Car Donation Expert Site

Reasons To Donate A Car

Altruism is perhaps the hardest thing to do in this materialistic world. For example, donating a car to the Salvation Army, or any charitable organization for that matter can lead to numerous benefits to their causes, but is something that is fairly hard to do. Aside from the usual tug-of-war between the self and selflessness, car donations in general are rigged with politics and too much bureaucracy that individuals find it easier to not do it anymore.

Most people are familiar with donating clothes and other unused items from home to the Salvation Army or the local homeless shelter. There is no better way to get of old and unused stuff than to donate them, especially if you also want to help the community while decluttering your garage. However, there is an even better way to de-clutter your garage in one go and help many people in need, and that is to donate a car.

Many homeowners are dealing with the problem of an old or non-running automobile that sits idly in the backyard or the garage, taking up space with nowhere to go. In most cases, these cars rust and eventually break down over the years until they become scrap pieces of metal. Even then, most homeowners cannot find time to call the local junk shop and have these scrap pieces of metal hauled out.

Why Donate Your Car?

If you have no more use for your car and you have no time to place an ad and resell your car yourself, most charities will be doing you a huge favor in taking your car off your hands. All it takes is one call and most organizations, like Mother Waddles, will gladly come over and tow your car away, giving you a donation receipt in return. The best thing about donating to these charitable organizations is that you know your car is going to be used for a good cause. Charitable organizations thrive on donations to continue their work, which includes  holding feeding drives, setting up soup kitchens for the homeless, handing out clothing, as well as setting up homeless  shelters for those who live in the streets. Without donations like yours, these organizations will have a hard time financing their causes and some may even eventually close down.

You also free up a considerable portion of your garage space once your old car is out, leaving more room for the car that you do use or for other items that you store in your garage. Also, you can score tax deductions if you donate your car. Most charitable organizations offer receipts which you can use to apply for tax deductions.

Important Things to Consider Before and After Donating a Car to Charity?

The first thing that every car donor should do is to make sure that the donation will be fully enjoyed by the target organization is to find an institution that will directly accept the car as a donation. This way, a person can ensure that the donation does not get lost in a sea of transactions and middlemen who will try to get cuts and milk the donation for all its worth. Make sure that the organization is classified as 501©(3) as they are the only nonprofit institutions that will be able to provide tax deductions in exchange for a donation. These pieces of information are generally available online.

Secondly, a person should be able to protect himself or herself from potential liabilities which could come from the donation. This is particularly true for cases wherein the car was involved in an accident. To make sure that the title is transferred properly, one must check with the state’s agency that takes care motor vehicles.

Finally, one must make sure that he or she fully understands the IRS system to make the donation a deductible act. For example, if the donated car is resold, the records of the resale price should be recorded. In the end, donating a car to the Salvation Army is a selfless thing to do. However, one should be able to undergo the proper processes to avoid hassles in the future.

How To Avoid Scammers When You Donate a Car?

Most people have the best of intentions when they donate a car, but in some instances, you can fall prey to the tactics of scammers who will take the proceeds of a donated car and run. Fortunately, you can take precautions by making sure that the charity you donate to is legit and by making donations yourself rather than getting the help of intermediaries.

Eliminating the intermediary is one of the best ways to ensure that all the proceeds of the sale of your car are given to the charity of your choice. Even legitimate middlemen tend to cut the proceeds in half, the first half for their operating cost and the second half for the operating costs of the charity. If you must use intermediaries, look up the legitimacy of the agency in the Better Business Bureau and choose intermediaries that only take a smaller portion, such as 20% or 30% of the proceeds so that a larger piece of the pie goes to the charity.

Finally, make sure your charities are legitimate. There are numerous charities which are listed with good feedback that you can find in the Better Business Bureau. Avoid charities which have a number of negative donation complaints, and if possible, make a personal visit to these charities to get a more concrete idea of what the charity is about before you donate a car. You can also choose charities that cater to specific causes, such as those that offer non-profit counseling services or charities that operate soup kitchens and homeless shelters in urban areas.

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For More Information on Car Donations.

For more on donating cars to charitable organizations, please feel free to consider our main post on car donations by clicking here, as we go into more details and specifics on how to donate a car to a car charity. Also, consider any of our related pages and posts on this website for more information as well. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment!

 

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