With all of the bad news car donation programs typically get. It’s so nice to hear about a company that’s doing it right. ARS (Advanced Remarketing Services) raised $75 million while returning 82 cents on every dollar raised to the charities they support: Habitat for Humanity International, The American Cancer Society, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, National Public Radio, March of Dimes, Feed The Children and several others. This is one of the most efficient programs I’ve seen. Here’s the full story from Insurance News Net: http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/08/11/advanced-remarketing-services-raises-$75-million-dollars-for-charity-a-542284.html#.U-u6bWPN6So.

ARS manages Car Donation Wizard, find out more about them here: http://www.cardonationwizard.com.

We had a request to review the Car for Veterans charity this week. On the BBB site Cars for Veterans is listed as National Veterans Service Fund, Inc. And although they are not registered with the BBB, there are no complaints associated with them. http://www.bbb.org/connecticut/business-reviews/charity-veterans-and-military/national-veterans-service-fund-in-darien-ct-87099089.

Charity Navigator shows that they only spend 17.4% of what they bring in for charity programs, which is pretty low, as 90% of charities they audit spend at least 65% on programs they are set up to serve. Here’s the full Charity Navigator rating: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7591.

So to recap, they’ve been around for a while, 1978, and there are no complaints with the BBB, so it’s more than likely they will treat you professionally. However, if you want to make sure veterans get a higher percentage of the proceeds from your donation you might want to look elsewhere.

Kars 4 Kids hopes they can recoup some of the $5 million plus in losses from 2010. Critics argue the investment strategy was too aggressive for a charity. During that same time they spent $6 million on programs from children. Here’s the full story from NBC New York: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Kars-for-Kids-Cars-4-Kids-Real-Estate-Investments-Investigation-140955003.html

Here’s a recent article from the Coloradoan with some gotchas to watch out for and some great ways to maximize your deduction. Take this one for example:

“Only if the charity uses the car in its operations or materially improves the car before selling it will your deduction be based on the car’s fair market value at the time of the donation.”

Otherwise your deduction will only be for amount that it’s sold at auction for, which will be a lot less.

Source article: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20111002/BUSINESS/110020322

16 charities subpoenaed and one lawsuit filed so far, as New York AG Mario Cuomo takes on fraudulent charities. Cuomo claims the charity he filed suit against, Feed the Hungry (FTH),  took in $430,000 over 9 years and only spent $7,900, or 1.8%, for their charitable programs.

Some of the other subpoenaed charities are Bless the Kids, Kars 4 Kids, and Lechaim for Life.

Full article, http://www.adi-news.com/16-car-donation-charities-gets-sued/21575/

Fundraiser claims Cars 4 Causes “absorbed” 70% of the proceeds it received; passing on less than 17% to charities that were designated by the donors.

Full story here: http://driving.myfoxwausau.com/news_this_week/2010-05-26-4613-driving/

Looking to donate a vehicle in Houston?

Look no further than the Houston Charity Center, located at 4209 Spencer Hwy, Pasadena TX 77504.

They do everything possible to get the most value out of your donation, this allows them to help more people and gives you a larger tax deduction.

How do they do it?

The Houston Charity Center doesn’t ship your car off to be sold for less than its potential value. Every reasonably repairable car is restored to good running condition and detailed inside and out to increase its value. This work, performed by charity workers, increases the vehicles value, resulting in tax deductions up to 50% greater than similar programs.

read more…

Is there a car donation program you’d like reviewed or have questions about? Let us know by leaving a comment on this post.

We’re here for you, our visitors, so let us know how can we assist you best.

Car donation charities are those that are able to accept donations of vehicles as a method of fundraising. The process is quite simple, and it can be a big help in supporting the mission of a variety of good organizations. Below you will learn all the basics you need to help out car donation charities.

read more…

With All of the Different Options Out There for Car Donations, Why Would People Choose to Donate a Car to the Kidney Foundation?

If you’re researching your options regarding car donation, you’ll most likely come across the car donation to the Kidney Foundation program. This program, also known as “Kidney Cars”, is one of the largest and most recognizable vehicle donation programs in the United States. With over 650,000 donations in the last 25 years, most people are comfortable knowing that a car donation to the Kidney Foundation is safe, secure, and helping to make a big impact. But what are some of the other major reasons people choose the Kidney Foundation Program?

read more…