CARS: A Nonprofit for Nonprofits
In briefAI summary — tap to read
CARS (Charitable Adult Rides and Services) is a nonprofit that processes vehicle donations for nearly 11,000 nonprofits nationwide, generating $600 million in unassigned capital for organizations like the Red Cross and St. Jude. Beyond vehicle donations, CARS offers transparency software, real estate donation services, and Minute to Give—a flexible credit card roundup program designed to engage younger donors in philanthropy.
Key takeaways
- CARS operates as a B2B nonprofit partner, processing ~150,000 vehicles annually and distributing 80% of proceeds to partner nonprofits on a net basis, ensuring aligned financial incentives.
- The organization built proprietary transparency software (NAV) allowing partner nonprofits to track donations in real-time and receives payments every five days, eliminating leveraging of client assets.
- Minute to Give enables young people to engage in micro-donations via credit card roundups at flexible thresholds (as low as 35–50 cents per transaction), making philanthropy accessible and habit-forming.
- Operating as a true business—using data analytics, diversifying revenue streams, and investing in marketing—allows nonprofits to sustain and scale their impact while doing good.
- Leadership and organizational culture matter: the speaker's transition from corporate work revealed that nonprofit work offers dignity, meaning, and the opportunity to align personal values with daily work.
About Howard PearlHoward Pearl is the longtime leader of CARS, a nonprofit serving nearly 11,000 organizations. He transitioned from corporate business roles and has spent over a decade building CARS into one of the nation's largest vehicle-donation platforms while serving as a vehicle for unassigned capital to the nonprofit sector.
AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.
New here? How our meetings work
Is this your first time visiting us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday, our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
-
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
-
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Greetings members, Rotarians, friends and guests
Want to Learn More About Us? - Who We Are, What We Do, Why We Do It
Want to become a Rotarian? - Join us in helping to make the world a better place!
Thanks for joining our weekly meeting!
Member Steve Munns
Weekly Funny with Shags
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Our old chicken has stopped laying eggs.
I think that she's going through henopause.
Inspiration
Having hope for the future involves a lot, including a sense that you have skills that will allow being involved in a meaningful job. In this piece from PBS about an organization called Rancho Cielo, you'll see one way this is happening in California.
Learn something new
But Keep Your Eyes Open!
The Surprising Benefits of Walking Backwards
📬 Are you receiving the Members-Only Weekly Bulletin?
Our Club News and Member links are now on the Members Only ClubRunner Site and are emailed weekly as a Club Bulletin. Please make sure your email address is current on ClubRunner.
Members, be sure to read our Weekly Club Bulletin, which is sent separately to your email address from ClubRunner each Monday. In it, you will find updates and information about what our members are up to, club activities, projects, Happy Dollars, news from District 5170, and various ways you can support The Rotary Foundation. We also send your Dues notices using ClubRunner email.
Our Weekly Bulletin, sent every Monday, provides club information. To stay informed, please ensure your email is current on ClubRunner and add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your address book so it does not go into Spam.
Program: CARS: A Nonprofit for Nonprofits
Speaker: Howard Pearl
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
You've probably heard of its work, though you may not know the deeper story! CARS works with over 10,000 nonprofits and raises over $60 million a year in fundraising through turn-key vehicle and real estate donation programs.
Our speaker is Howard Pearl, the Chief Executive Officer of Charitable Adult Rides & Services (CARS), a national leader in vehicle donation programs for nonprofits. Pearl has over three decades of executive experience and a Harvard Business School education, and has worked with organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Ford Motor Company, and Revlon to implement transformative strategies.
Members and guests, please welcome Howard Pearl!
To learn more, go to:
https://careasy.org/home
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as many other platforms.
Our weekly podcast is now called:
Inspiring People — Stories of Innovation and Service
Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
Inspiring Women: Celebrating Trailblazers
Our newest podcast celebrates trailblazing women. It is available on Spotifyand Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
Upcoming program recording schedule
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
