Marty Schwartz
Martin Schwartz, founder of Vehicles for Change, 2007 Social Entrepreneur Winner.
Schwartz founded Elkridge-based Freedom Wheels in January 2005. The used-car dealer raises funds to support the nonprofit group Vehicles for Change, which awards affordable cars to low-income families. Last year, Freedom Wheels took in about $900,000 in revenues to bolster the charity group’s budget. That funding is expected to more than double this year. Schwartz began his venture in 1999 with the nonprofit Vehicles for Change. The company takes donated cars, improves them, provides a warranty and sells them at a discount. Qualified applicants are guaranteed a loan, regardless of their credit history. Payments on the one-year loans range from about $85 to $99 per month. Vehicles for Change has awarded more than 2,500 cars, changing the lives of more than 7,500 recipients by enabling them to get better jobs that require reliable transportation. Nearly three-quarters have been able to move up, boosting their personal income by an average of $4,560 annually. Users of the service not only report more independence and less stress because they have better jobs, but they also are able to improve the educational lives of their children by sending them to tutors, better schools or extracurricular activities. Freedom Wheels operates similarly to Vehicles for Change, but there are no income or need qualifiers for cars purchased there. Schwartz's success has garnered attention from policy experts. He was selected to be a program planner for the 2005 Low-Income Car Ownership Practice and Policy Convening, and the Brookings Institute asked him to participate in a study of car ownership programs. He currently serves on a committee to establish a national association of Low-Income Car Ownership programs.