Blue Car Rental believes success is most meaningful when it is shared. As a company built and grown in Iceland, we want to give back to the community that has supported us and use our success to create opportunities for people who may otherwise have fewer of them.
That purpose guides our work through Góðgerðarfest, a charity festival that has raised more than ISK 106 million, as well as long-term sports sponsorships and direct grants across the Reykjanes Peninsula and beyond. The support reaches people and organisations that need it most, including children, people with disabilities and community services working to improve their everyday lives.
Blue Car Rental may be best known internationally as Iceland's largest local car rental company, but being local here means much more than knowing Iceland's roads. It means taking responsibility for the place we call home, helping others move forward and contributing to a stronger community in which more people have the opportunity to participate.
Community support is part of who we are
Blue Car Rental was founded in Iceland in 2010 and has its roots in Keflavík, on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
Our employees live here. Their children attend local schools and participate in local sports. The people behind the charities, clubs and community organisations we support are our neighbours, friends and families.
This connection has shaped Blue from the beginning. The community helped create the conditions in which our company could grow, and we believe that growth carries a responsibility to give something meaningful back.
For us, giving back means sharing our success. It means helping organisations build stronger services, opening doors for children and families, and supporting people whose circumstances may limit the opportunities available to them. The aim is not simply to make donations, but to help create lasting opportunities and a more inclusive community.
As the company has grown, so has its ability to contribute. Today, Blue supports numerous community projects and sports organisations, both in its home region and elsewhere in Iceland.
The initiatives take different forms, but they are connected by the same purpose: to stand with people who need support, help remove barriers and create more opportunities to participate in community life.
Blue Cares: creating opportunities for people with additional support needs
A central part of Blue's community work is Blue Cares. The programme focuses on people with disabilities and others with additional support needs in the local community.
This is a heartfelt and long-term commitment. Blue has worked with Hæfingarstöðin in Reykjanesbær for years, supporting its work to strengthen individual skills, independence and participation among people who use its services.
The partnership shows what meaningful support can look like in practice. Previous projects have included funding a specially designed chair for children with autism, providing an adaptive saddle so people with mobility impairments could experience horse riding, and creating opportunities for members of the community to enjoy major concerts and shared events.
Blue also hosts the annual Blue Cares Day, when friends from Hæfingarstöðin visit Blue Car Rental. It has become a highlight for both communities—not simply because of what is provided, but because of the relationships, inclusion and shared experiences it creates.
The aim is not to define people by what they need help with. It is to help create the conditions in which more people can take part, develop their abilities, experience new things and feel that they belong.
Góðgerðarfest: a local idea creating national impact
Góðgerðarfest Blue is an Oktoberfest-inspired charity festival created by Blue Car Rental.
Its original idea was simple: bring together companies and individuals who want to make a difference, then direct their combined effort towards people and projects that need support. By sharing resources and success, the festival helps create opportunities that would not otherwise exist.
What began as a local idea has grown into one of Blue's largest community initiatives and one of Iceland's most ambitious community-led charity events.
Góðgerðarfest is an evening of music, food and celebration, but its purpose reaches far beyond a single night.
The festival raises funds for charities, services and community projects. Particular attention is given to initiatives supporting children, people with disabilities and others with additional support needs, as well as families, schools and organisations working to reduce barriers and strengthen their communities.
The purpose is to help build a society where a person's circumstances do not determine whether they can participate, develop or belong. Most importantly, every króna raised is passed directly to the selected causes, so the collective generosity of the festival becomes practical support for people in need.
More than ISK 106 million raised for good causes
By the end of 2025, Góðgerðarfest had raised more than ISK 106 million for Icelandic charities and community projects.
The 2025 Góðgerðarfest broke previous fundraising records. More than 100 companies and individuals contributed, helping raise over ISK 30 million for 25 organisations and projects.
Blue received more than 60 funding applications that year. The selected recipients included Hæfingarstöðin, the NES sports association, Minningarsjóður Ölla, Ösp, specialised primary-school services and programmes supporting older people.
Independent Icelandic media coverage also reported on the record collection and the distribution of funding to 25 different causes.
The numbers are significant, but the real impact can be found in the people behind them: children being given more opportunities to learn, play and participate; people with disabilities receiving better support and access; families reaching important services; and community organisations gaining the resources to continue their work.
This is why Blue created Góðgerðarfest. Fundraising is the method, but greater equality of opportunity is the goal.
As Blue Car Rental CEO Magnús Sverrir Þorsteinsson explained:
“Góðgerðarfest is not only a celebration. It is the result of a shared effort that delivers real improvements in the Reykjanes Peninsula and beyond.”
Every contribution goes where it matters
Trust is central to Góðgerðarfest.
Every króna raised is allocated directly to the organisations and projects selected to receive support. No part of the collection is held back from the chosen causes. The festival succeeds because companies, individuals, Blue employees and volunteers all contribute their time, resources and enthusiasm.
Blue employees also visit supported organisations, meet the people behind their work and see how the funding creates change in everyday life.
Following the 2025 allocations, Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson of Blue Car Rental said:
“We are incredibly proud of this festival. It is wonderful to support these projects and see their impact with our own eyes. Every króna matters to these organisations.”
The festival continues to grow because it belongs to more than one company. Its strength comes from bringing an entire community together around a shared purpose.
In a September 2026 interview on FM957's morning programme Brennslan, Þorsteinn said that approximately ISK 32 million had been raised at the previous festival, taking the cumulative total above ISK 106 million. He also shared the next ambition: raising ISK 40 million in a single year.
It is a bold goal, but Góðgerðarfest has always demonstrated what is possible when people work together.
