Soapy Joe's community fundraising program tops 100 events in 2026
The San Diego chain's Force for Good model returns 40 percent of event proceeds to schools, sports teams and nonprofits, generating more than $25,000 so far this year.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
Soapy Joe's, a family-owned car wash operator with 27 locations across San Diego County, says its Force for Good fundraising program has scheduled more than 100 events and generated over $25,000 in fundraiser sales so far in 2026. The program launched in 2025 and lets community groups earn 40 percent of the proceeds from dedicated fundraising events held at the chain's washes.
According to reporting from the International Carwash Association, the model works much like the fundraiser nights many restaurants run. Schools, youth sports programs and nonprofits book an event with Soapy Joe's, then invite their supporters to come get their cars washed during the window. Forty percent of what those supporters spend flows back to the organization.
How the program works
Participating organizations schedule a fundraising event through the company, and supporters take part by using a service they already need. That structure lets groups raise money without selling products door to door or asking for outright donations. The company reports that more organizations are signing up each month, and it expects both the number of participating groups and the number of events to keep climbing as the program expands.
Lorens Attisha, CEO of Soapy Joe's, framed the program as a way to act on the company's community focus. "Community is at the heart of what we do," he said, adding that the volume of scheduled events shows organizations want simple, effective fundraising options. Adriana Escobedo, the company's director of marketing, said the goal is to make it easy for groups to gather their communities and raise meaningful funds.
Adapting a restaurant tactic to car washes
What sets the effort apart is the application of a familiar restaurant fundraising format to the car wash category. Diners are used to "give-back nights" where a portion of a meal's cost supports a local cause. Soapy Joe's has translated that into an everyday service transaction, letting supporters raise money simply by keeping their vehicles clean.
The approach fits a broader pattern in the industry, where operators increasingly use fundraisers to build local goodwill. Other washes have run similar events, including a recent Wild Blue Car Wash fundraiser that raised more than $2,300 for a Missouri school band program.
Why it matters for operators
Fundraising partnerships offer operators a low-cost way to drive traffic and deepen ties with the surrounding community. Each event brings a built-in group of supporters to the site, many of whom may be first-time or infrequent customers who could convert into regulars or membership subscribers. The 40 percent give-back is a marketing expense that doubles as goodwill, and it can generate word-of-mouth that paid advertising rarely matches.
The structure is also scalable. Soapy Joe's built a dedicated web presence for the program so groups can schedule their own events, reducing the administrative burden on staff. Operators considering a similar move should weigh the margin impact of the give-back percentage against the incremental traffic and lifetime value of new customers acquired. Aligning events with local schools and youth sports concentrates the audience where community loyalty runs deepest, and a clean booking process keeps the program easy to run at volume across multiple sites.
