Service to Manage Car Donations
There are many types of charities that can benefit from Car donations. In addition to the typical non-profit organizations as recognized by the IRS, schools, local or state governments, childcare organizations and veterans groups, in addition to the federal government itself are all eligible. Not included as valid targets of Auto Donation are for-profit support groups, political groups or candidates, social clubs, co-ops, labour or agricultural groups, as well as just about any social group that isn’t covered by non-profit exemption.
Once you’ve chosen a charity and third-party agent for Auto Donation, you can get down to the business of actually sending the car off. When inquiring about your vehicle a determination will be made as to whether it’s worth the effort of picking it up. Though some charities will accept any vehicle, others are pickier about what they will or wont’ take, as some donations actually cost them money. Those who do take all auto donations usually do so in an effort to generally encourage their donation base.
Even if your Car donation does run under its own power, it will almost always be picked up by a tow truck for liability reasons. Whether the charity in question will be using the car as is, will repair it for sale or sell it directly on the wholesale market depends upon their needs and how quickly the turnaround on auto donations are expected.
Vehicles sold at wholesale auction, as many third-party auto donation agencies prefer, will usually generate a far lower value than you could have achieved if you sold it yourself. This is generally important only if you believe the vehicle should be worth over $5,000. In this case, you’ll have to get a receipt for the actual value of the car. If it’s worth less, the “fair market value” of the vehicle may be estimated.
That said, if your car is worth less than what you paid for it, a third party group to handle auto donations may be a good choice as far as your allowable charitable deduction is concerned. In the case of higher-end auto donations, you (and the charity in question) may be better served selling in some other manner and donating the resultant money to the charity directly.
