Be a Piston Sponsor or Underwriter
Support Our Programs, Engage Your Customers and Your Community
The collector car industry needs more young technicians who can carry-on the trades of today’s rapidly retiring workforce. The Piston Foundation offers a unique opportunity for mission-aligned businesses and private foundations to support the education and training of aspiring technicians while serving the grassroots needs of their customers and communities.
There is a skilled labor shortage in the collector car industry.
1,425 job openings may go unfilled due to the lack of qualified technicians.
As a community of businesses and car enthusiasts, we need to work together to solve this problem.
The Piston Mission
Creating a Career Path into the Trades of the Collector Car Industry
The Piston Foundation is creating a career path that will bring more young people into the trades of the collector car industry. We provide trade school scholarships, support shops and aspiring technicians with apprenticeships, and advocate for skilled trade careers in automotive restoration.
The Piston Three-Step Career Path
STep 1
CarShow
Classroom
Career
Awareness
Step 2
Piston Fund Scholarships
Skilled Trade Education
Step 3
Piston Academy Apprenticeships
On-the-Job
Training
A lack of awareness, education, and job training prevent young car enthusiasts from making collector car restoration their career. Our programs help overcome these challenges and grow the skilled labor workforce.
Sponsorship Case Study
Bring a Trailer Charity Auction
To commemorate the milestone of their 100,00th listing, Bring a Trailer will auction a company-owned 1973 Datsun 240Z with 100% of the proceeds going to The Piston Foundation to support educational opportunities for the next generation of auto enthusiasts.
How You Can Support Our Mission
As a mission-aligned business or private foundation you can help create career opportunities for a new and diverse generation of collector car technicians by providing financial support to our education and training programs.
- Sponsor a Piston Scholar
- Sponsor an event or fundraiser
- Make an in-kind gift
- Make an underwriting gift
Your support will help the Piston Foundation support local auto restoration businesses through workforce development and create a sustainable future for the collector car community.
Become a Corporate Sponsor
Support our mission by funding scholars, events, and fundraisers.
Our Corporate Sponsor Program offers a unique opportunity for auto-related organizations to support the car enthusiast community by helping young people acquire the education and hands-on training to build a career in the collector car industry.
- Support our skilled trade education and training programs
- Help create a new and diverse generation of technicians
- Engage your employees and customers with values-driven giving
- Support the grassroot needs of the car community
- Sponsorship is tax deductible
If you have questions about becoming a sponsor, please contact us to request more information.
Become a Corporate Underwriter
Support our programs through grants and major gifts.
Our Corporate Underwriter Program offers businesses and private foundations the opportunity to have a significant impact on the lives of the students and apprentices we support, as well as the local businesses of the collector car industry that benefit from our workforce programs. Underwriting gifts are tax deductible.
The Piston Academy Underwriting Opportunity
The Piston Academy will be a national registered apprenticeship program in vehicle restoration that will create a sustainable career path into the trades of the collector car industry. The Academy will provide recruiting and placement of qualified apprentices, skills-based learning objectives, living-wage support, coaching and mentoring, and a certificate of completion. The Piston Academy will make earn-as-you-learn vehicle restoration apprenticeships economically viable for technicians and shops.
Launching The Piston Academy
- The launch of the Piston Academy will require $500,000 to initiate the phase one pilot program.
- We’re seeking ten corporate underwriters to make a commitment of $50,000 each.
If you have questions about becoming an underwriter, please contact us to request more information.
Financial Transparency
Launched in January of 2021, we are proud to have received a Gold Transparency seal from Guidestar in our first year of operations. Read our 2021 Annual Report and review our 2021 financial reporting.
From the Piston Blog
Brumos Ultimate Artists Book Auction Supports Piston Scholarships
We’re auctioning a one-of-a-kind artist edition of Sean Cridland’s book, “Brumos: An American Racing Icon.” The three-volume book set documents the famous Porsche racing team’s extensive 120-year history and features a hand-painted slipcase by motorsports artist Thiago Romero. This signed “author’s proof” will be a coveted collectible.
Piston Scholar Ethan Heck is Off to the Races
21-year-old Ethan Heck is a student at Lanier Technical College in Gainesville, Georgia, enrolled in the Motorsports Vehicle Technology program. While most recipients of the inaugural Piston Scholarships focus primarily on acquiring the skills to restore and/or work on classic and older cars, Ethan “stumbled across videos of stage rallying on the Internet,” at a young age and instantly knew he wanted to be a racing mechanic.
Piston Scholar Zoe Carmichael Loves Her Volkswagen
Zoe Carmichael, 27, is on the verge of turning her knack for repairing her beloved Volkswagen into a restoration profession. She is a non-traditional student at McPherson College and one of the inaugural recipients of the Piston Fund Scholarships in 2022 for students who wish to pursue hands-on careers in the collector car industry.
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