Donald Foss was the founder of Credit Acceptance Corporation, a billion-dollar company that focused around auto financing and credit lending. He made a plethora of charitable contributions throughout his lifetime, and below, the generous donations of Donald Foss are discussed.
Alongside many private and public donations, such as to the Challenge Detroit Foundation in 2012, Foss also set up two scholarships through Northwood University. Through his company, and his dealership CarRite, he also created the Car Dealers Care National Foundation in 2015.
Challenge Detroit Donation
In 2013, Foss made a donation to the Challenge Detroit Foundation of $500,000. This money allowed the non-profit to raise half of its running costs for 2 years in one fell swoop.
Challenge Detroit is focused on providing year-long grants to young people, helping to cover living costs, employment, and social opportunities. In turn, this will then lead to greater development of the downtown area of Detroit and provide new opportunities and growth for this new generation.
The organization is now in its 10th year of operation, and it was partly thanks to Donald’s seed funding donation that they were able to get off of the ground.
Car Dealers Care National Foundation
The Car Dealers Care National Foundation was set up by Foss in 2015. Partially a private fund, Foss also partnered the non-profit with his dealership network, CarRite.
Car Dealers Care National Foundation focuses on helping young people with health, well-being, and education. They have been able to pledge over $1 million to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, helping to provide care for children with life-threatening conditions and cancers.
The foundation has also set up its own scholarships and initiatives to help young people in education, following on his legacy and scholarship programs with Northwood University.
Scholarships
Donald Foss set up two scholarships in partnership with Northwood University in Michigan. In 1998, he founded the Donald Foss Annual Scholarship, and 17 years later followed up with the Donald Foss Endowed Scholarship in 2015.
These scholarships can be earned by students who are studying at the university who are interested in a career in the automotive industry.
Over the duration of both scholarships, over 630 students have been awarded the financial help they need through the program.
Credit Acceptance
Not only does his company, Credit Acceptance, provide a lifeline to those with bad credit scores, enabling them to be able to purchase vehicles, but it also has a strong ethos of supporting charitable organizations and social projects.
Employees are invited to join the Community Service Committee, where they can champion causes close to their hearts.
The company also donates to charities such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the National Hemophilia Foundation, fundraises for causes including supporting military families through t-shirt sales, and supporting young people in the community with donations of school supplies, toys, and winter coats.
It is clear that the giving nature of Donald Foss lives on through his company, past donations, and his charity foundation, helping young people, the people of Detroit, and many others across America.
