When Columbus's auto show paused, the Ohio Auto Dealers Association didn't let its charitable component die with it. They built a public concert instead, and it's become a model any association, or any single store, can learn from.
The Ohio Auto Dealers Association used to run a private charity gala alongside its Columbus Auto Show. When the show paused a couple of years ago, the dealers made one thing clear to Association President Zach Dorn: they still wanted the charitable piece to continue.
The answer was Concert for a Cause, now in its second year, a public country concert benefiting Canine Companions and Charity Newsies, with real headline talent, Chris Young, Chase Rice, and Trey Penley, artists playing it as an actual tour stop, not a favor.
The dealers are so ingrained in the community that they have an incredible network of peers and of people that they know, and of the groups that they support.
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From Private Gala to Public Concert: Why the Format Had to Change
A private industry gala only reaches people who already know the industry. Dorn's association wanted something bigger: an event that reached the actual public, attached dealers' names to something they'd genuinely want to attend, and made the industry's community investment visible instead of assumed.
The Lineup, the Charities, and the Numbers Behind Concert for a Cause
This year's show is set for August 8 in Columbus, supporting Canine Companions and Charity Newsies, which clothes children in need. Tickets are available to the general public through standard ticketing channels, alongside a VIP industry track for dealers and partners who want to get more directly involved.
Why Dealers Are Bad at Talking About Their Own Generosity
Here's the pattern Dorn named directly, from the inside of the industry he represents.
The dealers, for as good as they are at marketing their brands and themselves and their franchises, a lot of them take a step back and take a pause with respect to the philanthropic activity that they've participated in.
That humility is admirable and also a real cost. When dealers make news, it's rarely for the good they've done. Dorn's association fills that gap deliberately, including a quarterly, roughly 35-page publication documenting dealer philanthropy across the state, sent to every legislator and every dealer, specifically so the work doesn't stay invisible.
Try This at Home: What This Looks Like Without a Concert Budget
You don't need a country concert or a state association budget to apply the actual idea here. The concept scales down cleanly:
Pick one thing your store already does quietly, and say it out loud once. A sponsorship, a donation, a team volunteer day, whatever it is, post about it, put it in your own customer newsletter, or mention it at your next team meeting. The goal isn't a press release. It's just not letting the humility erase the fact that it happened.
Put your team's names on it, not just the store's. Part of what made Columbus's event land was turning brands into people. The same works at one store: let the customer see who volunteered, who organized the drive, who showed up.
Ask one question differently. Paul's team plans to ask concert attendees what they think of car dealers, expecting the honest answer to be about a person, not a brand. Try asking your own customers a version of that question after a good service visit or a good deal.
A Playbook Other Associations Can Actually Copy
Dorn's advice for other state associations watching this succeed: the format doesn't have to be a concert. What works in Columbus might not work in Milwaukee. The transferable part isn't the artist lineup, it's the decision to make dealer generosity visible on purpose, rather than assuming it speaks for itself.
I hope that people have fun. I hope that we raise a lot of money for charity. I hope that our dealers want a year three.
What This Means for Your Store
Whether you're a single dealership or run a state association, the lesson is the same size problem at different scale: the giving is very likely already happening. The only real gap is whether anyone outside your own walls ever hears about it.
