Flying Ace Express Car Wash is offering $50 gift cards for $25 at its new Dayton location, with sale proceeds going to Crayons to Classrooms. The offer accompanies the September 18 opening. [S02]

The store at 2916 Linden Avenue is also offering free signature washes from September 18 to 27 and an introductory membership discount. The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce listed the September 18 opening and the charity-linked offers. These are separate ways to bring motorists to a newly opened location. [S02]

A regional brand inside a larger operator

The new site is Flying Ace’s 21st. Parent Express Wash Concepts reported 143 washes across six states. Founder and CEO John Roush identified Greater Dayton and Cincinnati as continuing growth markets. [S01]

Flying Ace began in Washington Township, Ohio, in 2015. Express Wash Concepts was formed in 2018 following investment from Wildcat Capital Management, bringing regional wash brands into a common group. The business combines individual wash purchases with its Wash Smart Unlimited Club subscription offer. That structure makes both first visits and continued use commercially important. [S03] [S04]

What the gift card changes about the promotion

The card gives the opening offer a life beyond the first visit. A buyer can retain the washing value or give it to someone else, creating an opportunity for a later service visit. That is our analysis of the promotional mechanism; the company has not reported how many recipients become regular customers.

Cards work at Flying Ace and participating Express Wash Concepts locations. The company does not guarantee acceptance across its entire estate. Wider redemption gives recipients options beyond the new branch. [S01]

A $25 purchase buys $50 of service value. Under the advertised all-proceeds arrangement, that purchase contributes $25 to the charity. Face value is different from both the cash donation and the operator’s undisclosed cost of providing washes. [S01]

Why subscriptions sit beside the charity offer

A separate promotion donates $10 to Crayons to Classrooms for each new membership bought during the celebration. The top membership package is discounted by half for the first three months. The nonprofit supplies classroom materials without charge to teachers serving students in need. [S02]

For the operator, a membership can extend the relationship beyond an opening-day promotion. The introductory price reduces the initial cost of trying it, while the charity contribution gives the purchase a local beneficiary. Continued membership after the discount period would be the commercial payoff, but no retention results or membership targets are disclosed.

This combination has a history within the group. An earlier company report described ten-day opening celebrations tied to local fundraising and said it donated more than $490,000 to community organisations during 2022. That is historical background to the current approach, not the amount raised by the Dayton opening. [S04]

No final donation figure or card-sales total is yet disclosed. The commercial result will depend on recipients returning after the opening offers expire.