Donating a car could hardly be simpler. Since charities discovered the desire of the public to make donations in the form of unneeded vehicles and the possibility of realizing a large new stream of revenue, they have made the process much simpler. Rather than taking the car to the charity yourself, now you need only do little more than make a phone call or two and fill out a few forms.

These days a large percentage of charities are able to accept the donation of a car or truck (or even a boat or a recreational vehicle) and quickly liquidate it at auction. The proceeds can then go immediately to work furthering their causes. Even small charities with limited resources, who could hardly have spent the time and money towing and selling vehicles, can also recognize this stream of income by contracting with a transportation and processing service.

Car donation processing services handle the mechanics of picking up and towing donated vehicles to auction. They generally charge a small fee for expenses which is often less than the charity would have spent to do it themselves. For the donor, however, this means that he or she should not only look into the practices of the charity but also of the processing company. Often the processor is the only person that sees you or your vehicle so you want to be certain they are trustworthy.

The Life Cycle of a Car Donation

During your initial call to ensure the charity can accept your vehicle (which they usually can as long as it runs) they will usually set up a pick-up time with you or will have you contact their processing company to do so. There will be some forms to fill out that can be handled through the mail and you will need to have the title in hand to sign over to them. When they receive your donation, you will be given a formal letter verifying such for tax purposes.