Góðgerðarfest by the numbers
The table below summarises how fundraising has grown and how funds are distributed.
| Milestone | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total raised by end of 2025 | More than ISK 106 million |
| 2025 festival total | Over ISK 30 million |
| 2025 recipient organisations | 25 |
| Applications received in 2025 | More than 60 |
| Companies and individuals contributing (2025) | More than 100 |
| Next stated target | ISK 40 million in a single year |
| Fund distribution policy | 100% to selected causes |
Building stronger communities through sport
Blue's community support also extends across Icelandic sport, particularly in the Reykjanes Peninsula.
Sports clubs have an essential role in Icelandic communities. They give children a place to develop confidence, discipline and friendships. They bring families together, support physical and mental well-being and create opportunities for people of different ages and backgrounds.
Much of this work depends on volunteers and dependable local partners.
That is why supporting sport is about much more than sponsoring the teams competing at the highest level. It is an investment in young people, families and the future of the community. Strong grassroots programmes can give children structure, friendship, confidence and a place to belong, regardless of their background.
The blue palace in Keflavík
In Keflavík, the home venue of the town's successful basketball teams is known as Blue-höllin, or “the Blue Palace.”
The name is now a familiar part of Iceland's basketball landscape. It represents Blue's close connection with Keflavík basketball and the company's broader support for local sport.
Blue-höllin regularly hosts some of Iceland's most important basketball games, including fixtures in the country's top women's and men's competitions. Icelandic basketball publication Karfan refers to the venue by its Blue-höllin name in its match coverage.
For the local community, however, the venue is about more than major games. It is a place where children practise, volunteers contribute their time, families meet and generations of supporters come together.
A record partnership with Keflavík football
Blue Car Rental is also the principal sponsor of Keflavík's football department.
In 2025, Blue and the club renewed their long-standing partnership with the largest sponsorship agreement in the football department's history.
The partnership supports the entire department. Blue's branding appears on the shirts of teams ranging from the youngest players to the senior women's and men's squads.
For Blue's owners, brothers Magnús Sverrir and Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson, this involvement has a personal connection to their hometown:
“As proud people of Keflavík, we do not see this simply as advertising, but as a genuine and important community partnership.”
They added that supporting strong sports programmes in the Reykjanes Peninsula is close to their hearts and an important way for Blue to create a positive local impact.
Böðvar Jónsson, chairman of Keflavík's football department, has described Blue's support as invaluable and extending far beyond football:
“Blue Car Rental is not only our sponsor, but also a strong supporter of the wider sports movement and numerous community projects.”
This is what meaningful sports sponsorship should achieve: more opportunities for young people, stronger grassroots programmes and healthier, more connected communities.
Support that strengthens everyday community life
Giving back is not limited to one festival or one type of partnership. Blue also supports the shared experiences, cultural events and inclusive activities that bring communities together throughout the year.
In April 2025, Blue organised an Easter celebration with Hæfingarstöðin. Icelandic musician Patrik Atlason, known as Prettyboitjokkó, performed for guests, while Easter eggs and time together created a joyful occasion for the people using the centre, its staff and Blue employees. The event was another expression of a partnership built through years of shared projects and personal connection.
Blue also supports the cultural life of its home region. In 2026, the company became a Ljósberi of Ljósanótt for the second consecutive year. Ljósanótt is one of Reykjanesbær's largest community festivals, celebrating the creativity, energy and togetherness of the region. Supporting it matters to Blue because many employees live in the area and experience the festival with their own families and friends.
The commitment also reaches people across generations. Blue sponsored the 2024 UMFÍ National Games for people aged 50 and over when the event was held in Vogar. The programme included Strandarhlaup Blue, an open running event in which people both under and over 50 could participate.
These projects may look different from one another, but their outcome is connected. They create places to meet, reasons to participate and opportunities to belong. Together with Blue Cares, sports partnerships and Góðgerðarfest, they show that community support is an ongoing relationship rather than a once-a-year contribution.
Local roots with an impact across Iceland
Blue Car Rental began in Keflavík and remains deeply connected to the Reykjanes Peninsula. However, the impact of its community work now reaches much further.
Góðgerðarfest supports organisations and projects across Iceland. Sports partnerships benefit hundreds of young athletes and their families. Direct grants help smaller organisations turn valuable ideas into practical action.
Growth has made this increasing level of support possible, but it has not changed the principle behind it: when Blue succeeds, we want that success to benefit more people than the company alone.
We believe that a successful local company should contribute to the society that helped it succeed. It should support the people doing important work, help remove barriers for those with fewer opportunities and use its platform to encourage others to participate.
Giving back is how we share our success. Creating opportunities is how that support can continue to make a difference long after a donation has been made.
What being a local company means to Blue
International visitors often first meet Blue Car Rental when they arrive at Keflavík Airport. They may choose Blue because they want a reliable vehicle, an easy rental experience or advice from people who understand Iceland, whether that means navigating the Ring Road or understanding which routes require a 4x4 on F roads.
Behind that service is a company with deep roots in the community just beyond the airport.
Choosing Blue means choosing an Icelandic company that employs local people, works with Icelandic organisations and shares part of its success with the society around it.
It means supporting a business that wants tourism to create value not only for the people who visit Iceland, but also for the people who call it home—especially children, people with disabilities and others who may need additional support to access the same opportunities.
We are proud to help travellers discover Iceland. We are equally proud to support the communities that make this country such a special place.
Because being local is not simply where Blue Car Rental comes from.
It is a commitment to give back, share success and help create equal opportunities for those who need them most.
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