In recent years, many charities have discovered that they can raise money through car donation programs and give you a car donation tax deduction. These programs can be a gold mine and the charity can earn a lot of money from their charitable activities. They can make a lot more money if they do all the management themselves. However, they must manage it correctly.

Many charities prefer to hire companies that specialize in handling car donations. However, they charge quite high fees. In some cases, the charity may only earn 60 cents on the dollar or less, for example.

Most people have no idea that the charity actually ends up with a lot less money than they think. The donor may never find out exactly what this number is.

If you’re thinking of donating a car, truck, RV, boat, or any other vehicle for a nice tax deduction, you’ll want to thoroughly check out the charity first. Give them a call and ask if they run their own program or have outsourced it to one of the many charitable car donation programs. You may have a specific charity in mind.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t move on if they don’t handle it themselves, but know that they won’t end up with all the money either. Many charities are not in a position to do the management and all that involves driving the vehicles.

Don’t be afraid to ask the charity lots of questions. You want to be sure you know how much the charity will receive and what they plan to use it for. Sometimes charities sell the vehicle and don’t actually get much money for the vehicle. Sometimes it is given to a needy person. It is sometimes used to transport charity items to and from various locations. Check this out if this is important to you.

There are many well-known charities that are looking for charitable car donations. You also want to ask these same questions of these charities. These charities include Target, Purple Heart, Kidney Foundation, and Goodwill Industries, for example. There are many others. Many charities run their own used car lots and have vendors that sell the donated vehicles.

If you donate using one of the charitable car donation programs instead of working with the charity, you should know that they handle donated cars, trucks, and other vehicles for several or many charities, not just one.

Be sure to proceed carefully if you decide to donate your car or other vehicle. It’s a great way to support a charity, or your favorite charity if it has a program, and give you a great car donation tax deduction. Just make sure you know that the donation may not make the amount of money you might think, if it sells.