On the first Saturday of each month, members of the car club Motorists of Birmingham In Nice Cars, or MOB INC, gather at 40 Inverness Parkway to show off their vehicles’ horsepower and sleek design and to talk shop with other car enthusiasts.
But MOB INC isn’t just about fast and fancy cars.
“Most importantly, we are for philanthropy,” said club president and co-founder Tom Fisher.
That’s why the club established a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) through the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. After setting up a DAF, donors can be directly involved with grantmaking by serving as fund advisors and recommending grants from their funds to their favorite charities.
“It was easier than starting a 501c3,” Fisher explained, adding that the friendliness of the staff at the Community Foundation helped smooth the road to setting up the fund. MOB INC sponsors can make tax deductible donations to the group’s DAF. MOB INC raises funds through events and sponsorships and then, through its DAF, can contribute to the causes the group cares about most.
With 88 members, 56 sponsors, and events that draw up to 600 cars and 2,000 people, MOB INC is well-equipped to make an impact.
The Road to the New MOB INC
MOB INC first launched 22 years ago as Men of Birmingham in Nice Cars.
“Then we had some ladies join and we turned it over to Many of Birmingham in Nice Cars,” Fisher said. The group grew in numbers and notoriety, known for high-end muscle cars and exotic vehicles.
“Everybody that was in the car clubs knew MOB INC,” Fisher said.
After several years, the club began to stall, but fond memories of the group drove Fisher and others to rev things up again.
“MOB INC was still a car community name,” Fisher said.
In 2024, the group shifted gears with a rebrand, speeding back onto the car club scene with a new name: Motorists of Birmingham in Nice Cars. In just one year, MOB INC has repositioned itself as Birmingham’s premier car community and the largest car club in Alabama. In addition to Fisher as president, the MOB INC board includes Rob Conrad, director of media relations, Philipp Jahn, social media marketing director, Scott Pierce, vice president and treasurer, and Randall Rysedorph, director of operations.
MOB INC hosts monthly meetups and additional events throughout the year. Though the cars cruising up to these events boast brand names like Porsche, Maserati, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, Fisher stresses that MOB INC is open to all.
“I don’t care if you’ve got a wheelbarrow with mags, bring it,” he said.
For Fisher, MOB INC is as much about community and camaraderie as it is about cars.
“People love to come out and see the cars and the coolest thing is when the young kids, the teenagers ask, ‘What did you do? How did you do it? How did you build this? How did you achieve this?’” Fisher said. “I grew up on food stamps and welfare in Cleveland, Ohio, where I had nothing, and my mother worked two jobs. But I built my metal processing company over 28 years to be successful, and I sold it two years ago.”
Coming to a MOB INC event is an opportunity to network with engaged citizens like Fisher – for young people, these interactions can show them what is possible in their own lives. And by contributing through its DAF, MOB INC is making good things possible for the entire community.
Learn more at mobincbham.com or make a gift online.