Is donating a car to charity a good way to benefit a favorite organization? If so, which charities make the best use of car donations? Two of the charities which receive a lot of donated cars are the American Cancer Society and Father Joe’s Villages. Is either one of these respected charitable organizations better than the other when it comes to car donations?

In past years some people made unscrupulous use of the charitable deduction which applied to car donations. At times people would donate cars of little value and then claim to have donated a car of much greater worth; unfortunately, deceitful people often abuse the concept of charity for their own profit. However, the fact that some chose to do this in no way made the charities to whom they donated they autos any less worthy of their donations; nor should it reflect upon the charities themselves. As of 2005 the income tax deduction for car donations is limited to $500 or the actual amount for which the charity sold the auto. If the latter deduction is used the person claiming the deduction must include a copy of the gross proceeds sales receipt which the charity will provide.

Both the American Cancer Society and Father Joe’s Villages are worthy recipients of cars donated for charity. In fact, both organizations would willingly tell a benefactor that either charity will make good use of any donated auto. A person who decides to donate to either charity should make sure, however, that the donation is going to be used for the designated organization. The best way to do this is to deal directly with either the American Cancer Society or Father Joe’s Villages. Using a third party for charitable car donations can mean that the charity will not receive the full value of the contribution. Some charities may make claims that every penny of the donation goes to the charitable works of the foundation this is quite obviously impossible. All charities have expenses derived from running their organizations. The American Cancer Society and Father Joe’s Villages are registered charities whose financial statements can be investigated through the Attorney General of any state. Anyone wishing to know precisely what percentage of their donated funds these charities use for expenses should contact either the charities or the Attorney General of the state in which he/she resides.

Since it is a given that the American Cancer Society and Father Joe’s Villages are both reputable charities that abide by federal rules for charitable car donations, are there any factors that make one of the charities a better place to receive a car donation? The main difference between the car donation programs of the American Cancer Society and Father Joe’s Villages is that Father Joe’s allows a person to designate the charitable function to which the proceeds from his/her donation will be given. Since both of these charities do excellent work and abide by all laws governing charitable car donations, how then can a person select which charity should receive his/her car contribution?

In the last analysis, the best way to decide which charity should receive a donated car might be to visit the charity. Often upon visiting a charitable organization a person will immediately know if this is the work he/she wants to support. Who knows, after seeing the valuable work both of these charities do a person might decide to donate some time along with that car.