To have a successful car wash fundraiser you need a strong committee and a great location. Since I have been involved in running so many car wash fundraisers in the past let me discuss this with you for a minute. Remember what they say in successful retail businesses? It is all about Location, Location, Location. Below you will find a suggestion for your first committee meeting and a thought on an agenda for the meetings. Also find my best advice for locations. Please take this information seriously it has hundreds of mistakes in hundreds of car wash fundraisers built out of this advice.

AGENDAS FOR MEETINGS

You will be meeting throughout a seven-week period. Six weeks prior and one week post car wash fundraiser on a periodic basis. Don’t lose control of your meetings. The easiest way to stay in control is to have a list of items to discuss. Try not to stray from the subject matter. If one of your members of a committee is not needed at that particular meeting, do not ask them to be there. You don’t want to waste their time. At general meetings such as progress report meetings you will definitely need everyone in attendance.

PICKING A LOCATION

This is one of the first things that must be done. It’s important when selecting a location to remember traffic count and visibility. You need to start selling tickets three weeks in advance and the location must be printed on the tickets. It might take one week to print the tickets. That leaves two weeks or less to find a location provided that you start your preparation six weeks in advance. If you start late, you personally should go out today (now) and secure a good location before organizing your group. Don’t necessarily take the first location that comes along. Generally the best locations are harder to get.

Fixed car wash owners have always known that it’s best to find a location in the busiest part of town near the busiest intersection. One half of a fixed site car wash’s business will come from within a three mile radius. If a mountain intersects that three mile circle and there are no homes on that mountain, then it becomes dead zone where no customers will come from. Same for lakes, rivers, freeways, etc. If that mountain were shaped like a pie within the three mile radius, the percent of potential population that the pie area represents would need to be subtracted from that one half of the car wash’s volume. Fixed site car wash owners use very scientific methods in determining the highest profit locations for their businesses. Remember, your group will be car wash owners for one day.