The Cars 4 Causes Blog.

Car donations that come in during December can still make the 2009 tax deduction deadline. Call right away for details and to see how the IRS timeline fits with your personal tax write-off situation for donations.

The year 2009 has been a wild year for car donation and for the auto industry in general. Much of the news swirled around the federal government’s Cash for Clunkers program. The program itself was quite controversial politically and amongst economics scholars. But for the car donation arena, the program’s impact has been decidedly negative.

We’ve seen that many of the used cars that went into the Cash for Clunkers program might have been destined for charity; they were rerouted instead into the scrap and salvage markets, thus both reducing donations to charities and, also, their flooding of the recycle auction markets reduced revenues charities could get from recycling old cars donated to them. We’ll be talking more about this next year.

HR571 – Legislation with Big Potential for Car Donors and Charities

As one of the foremost leaders in the car donation arena, Cars 4 Causes® is always on top of auto industry, auto recycling, and philanthropy trends. For example, one of the little-discussed news items of the year was HR 571, a legislation introduced in January and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means (where it has languished all the long year). This bill could undo some of the damage done by the limitations on deductions for charitable car donations imposed by Congress in 2004. HR 571 would allow donors to deduct the fair market value of car donations up to $2500, and the appraised value on donations over $2500. This would help charities; higher value car donations have dropped since limitations were imposed, and charities have been on the losing end.

Cars 4 Causes® is following this legislation on behalf of car donors and – even more – on behalf of the charities that depend on vehicle donations to fund their causes. We’ll keep you updated.

But now, at this time of year, we know most of us are focused on the hustle-bustle of the moment. We’re receiving a rush of year-end vehicle donations, with donors concerned about meeting 2009 tax write-off deadlines. And that’s where our focus is, too.

Call us at 800-766-2273 or chat with us online if you have any questions about your donation. We’re here to help. And we thank you for your generous donations; so many of your charities depend on them.

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. So what are you waiting for? Donate car today!

Happy Thanksgiving. And thank you for giving!

The expression – think global, act local – comes to mind when we ponder some of the ways that car donation could 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 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.)

There comes a day in the life of almost every recreational vehicle when it begins to spend more of its time in the storage lot or parked behind the fence than it does on the road. The family grows up, recreational passions shift to something new, and you move on.

Not using your summer vehicles? Donate RVs, boats, trailers and other recreational vehicles to charity.

If you’re at that point, then this year, as you put away your summer toys – the motorhome, trailer, fifth wheel, toy hauler, tent trailer or RV of any kind – consider the cost of winter storage. And consider donating your RV to charity.

You’ll be eligible for a vehicle donation tax deduction. And you’ll be generously helping the charity of your choice.

Many people do not realize that they can donate lots of kinds of vehicles – not just cars and trucks.

At Cars 4 Causes®, we accept donations of many varieties of recreational vehicles, from motorcycles to off-road vehicles to motorhomes and trailers. Call us if you think it’s time to talk about donating your summer vehicle – from kayaks to RVs.

And see our FAQ video, too, for lots of examples of charity donations.

We’re sometimes absolutely amazed at the variety of charities that benefit from car donation to Cars 4 Causes®. They cover almost all categories of philanthropy, and they stretch from coast to coast and internationally as well.

The program is quite straightforward: Charities designate Cars 4 Causes® as their vehicle donation charity through our Cars 4 Causes® Charity Partners Program. Then, our donation team works with them, taking care of their vehicle donations.

Connecticut and Virginia

A Cars 4 Causes(R) Charity Partner, Everybody WINS Connecticut

One of the recent additions to Cars 4 Causes® Charity Partners is Connecticut-based Everybody WINS Connecticut – a reading tutor and leadership program for youngsters. One of the creative things this charity does is pair middle school children with younger ones, to serve as ‘reading role models’.

In Lorton, Virginia, the Methuselah Foundation is dedicated to extending healthy human life, working for strategies that promote long-term health and to finding cures to age-related diseases.

From Georgia to California

In Atlanta, Georgia, our Charity Partner, the Ahimsa House, helps victims of

Ahimsa House, in Atlanta, Georgia, is a Cars 4 Causes (R) Charity Partner

domestic violence by providing care for their pets ; in Austin, Texas, My Healing Place helps people through grief and loss; and the Reno, Nevada-based Koinonia Family Services helps find foster and adoptive homes for children. In Los Angeles, Calif., A New Way of Life Reentry Project provides reentry support and sober living housing to previously incarcerated women and their children.

Coast to coast and beyond, charities are benefiting from donations to Cars 4 Causes®, the Charity that Gives to Charities®.We encourage you to visit our list of over 13,400 charities that benefit from donations to Cars 4 Causes®. We think you’ll be as amazed at the variety of helpful philanthropies as we are.

And come back frequently. More charities are joining the list every week.