Car Donation Programs - Guide For successfully donating a vehicle to charity

Step 1 - Checking the charity you plan to donate your car or vehicle to

Anyone who is considering donating their vehicle to a charity probably already know that there are hundred of them to choose from. All of them are very interested in receiving your donation. However not all car charities are the same and all have different terms and procedures for receiving and processing your donation.

With any charitable donation the donor usually want to have a positive impact with their donation. Knowing who the charity is that is receiving your donation is the first step.

Basically there are three types of organizations that accept car and vehicle donations.

1. The first is a donation broker. These are for-profit businesses that act as a broker for a charity. These can include car dealerships or professional fund raising companies that handle all the logistic of receiving and processing the donation. This can be a service that is hired by a charity to perform the vehicle processing or they can be an independent company that will accept your donation, process it and donate the proceeds to the charity of your choice. Either way they are paid for their service with either a flat rate or a percentage of the donation value.
   
   
2. The second is a non-profit organization like a registered charity. They receive and process your car donation much like the for-profit brokers. The proceeds from the vehicle donation are kept within the organization to help charities they support. You have no say in where the proceeds of your donation are sent. Although you can donate to one of these non-profit organizations based on the charities they support.
   
   
3. Third are brokers that are non-profit and simply receive a donation on behalf of a registered charity and process it. The proceeds are then passed along to the charity. Many charities use these types of services since they are able to readily process any donations. This can often be costly and labor intensive for a non-profit organization to do on its own. This is often the best way to help the charity of your choice directly.

Other things that you should be aware of is what type of charitable work the charity supports. As a donor you want to be comfortable knowing your donation is going to a cause that you morally support.

There are many organizations that are accepting car donations. Organizations that support:

• Medical Research
• Famine
• Victims of abuse or natural disaster
• Out-reach programs

This list is endless. Before choosing a charity understand what they support and choose one that you are comfortable helping out.