All businesses must maintain proper public relations programs to stay in good standing in the community. Retail Shopping Centers are no exception and it is paramount that they stay involved and figure out ways to create interest and support for their place in the town. One way to promote your shopping center is to allow a non-profit group to hold a car wash fundraiser on the property and to help in its promotion.

For instance lets you have a parking structure or lot where there is shopping, you maybe able to help the storeowners with more business with a steady flow of cars on perhaps a non-payday weekend? You can put together a grab bag for patrons of the fundraiser with coupons from these shops.

Some restaurants may also want to get involve giving 10% of proceeds for all those people who eat and mention the non-profit groups name that day. The more people you get involved through your network of contacts the bigger and better it will get. You should also note that if your shopping center is an advertiser of the newspaper, the paper will send a reporter out to cover the story. If there is no real big news that day, the fundraiser will end up on the front page. You cannot buy publicity this good. Think on this in 2006.