The Road to a Rusty Starts Here
Another year, another group of stations taking home public media’s most coveted hardware. Congratulations to this year’s Rusty Hubcap Award winners! Your creativity, commitment, and vehicle donation success earned you a well-deserved place in Rusty history.
Feeling inspired to get your station’s name on a Rusty next year? A few years ago, our very own Bianca Barlas shared four tips for getting your vehicle donation program into fighting shape—and the advice still holds strong today. Not surprising given Bianca’s expertise and over a decade of experience in public media vehicle donations!
Read on for Bianca’s four tips for getting your station in the running to win a Rusty next year.
1. Set a specific vehicle donation goal for your station.
Stations that set goals around their program tend to outperform those who let it idle. Don’t worry – we’ll take care of the heavy lifting! With a simple calculation using your AQH, we can identify your station’s vehicle donation program potential. Schedule a quick 10-minute call with us to get you up to speed and on your way
2. Optimize year-end giving trends.
It’s estimated that 33% of all annual giving happens in the last month of the year. Through previous CARS surveys, we’ve discovered that an average vehicle donor takes about 30 days to begin the donation process after hearing about it as an option. You can create awareness around your program in October (Cartober anyone?) to attract more year-end support. We’ve found that upping the frequency of your on-air spots is the best way to receive more donations.
3. Don’t ask for clunkers.
With more than 1,000 marketing assets available in the Content Portal, including messaging that helps you target classic cars, we’ve got you covered. CARS also provides a number of ready-to-use toolkits throughout the year to promote your program. Our year-end toolkit for 2026 will be released soon!
4. Get on our radar!
Let us know if your station is engaged and in the race! Share the creative strategies your team uses to build awareness around your vehicle donation program, from memorable on-air spots and digital campaigns to events, donor stories, and other ideas that have helped drive results. The Rustys celebrate more than just donation numbers: we want to recognize the stations finding creative ways to keep vehicle donation top of mind with their audiences. If your team is trying something new or seeing success, make sure your CARS account manager knows about it!
Ready to make your run for a Rusty?
At the end of the day, the best path to a Rusty is also the best path to a stronger vehicle donation program: set a goal, promote consistently, ask for vehicles of all kinds, and keep us in the loop along the way. Your CARS team is here to help you put these tips into action, find new opportunities, and make the most of your program.
Again, congratulations to this year’s winners, and good luck to next year’s Rusty Hubcap contenders!