A car wash fundraiser might seem like a simple thing to organize. What do you need besides a hose, a couple of buckets, soap, water, some towels and volunteers? This might be find to raise a few hundred dollars. But if you're serious about raising a substantial amount of money and want to hold an event with the potential to raise $10,000 or more, the following are some tips from a company that has helped numerous organizations nationwide do just that.

According to Lance Winslow, Founder of The Car Wash Guys mobile car wash business, "Besides the cars, the most important ingredients in a successful car wash fund raiser are planning, organization and teamwork."

The Car Wash Guys, is a community-oriented franchise. Each franchisee gives back to their area by assisting with at least one car wash fundraiser per month. Having held literally hundreds of car wash events, Winslow decided to put his proven tactics for success in writing to help organizations everywhere achieve or exceed their fund-raising goals. If there is a franchisee in your area, they will come out and help for free.

If you are a government-run parking facility, you may wish to support a group connected with the agency. For instance, a college might assist a club on campus and a hospital might assist the Hospice; a Municipal lot might back the DARE Program, for example. If you are a parking structure or lot where there is shopping, you may be able to help the same shops that provide your lot with its steady flow of cars. You can put together a grab bag for patrons of the fund raiser with coupons from these shops. Some restaurants may also want to get involved, giving 10% of proceeds for all those people who eat and mention the non-profit group's name that day.