Info 101: How to donate your used car in Minnesota

Yesterday Yahoo covered a story on my fellow countryman, Oscar winner, Russell Crowe, who donated 5,000 British pounds to a crew member on the set of his next movie, Robin Hood.

Apparently the crew member’s car went up in smoke whilst she was on her way to work and in explaining her lateness she received a little ribbing from Crowe about it. Angered, she retorted that he’d probably never had to worry about finding the five grand to replace a vehicle. Renowned for his generosity, Crowe donated the money as way of apology.
Unfortunately, for most people who’re on a tight budget, magical fairy movie stars aren’t on hand to get them back on the road again, but you don’t have to be Russell Crowe to make a difference. If you have a vehicle you don’t need, or perhaps you have one that may not be worth you paying to have it fully repaired but don’t want to simply junk it, you should consider donating it to help others in need.

There are a host of places to donate a vehicle and all are worthy causes which can help people in need. One that did jump out amongst the many causes was the program at the Newgate Education Center. The school uses the cars to train young automotive engineers who have less financial resources available to get them to school.
The cars are repaired and put into good working order so that they can be used in charity programs such as their “Wheels for Women” program which delivers 4-5 “better quality, refurbished cars to working moms.” According to the school, the donation of vehicles can be the difference between welfare dependence and a job for single moms.

It’s a clever idea which delivers a benefit to you as a donator in the form of a “fair market” tax deduction, but more importantly, also provides huge benefit to others in need in the form of jobs and transportation for families that would otherwise have to do without.




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Cash for clunkers' slows car donations to charities

You used to hear it all the time. Whenever someone raised the question of what to do with a near-worthless rust bucket, the answer almost always came back the same -- donate it to charity.

Since the arrival of "cash for clunkers," however, donations have dropped off. It's not hard to imagine why -- a $3,500 or $4,500 voucher is certainly more appetizing to the cash-strapped recession-era new car shopper than a tax writeoff come year's end.

The damage has not been insignificant. According to the Associated Press, a Texas-based charity estimates that the cash for clunkers program has already cost it $75,000 in missed vehicle donations. Unfortunately, instead of being sold for charity funds or turned over to needy families, formerly donation-worthy cars will be sent to the crusher with seized engines, per the program's stringent guidelines.

Despite a slowdown since its inception, the federal program has succeeded in sending consumers to dealerships. According to a survey of 517 in-market shoppers by Kelley Blue Book (KBB), the cash for clunkers program has persuaded 1 in 10 shoppers to purchase a new vehicle sooner. Taking into account that many trade-ins don't qualify for the cash for clunkers voucher, charities may see some relief yet. But when you consider that owners of particularly rundown vehicles will be looking at either a low-value tax writeoff or a $4,500 discount on a new car, the decision-making process becomes pretty clear.

Thinking of donating a clunker of your own? Check out this firsthand experience of a Land Rover-to-Nissan Cube swap and get an idea of what you'll be dealing with.

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