It all started with a Toyota long-bed truck.
In 1981, that vehicle was Southeast Toyota Finance’s (SETF) first lease contract. Newly settled in Hollywood, Florida; we were a fledgling company with just two associates. But forty years later, we’ve expanded into an organization that’s helped more than 4 million customers lease or own their very own Toyota — and we’re sharing that prosperity with our local communities.
On Nov. 14, SETF donated $40,000 to food banks near each of our company’s three locations: Deerfield Beach, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and St. Louis, Missouri. Our corporate culture drove these donations, which showcases a long history of building stronger communities by partnering with nonprofits.
SETF chose foodbank donations at this time because the impact of COVID-19 has been swift and unprecedented. We know there is a great need to help combat food insecurity in the communities where our associates, and our customers, live and work.
In 1981, that vehicle was Southeast Toyota Finance’s (SETF) first lease contract. Newly settled in Hollywood, Florida; we were a fledgling company with just two associates. But forty years later, we’ve expanded into an organization that’s helped more than 4 million customers lease or own their very own Toyota — and we’re sharing that prosperity with our local communities.
On Nov. 14, SETF donated $40,000 to food banks near each of our company’s three locations: Deerfield Beach, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and St. Louis, Missouri. Our corporate culture drove these donations, which showcases a long history of building stronger communities by partnering with nonprofits.
SETF chose foodbank donations at this time because the impact of COVID-19 has been swift and unprecedented. We know there is a great need to help combat food insecurity in the communities where our associates, and our customers, live and work.
16 years of feeding the hungry
SETF and our parent company, JM Family Enterprises, have a long-standing history of donations and volunteerism at food banks. JM Family has contributed more than $740,000 to food banks affiliated with Feeding America in each of our business locations, from the Atlanta Community Food Bank to Feeding South Florida, since 2005. Our associates have almost matched that number, raising more than $640,000 since just 2015.
Two associates help sort food at the St. Louis Area Foodbank in March 2020 (pre-pandemic).
The food banks we donated to for our 40th anniversary have had extraordinary impacts on the communities where they operate. Feeding South Florida has distributed more than 145 million meals, working with more than 300 local nonprofits to get the job done. Feeding the Gulf Coast provides food to the 1 in 5 hungry individuals in its area, while the St. Louis Area Foodbank helps families in 26 counties across Missouri and Illinois.
It’s not just individual food banks that JM Family has supported — it’s Feeding America itself, too. Near the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020, JM Family broke records by raising nearly $230,000 for the nonprofit in just a week through Ed’s Hair Color Challenge. In this contest, associates and community partners could donate to vote on what color Ed Sheehy, president of our sister company Southeast Toyota Distributors, dyed his hair.
“You all rallied incredibly around this cause,” Sheehy said. “That’s the power of JM Family.”
It’s not just individual food banks that JM Family has supported — it’s Feeding America itself, too. Near the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020, JM Family broke records by raising nearly $230,000 for the nonprofit in just a week through Ed’s Hair Color Challenge. In this contest, associates and community partners could donate to vote on what color Ed Sheehy, president of our sister company Southeast Toyota Distributors, dyed his hair.
“You all rallied incredibly around this cause,” Sheehy said. “That’s the power of JM Family.”
“We’ll never forget how it all began, and we’ll never forget to take care of the communities that helped us get here.”
40 years of Southeast Toyota Finance
Four decades ago, SETF made history by becoming the country’s first captive auto finance company for an import carmaker. JM Family Enterprises, our parent company, designed us to provide affordable interest rates for dealers and customers alike in our Southeastern region of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Our story began in 1981 with the lease of a long-bed truck at Toyota of Hollywood, Florida.
Under the name World Omni Financial Corp, we were a small office at the time — but it didn’t take long to expand. We opened the World Omni Customer Service Center in Mobile, Alabama, in 1991. Just seven years later, we introduced the National Customer Service Center in St. Louis, Missouri. By then, we were operating under the name Southeast Toyota Finance.
With three locations under our belt, the achievements kept coming. We sold our millionth contract by 2001, then the second millionth by 2011, third millionth by 2016, and fourth millionth by 2020. Most recently, in 2018, J.D. Power and Associates ranked us No. 1 for consumer financing satisfaction in the mass market.
These days, our more than 750 associates provide services to 177 Toyota dealers and their customers in the Southeast United States. But we’ll never forget how it all began, and we’ll never forget to take care of the communities that helped us get here.
With three locations under our belt, the achievements kept coming. We sold our millionth contract by 2001, then the second millionth by 2011, third millionth by 2016, and fourth millionth by 2020. Most recently, in 2018, J.D. Power and Associates ranked us No. 1 for consumer financing satisfaction in the mass market.
These days, our more than 750 associates provide services to 177 Toyota dealers and their customers in the Southeast United States. But we’ll never forget how it all began, and we’ll never forget to take care of the communities that helped us get here.