HEALING COMMUNITIES ONE ACT AT A TIME
With the Subaru Love Promise, the car company is taking a stand in an age of divisiveness.
Subaru of America President and CEO Tom Doll was on his way to a speaking engagement in 2013, thinking about the state of the company. It was holding its own against its 30 closest competitors. The brand had amassed a loyal customer base and developed a reputation for supporting causes important to Subaru drivers. Through programs like Share the Love, an annual event during which Subaru donates $250 per car purchased between mid-november and December 31 to various charities, the company has generated more than $118 million in donations between 2007 and 2017.
START WITH A GOAL
Doll began thinking about how Subaru could make a bigger difference in the world. He had often talked about the “human footprint”—the impact that people have on others’ lives through daily interactions. From their grocery store cashier to their boss, people can have a positive or negative effect on others; it's a choice. It was then he realized the tidal wave of love and positive impact the enormous network of Subaru retailers could put into motion nationwide. “The goal was to make every interaction with Subaru a positive one—not just in donations, but in actions rooted in love and respect that help the people in their communities,” Doll says. “We wanted to become a positive force in the communities where we live and work, simply because it is the right thing to do.” After a few meetings with team members, the Subaru Love Promise was born. The idea was simple: Empower the retailer network to get involved and do good works in their communities, helping people or causes in need. “We work in an industry where millions of dollars are spent like it’s nothing,” Doll says. “But you give these local, hometown charities $15,000 or $25,000, and to them that’s life-changing money. They're so efficient, and it really makes a difference."
LOVE IN ACTION
The results are remarkable. In June 2018, the team at Subaru of Bend, in Bend, Oregon, raised nearly $42,000 to support Grandma’s HOuse of Central Oregon. This shelter gives homeless and transitional pregnant women and mothers with young children a safe place to live. In addition to the funds, owners, managers, sales staff, and customers showered the mothers, babies, and children with gifts. In February 2018, when the team at North End Subaru of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, found out that nearby Sterling Animal Shelter was going to receive more than 200 pets in one week, they took action immediately. After getting a list of needs from the shelter’s manager, employees and customers filled two Subaru Foresters with supplies for the pets in need. The dealership remains a drop-off center for supplies that are donated to the shelter and new pet owners. In addition to supporting charities that address environmental issues, education, pets, healthcare, and their communities, Subaru retailers are making a difference in individual lives. One of Doll’s favorite stories is about a young man in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who was part of a group that vandalized some of the cars at Schulte Subaru. Video surveillance helped the police to find the group. The retail location owner's compassion led him to offer one of them a job. Today, the young man remains a valued employee. “That’s the Subaru Love Promise in action,” Doll says. “The most surprising thing to me is that we’ve taken a business that is about selling and turned it into a business where we pride ourselves on giving. Our retailers are actively looking for ways to make their communities better. And once you start doing that, it’s hard to stop.”