Choosing the Best
Car Donation Charities
If you’ve done your homework, you already know that an auto donation can be a great way to support many different charitable organizations. You’ve decided that you can wait until tax day to recoup the money from your vehicle. But with so many car donation charities to choose from, you may be wondering, if I donate my car, how will I narrow down the list of possible recipients?
That’s easy to understand. You do have quite a few choices as to who will be the lucky recipient of your donation. But with a few common-sense tips and some soul-searching, you’ll find that you can narrow down the list of car donation charities to a few potential recipients fairly quickly. You'll also feel more comfortable that the choice you're making benefits the missions you believe in, in the most efficent way possible.
Obviously, you should remember to make your donation count towards what you believe in. Like so many other ways that people spend money, your donation can be a statement about who you are, and what you stand for. Do you believe in the missions of the Red Cross and want to support their efforts? Have a particular religious organization you’d like to sponsor? Want to help poor children in another country get an education? Studying the websites of various car donation charities will help you to learn more about their specific missions… which will help you to pare down your list of potential candidates.
You also have choices about the type of organization you’ll donate to. For example, some car donation charities are the actual “boots on the ground” groups that go out into neighborhoods, disaster areas, etc. and render aid to those in need. Other organizations are basically a “third party” setup that takes your donation on behalf of other charities, and then distributes funds to those charities. Although the obvious choice would seem to be to give to the folks who are actually rendering the aid in the field, some of these front-line organizations may not have the resources in place to actually handle the process of a car donation. In these cases, a third-party organization can handle the headache of reselling your vehicle, then see to it that your favorite charity benefits from the proceeds.
Another factor to consider when researching car donation charities is how efficient the charity is at making your donation do the most good... in other words, what percent of the funds raised from your vehicle will actually go toward helping those in need. Yes, this does vary -- some organizations may actually only end up passing along around 50 percent of the proceeds from your vehicle to various missions. Some will come closer to 100 percent. While you should certainly consider this when making your decision, bear in mind that the car donation charities will incur some unavoidable administrative expenses (such as keeping their lights on, paying to tow your vehicle, costs associated with its sale, etc.), and these expenses have to be recouped from somewhere. So while you should know how effective your charity is at actually turning your vehicle into a blessing for others, please remember that even charities do have expenses... and if they only get $500 for your vehicle, it may cost half of that just to get it towed and sold.
Once you've narrowed down the car donation charities that you believe will support the ideals you value most, and are happy with the percentage of your vehicle sale that will go toward those missions, you're well on your way to making a final choice on that perfect charity. Other factors you may want to consider are the charity's location (you may want to make a difference for people close to home) and the charity's donation process (for example, how streamlined is their application, how soon can they pick up the vehicle, do they offer any perks, etc.).
There are numerous car donation charities to choose from. But with a little thought and research, you're sure to find a charitable cause that supports what you believe in. Then, not only will you be eligible for a great tax deduction, but you'll be at peace knowing you feel good about where your donation is going.
Looking for a nationwide list of agencies accepting car donations?
Visit our Charity Directory page!
There you'll find organizations from coast to coast, including listings by state, to help you narrow the list of candidates to whom you'd like to donate.