MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – At its Spring Board meeting, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) voted to establish an industry grant program that will fund initiatives having the purpose of improving or advancing the collision and mechanical repair industries.

Acknowledging that there is no lack of good intentions and great ideas for projects that will enhance the industry, AASP determined the grant program will focus on providing the funding necessary to bring these ideas to reality. With the help of AASP dollars, industry members will realize the benefit of select programs and initiatives that might not otherwise have been implemented. Grant requests will be accepted through Oct. 8 and will be reviewed at the AASP Board of Directors meeting in November.

Also during the meeting, the board added two new offerings to its menu of member benefits.

AASP announced that “Help I Crashed My Car” – a digital marketing system that includes mobile phone apps and a complete customer service, sales, marketing, advertising and communication platform – will be available to all AASP affiliates and members as a special member benefit. Summit Mobile Solutions will offer members a special, discounted price for the “Help I Crashed My Car” subscription, allowing them to incorporate 21st century digital marketing tools into their marketing plan.

Mitchell International’s RepairCenter TechAdvisor Repair Standards module was also added to the AASP benefits arsenal. TechAdvisor provides collision technicians access to the critical OEM repair data and procedures they need to safely and properly restore today’s complex vehicles to pre-accident condition. AASP members will receive a 15 percent discount on TechAdvisor Repair Standards packages.

“These are great opportunities for our industry that can only be made possible by harnessing the total membership of our state affiliates,” said Rick Starbard, AASP president. “I look forward to hearing some of the ideas that the grant program brings about. I am also excited that we are now able to offer our collision members a national discount program on Mitchell International’s Tech Advisor program. This type of program has been used for many years by the mechanical industry through our long-standing relationship with Mitchell 1 and is very much in need for the collision industry. I am equally excited that we can offer our members a benefit that allows them to take advantage of the new smart phone application craze. This product will allow repairers to take control of the claim process from the scene of the accident before an insurer has an opportunity to steer the consumer.”

Held in San Diego, the meeting also included a tour of the headquarters of Mitchell 1 and Mitchell International.

For more information about the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers, visit http://www.autoserviceproviders.com/default.html.