Subaru Customers Redeem 141,184 Gifts—Each One Supports a Cause

One year ago, we asked a simple question with Subaru of America: What if a customer appreciation moment could also be a community impact moment?

Today, we have the answer—and it's bigger than either of us expected.

Here's the backstory. Subaru's Love-Encore program is one of the most thoughtful touchpoints in the auto industry. Every new Subaru owner is invited back to their retailer 14 to 45 days after purchase for a one-on-one session with a delivery specialist—no upsell, just a chance to get comfortable with their vehicle and ask questions. It's the kind of thing that earns loyalty for life.

But the incentive to come back? A gas gift card. Functional, sure. On-brand for a company guided by the Subaru Love Promise? Not quite.

Subaru wanted something that felt like them—values-driven, measurable, and meaningful to the kind of people who buy Subarus. People who care about giving back, ethical products, pets, and the outdoors. That's when they reached out to us.

Working closely with Jacob Flagg, Subaru's National Owner Education Training Manager, we designed a gifting experience on our GIFTforward platform that gives every returning customer a choice: select a mission-aligned physical gift or direct the gift's value to a cause they care about.

The physical options were designed specifically for the Subaru customer. Think mobile chargers, outdoor tote bags, pet bandanas (with matching owner bandanas—because nearly 50% of Subaru owners have pets), and a Subaru wooden keychain that comes with the exact coordinates of a tree planted in the customer's honor. Every item is ethically sourced, and every one comes with a story card so the customer knows exactly what impact their selection made.

The charitable options map directly to Subaru's Love Promise pillars—Subaru Loves to Help, Subaru Loves the Earth, Subaru Loves to Care, Subaru Loves Learning, and Subaru Loves Pets. Instead of a vague dollar amount, customers fund specific outcomes: eight months of school supplies for a child in need, six rides to treatment for a cancer patient, hours of care for a rescue animal waiting for a forever home.

We piloted the program in two U.S. regions over five months—one underperforming, one top-performing—to pressure-test everything from customer preferences to redemption patterns. It worked. Subaru launched nationally on March 1, 2025.

In the first 12 months, Subaru customers redeemed 141,184 gifts. Half of those—50%—were directed as charitable contributions. That's not a rounding error. That's a clear signal: when you give people the chance to turn a thank-you into something bigger, they take it.

Here's what those choices added up to: 54,213 rides to treatment for cancer patients, 594,188 hours of care for rescue animals across America (that's about 68 years), 13,669 U.S. students supplied with a year of school supplies, eight tons of e-waste potentially diverted from landfills, 8,368 trees planted through reforestation projects, 11,580 meals provided to people facing food insecurity, and 8,806 blankets provided to children entering foster care.

And then there were the thank-you notes. Over 34,075 Subaru customers sent personal messages back through the platform—notes like this one: "As animal lovers, it means a lot to know our contribution can help provide care, comfort, and a second chance for a pet in need. Please keep up the amazing work—you're making a real difference."

That kind of response doesn't come from a gas card.

The impact numbers tell one story. The operational innovation tells another.

Packaging that comes back: 

Our Chief Impact Officer, Jenise Steverding, discovered Boox, a reusable mailer bag concept through the B Corp community and brought it to the Subaru program. Every physical gift ships in a branded, resealable bag with a prepaid return label built into the design. Customers receive their gift, refold the bag, and drop it into any USPS mailbox. Subaru became the first major national brand to implement this system—a natural fit for their "Loves the Earth" pillar and their environmentally conscious customer base.

A custom tech solution so no one gets left behind:

Not every customer has a reliable email address. So we collaborated with Subaru's IT team to build a VIN-based eligibility validation system right at the retailer. When a customer finishes their Love-Encore visit, their delivery specialist can guide them through the gifting experience on the spot. No inbox required.

Fulfillment with purpose: 

Many physical gifts for the program are picked and packed in partnership with Goodwill Southern California, providing dignified employment for individuals overcoming barriers to work—including those without housing or emerging from incarceration. Beverly (pictured below,left) was hired in October 2024 by Goodwill, specifically to manage the fulfillment of Subaru's Love-Encore gifts in Gifts for Good's warehouse at Goodwill Southern California's facility.

Beverly (left) with Gifts for Good CEO Laura Hertz

Tim Tagye, Vice President of Field and Distributor Operations at Subaru of America, put it this way: "Gifts for Good understands the intersection of upholding our brand values and our commitment to the customer experience. At Subaru, we look for partners who view impact and engagement as fundamentally linked, and the Gifts for Good platform meaningfully extends the Subaru experience beyond the showroom, creating a lasting impression throughout the ownership journey."

Our CEO, Laura Hertz, has said from the start that Subaru was the brand she always dreamed of working with. "They don't just say they want to do good; they live their values through and through." The Year 1 results bear that out. A customer experience moment became a community impact moment—scaled nationally across roughly 640 retailers.

The cause partners who made this possible—Best Friends Animal Society, Kids In Need Foundation, Comfort Cases, and others—deserve recognition too. As Corey Gordon, CEO of Kids In Need Foundation, shared: "Essential resources are going directly into the hands of students and teachers who need them most. We're proud to be part of this shared effort."

Year 1 proved the model. A well-designed gifting program doesn't just say thank you—it creates measurable impact for people, animals, and the environment while deepening the relationship between a brand and its customers.

Now we build on it.

To learn more about the Subaru Love-Encore gifting program, visit giftsforgood.com/subaru.

You can also read Subaru's official press release marking our 1 year milestone.

And if you're wondering what a purpose-driven gifting program could look like for your organization, let's talk.