Car Grill

There have been recent rulings in the last 5 years that have changed the way used vehicle donations are valued.  But there are still numerous worthwhile charities that can use either your donated vehicle or the cash it can be sold for.  Many of these charities focus on the needs of children and their families.

One sort of children’s charity that benefits from used car donation are those that serve children with medical conditions.  These medical conditions can be anything from cancer, to blindness to end of life care.  Organizations such as the Make a Wish Foundation and the National Children’s Cancer Society are able to use the cars donated to go about their work or sell them for the money that can then be donated as cash support, necessary medical equipment or prescriptions.

Now and then a used vehicle donation is used in the instance of Children’s medical charities as a way for a disadvantaged child’s parents to dependably get them to a variety of medical appointments.  Cars that are used directly, in this way, have the benefit of being able to be deducted at their fair market value rather than the sale price of the vehicle may command if sold at wholesale auction.

Since medical charities are often cash poor (rather than lacking for volunteers), you will find that a lot of the ads for used vehicle donations ask for selling your car for cash.  A fast and high turnover of vehicles, dealt through third-party agents is common when these types of charities utilize used car donation.  Some of this is because most people feel moved to do something while looking at a kid in a wheelchair and also because the need for cash is high.

Several families have been cast into poverty because of a single childhood illness suddenly in their lives.  Strangle, or not, the United States has the most active vehicle car donation program for kids charities.  But it seems to stem from the lack of socialized medicine, and so the gap is being filled via the private sector.  It is not necessarily because we are the most charitable people.  An entire industry of old car parts and scrap metal has also arisen from this lapse in the social contract.

Other charities that can benefit from used vehicle donation are those that serve at-risk youths.  Charitable non-profit organizations (NPOs) like the United Way function to keep children off the streets where they might be tempted into a life of crime.  Many of  United Way’s programs address issues of education, as well as after school programs and self-esteem building.

Since their inception in the 1960s, at-risk youth charities seem to focus on urban areas and so are usually less in need of automobiles for direct use, so they tend to use donated vehicles to bring in cash.  However they lag in vehicle donations because more people seem to have a heart for giving to charities that take care of ill children as opposed to youth who voluntarily are in a program.

There are also charities that serve a religious mission who also serve children.  The Salvation Army, for instance, has a religious base though it often serves very needy children through helping them and their parents find lodging for the night, or with donations of clothing or furniture.  Still other charitable organizations serve the children of a given local congregation only.  Religious organizations do not usually plead for vehicle donations with quite the same enthusiasm as do charities that serve special needs children who are suffering from developmental disabilities or birth defects or other illness.

Vehicle donations to charities serve a very positive need in society.  As well there are usually tax advantages to the donor and the charity.  We urge everyone who can to participate in this needed program.