The Cars 4 Causes Blog. Car Donation Program Nationwide.

As we gather for our families’ Thanksgiving dinners this week, we can’t help but think about those who are living in the streets of our own cities and towns. How can we help? Many caring people donate time at shelters, donate food, and volunteer to deliver food to homes or serve Thanksgiving dinner at shelters.

Car donations can help families in need, too. By choosing the charity that benefits from your car donation, you can directly help those in need in your community. Here at Cars 4 Causes®, we’re warmed at this time of year by the donations that we see being made in support of help for those in need of the basic necessities – food, clothing and shelter. We have many such charities on our current list of charities, and — if you don’t see the one you want your car donation to benefit — we are happy to add new charities. In fact, we do. Every day.

Here are just three of the many generous organizations that provide food and shelter.

The Central Downtown Food Basket in Sacramento, Calif., feeds seniors and low-income residents of the community all year long. They serve nearly 700 seniors and 1,500 families every month and do their best to provide healthful food. The group also provides warm clothing and hygiene product to those who need them.

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County helps provide food to those in need by working through a network of hunger-relief charities and community resources in the county. The Foodbank works to eliminate hunger on the local level by providing food and education through collaboration with others.

The McHenry House provides shelter to homeless families in transition to self-sufficiency in Tracy, Calif., and the surrounding area. In addition to temporary housing, the McHenry House provides counseling, guidance, employment referrals, financial planning assistance, medical care and addiction treatment and educational assistance for the children.

There are many ways to donate our time, money and resources. Donating a car is just one. But we’re happy to say that it can be a valuable one that provides funds to the organizations that help those most in need – not just during the holiday season, but all year long.

Happy Thanksgiving. And thank you for giving!

Tags: Car Donation, car donations, Cars 4 Causes®, charity, choosing a vehicle donation program, donating a car, vehicle donation

Donating a car, volunteering time and donating to a charity – all are wonderfully generous acts. We are so continually awed by the generosity of volunteers. For all these reasons, we were pleased recently to meet a volunteer who gives endless hours of his time and expertise to charity. He also, until recently, donated the use of his car.

Ivan receives a car donation from Cars 4 Causes (R)

Ivan is one of the behind-the-scenes people who make many of the youth programs, major events and Sunday services happen for the AGAPE International Spiritual Center in Culver City, Calif. He designs sets for the group’s events. He makes great use of fabrics, which helps keep costs down.  He finds the fabrics, picks them up, takes them to get fire-proofed, and then creates beautiful sets out of them.

A bonus of his efforts: he inspires other volunteers of all ages to help create the sets. And the result: beautiful, collaborative works of art that inspire the moment and also create a sense of community for one and all.

Donated Car Replaces Used-Up Vehicle

As we mentioned above, Ivan donated the services of his car as well as his own time and efforts. But then his 1984 Plymouth hit the 180,000 marker on the odometer, and it began to cost more and more in repairs. Not only was Ivan buried in repair costs, but he also could not afford to replace the vehicle. Fortunately, AGAPE contacted Cars 4 Causes® and through the Cars 4 Causes® Car Giveaway Program, we were able to find a donated car for Ivan.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of most not-for-profit organizations – from social and health services to environmental causes to religious groups – and we were pleased to be able to help one volunteer continue to give to his cause.

Tags: Car Donation, Car Give-Away, Car Give-Away Program, Cars 4 Causes®, charity, Volunteer Projects

We can give you thousands of reasons for donating a car to charity. They range the gamut from cleaning the garage, to making the neighbors happy, to contributing to world peace. And we’re taking a moment today to share some of them with you.

We’ve heard all these reasons and more during our many years here at Cars 4 Causes®, and they all make sense to us. Take a look at our list of reasons for making a car donation, and let us know if we missed any on your top list.

