Do your homework before you donate your car to charity
If you donate a used car, truck or boat, you help a charity and get a sizable tax deduction. But before you donate, do your homework. Otherwise you could be greatly disappointed.
You see the ads in the paper and hear them on the radio. Dozens of charity groups want you to donate a vehicle.
So what happens if you do? In many cases, the vehicle is sold at an auction for way below the Blue Book value, which greatly reduces your tax deduction.
Donate to Volunteers of America, or one of the 64 other groups associated with its car resale program, and your vehicle will wind up on the VOA Used Car Lot in Everett.
Jim Brown runs the operation.
"It's really a great way to donate without taking cash out of your pocket. And people have cars they are not using or they want to upgrade to a new car," he said.
Most people who buy at the lot are low-income folks. That's great for them and good for you, the donor, because you'll get the maximum deduction allowed by law -- the Kelly Blue Book value.
"For many households a donation of a car could be the single largest charitable gift they give for the year," said Bennett Weiner, who runs the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. I spoke to him at the BBB headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
Weiner says before you hand over the keys to your car, check out the charity.
"Do you know who this organization is and what they do? Are you familiar with their operations? Have they been evaluated by an outside party such as the Better Business Bureau? (Ask) so you can make an informed judgment that this is the type of organization you want to support," he said.
Here's why that's so important. Maybe you've seen or heard the ads for Children's Wish Foundation International, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Atlanta.
The BBB says that group does not meet its standards.
Our secretary of state says Children's Wish only spends 43 cents of every dollar raised on programs -- well below generally accepted charitable standards.
By contrast, Make-A-Wish Foundation meets BBB standards, and spends about 75 percent of its revenue for program services.
The lesson here: names can sound familiar, the money can be spent quite differently.
More information:
BBB: Car Donations
IRS: Deducting Vehicle Donations
Check a Charity with the Better Business Bureau
Washington State: Check a Charity
Charity Navigator
You see the ads in the paper and hear them on the radio. Dozens of charity groups want you to donate a vehicle.
So what happens if you do? In many cases, the vehicle is sold at an auction for way below the Blue Book value, which greatly reduces your tax deduction.
Donate to Volunteers of America, or one of the 64 other groups associated with its car resale program, and your vehicle will wind up on the VOA Used Car Lot in Everett.
Jim Brown runs the operation.
"It's really a great way to donate without taking cash out of your pocket. And people have cars they are not using or they want to upgrade to a new car," he said.
Most people who buy at the lot are low-income folks. That's great for them and good for you, the donor, because you'll get the maximum deduction allowed by law -- the Kelly Blue Book value.
"For many households a donation of a car could be the single largest charitable gift they give for the year," said Bennett Weiner, who runs the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. I spoke to him at the BBB headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
Weiner says before you hand over the keys to your car, check out the charity.
"Do you know who this organization is and what they do? Are you familiar with their operations? Have they been evaluated by an outside party such as the Better Business Bureau? (Ask) so you can make an informed judgment that this is the type of organization you want to support," he said.
Here's why that's so important. Maybe you've seen or heard the ads for Children's Wish Foundation International, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Atlanta.
The BBB says that group does not meet its standards.
Our secretary of state says Children's Wish only spends 43 cents of every dollar raised on programs -- well below generally accepted charitable standards.
By contrast, Make-A-Wish Foundation meets BBB standards, and spends about 75 percent of its revenue for program services.
The lesson here: names can sound familiar, the money can be spent quite differently.
More information:
BBB: Car Donations
IRS: Deducting Vehicle Donations
Check a Charity with the Better Business Bureau
Washington State: Check a Charity
Charity Navigator