- Make sure the charity is an organization that you know and trust. There are thousands of organizations that accept car donations. Before you choose to donate, remember that all charities are not created equal. Look for an organization whose work you recognize as benefiting the community or the world. Be concerned about “charities” that have cute-sounding names or might sound similar to a charity you know (for example, Habitat for Humans instead of Habitat for Humanity).
- Ask how much the charity will receive. The charity has a responsibility to best manage your vehicle donation. Ask how much of the gross proceeds will go back to the charity after you donate a car to them. If the organization will only list the percentage of net proceeds, then your car donation could be largely wasted. Several published reports have clearly established that most car donation programs return between 15 and 35% of the gross back to the charity, but they report it as 50 to 70% of the net. This could be the difference between the charity of your choice receiving $1,000 or $150 for your car donation.
- Once you've decided to donate a car to charity, sign the title directly over to the charity or their agent. All states have very clear regulations about transfer of ownership for vehicles. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRUCUMSTANCES, LEAVE THE ‘BUYER’ SECTION OF THE TITLE BLANK. By leaving the title blank, you allow anyone to transfer the title directly from you to the next buyer. There are two consequences of this oversight.
- The donor can remain liable for the vehicle. This means liable to the buyer and possibly liable for the actions of the buyer if the vehicle is never correctly transferred.
- The charity might not receive any credit for the vehicle donation. By signing directly to the charity or their legal contractual agent, you make it much more likely that the vehicle will actually be used for the charitable purpose that you designate.
- Ask how your car donation will be handled. You'll want to know that the vehicle will be picked up and transported by properly licensed and insured towing companies and that the legal transfer of the donated vehicle will be handled by a licensed dealer contracted by the charity.
- Ask how and where the money will be spent. This question should be easily answered. You should search for the charity or agency that makes the best use of the funds from your auto donation. BEWARE of charity car donation programs that promise to send proceeds to any organization without having a direct relationship. All charities are not created equal, and all car donation programs are not run with the same attention to donor wishes.
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