Our 13,405 Best Reasons to Donate a Car

1. Make the neighbors happy. If you own a car that’s just rusting away in your driveway or perennially parked in front of your house, you know your neighbors would love you to get rid of it. Make them happy; donate your car to charity and have it towed away.
2. Declutter. Get rid of the extra car that’s been taking up space in your garage. If you’re not using it, it’s time for that car to move on to its next driver. You get rid of a car you’re not using, and your charity benefits from your donation.
3. Save on annual car registration fees. If you’re not using a vehicle, why pay the annual registration, smog certification and insurance on it? Tally up all you can save by donating the vehicle to charity, and then choose the charity that benefits.
4. Simplify. An extra car in your life means one more major item to take care of. And if you’re at all interested in simplifying your life, what a difference getting rid of 2,000 pounds of steel can make!
5. Get a car donation tax deduction. We’ve written a bit about the opportunities for great tax write-offs this year. If you missed it, check out our blog, Cars 4 Causes Adds it Up: Two Automobile Tax Deductions this Year!
6. through 13,400.  Charities benefit from your car donation. We see this effect every day in our work at Cars 4 Causes®, and it is heart-warming. Our current list of charities includes over 13,400 organizations, and the list is always growing.

As we see it, that adds up to 13,400 deeply satisfying reasons to donate a vehicle.

Tags: Car Donation, car donations, Cars 4 Causes®, charity, donate a car, donating a car, Tax deduction, Tax writeoff, why donate a car

Fundraising for education is dear to the heart of Cars 4 Causes®. As most of our car donators, friends and fans now know, our first efforts were all about raising funds for schools. Our story began in the classroom and then branched out into so many worthwhile directions that we became known as “The Charity That Gives To Charities(R).”

We have been amazed by the many charities that serve people and causes around the world and proud to be partnered with so many of them. There are many that provide help to schools and fill other educational needs. You’ll find several on our webpage listing of charities.  We think they’re all terrific, and here are a few examples:

Donating Cars to Education

The Youth Science Center helps kids explore and learn to love science and math, with exhibits, interactive learning programs, and hands-on learning experiences. The Center offers math, science and technology classes for students grades K-8, all with the goal of improving math and science education.

What’s In Your Lunch Box is a collaboration of doctors, professionals, interns and students who provide support to families living with autism. The organization hosts interactive education and training workshops on diet and nutrition, adaptive physical exercise and advocacy, all designed to help families manage and overcome the unique challenges and barriers of feeding children on the Autism Spectrum.

Harley School is a Rochester, New York, independent private school for children from the nursery through Grade 12. Harley School focuses on nurturing the unique strengths of each student, while striving to foster a love of learning, creative imagination and a desire for intellectual achievement.

These are three very different charities with one thing in common that touches every parent’s heart: they all exist to help our children. So do the many other educational institutions and organizations listed in our list of charities. Take a look, and see the many ways a car donation can make a difference in a child’s life.

Tags: Car Donation, car donations, charity, choosing a vehicle donation program, donating a car, Education

The expression – think global, act local – comes to mind when we ponder some of the ways that car donations help charities. And that’s because many of our charity partners are international organizations. So, when car donors to Cars 4 Causes® choose the charities they want to benefit from their donations, many decide on charities with a global focus.

Some of the organizations are well known, such as the American Red Cross and the United Way of Ventura County and of Los Angeles. You’ll also find Doctors Without Borders on our list of approved charities. (See our Supported Charities page for links to these and others.)

A car donation here can help people in India

Some of the other international charity organizations are less well-known. For example, you may not have heard of the India Rural Development Fund, a California–based organization that works in partnership with other like-minded non-profits to enhance the lives of underprivileged people living in rural India. You can donate a car to Cars 4 Causes® and designate the donation to benefit this rural Indian fund.

Your car donation can help build micro-business in Africa

Or, you might want to point your vehicle donation toward Africa. Another organization, the Bridge for Africa, promotes self-sufficiency and the dignity of work in rural Africa. This organization partners with African artisans to design, create and market handmade items. Proceeds from the sales of these goods go towards community development, job creation, training, and toward paying the artisans living wages.

Car donations can help children in need around the world

Another organization, the Firelight Foundation, supports and advocates for the needs and rights of children in Sub-Saharan Africa who are orphaned or affected by HIV. The foundation does this by increasing resources to grassroots care organizations in the communities.

It’s amazing to us to think that the simple act of donating a car here in America can profoundly affect the lives of struggling people on the other side of the globe, but it can. We’re humbled to know that we can be part of making this happen.

Cars 4 Causes® carries the tagline, The Charity That Gives To Charities ® because it describes so well what we do. We have more than 13,400 charities for you to choose from when you donate your vehicle to Cars 4 Causes®. (If you don’t see the charity you want to support with your car donation, call us; we’re only able to fit a partial list on our website, and we are always happy to consider new charities.)

Tags: Car Donation, car donations, Cars 4 Causes®, choosing a vehicle donation program, vehicle donation