations to a nonprofit, and members of your board of directors are generally leaders in the community.
All members of your board should be able to leverage their contacts to gain support for you, and that includes from local car dealers. These dealers are often influential community members, and are usually willing to donate to charitable causes.
If you have a member of the board who is a car dealer, you should work with that person to see what kind of support is available.
Nonprofit Car Donations
Keep in mind that most large businesses in your community get a lot of requests for donations. First, check to see if your local car dealer has a specific donation program in place. You can do that by going to the dealer’s website and checking to see if it has a community giving page. If so, follow the instructions provided.
Also, if you get a cash or car donation from a dealer, don’t repeat your request each year. Remember, most businesses like to distribute nonprofit donations throughout a community equally.