By: Dr. Jay B Stockman O.D.
Mother natures fury, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes, have wreaked havoc on many people, and communities. As a result of these devastating events, homes, and lives have been destroyed. Rebuilding infrastructure and property, requires a great deal of resources, and capital. Federal, and local financial aid are much needed, however this aid falls short of what is truly required. Individual contributions are vital to fill these vast short falls. Beyond monetary contributions, donating a used vehicle can greatly benefit the needs of these desperate communities. A car donation is a process whereby both the donors, and the recipients benefit from the transaction.
Car Donations are relatively easy, and are done through a charity vehicle donation program. Generally, a telephone call is all that is necessary, in addition to a clear title to the automobile. Many charities will take vehicles that are running or not running. The car donation program will arrange for the vehicle to be picked up, conduct a charity auction sale, and distribute the proceeds to the charity of your choice. It is important to have the following information ready before you make the call:
- Owner’s name
- Owner’s address
- Owner’s telephone number - work and home
- Owner’s e-mail address
- Year, Make and model of vehicle
- Running Condition?
- Address where the vehicle is located.
- Approximate mileage on vehicle
Your car donation is fully tax deductible, as long as the charity is a registered 501(c)3 organization. A registered 501(c)3 organization is a non-profit organization permitted by the IRS to accept contributions and offer donors a tax deduction for their gifts. Thanks to a new tax law in effect as of January 2005, the IRS has taken the guesswork out of determining the value of your vehicle. You may deduct the full price that is received from the sale of your car. This greatly simplifies the process, because you no longer have to research and arrive at an estimate of the fair market value of the vehicle. This also eliminates the risk of getting into trouble by overstating the value of your deduction on your tax return. Youll know exactly the amount you may deduct, eliminating guesswork, and saving both time and risk.
A car donation will help provide humanitarian aid, and disaster relief for devastated areas, and communities. Additionally, a car donation will eliminate the hassles of selling a car, and give something back to a community in need at the same time. A car donation can and will make a difference.
About the Author: Jay B Stockman is a contributing editor for Charity Car Donation Service Resource Visit http://www.car-donation-usa.com/ for more information.
Source: www.isnare.com
May 20th, 2006
By: PRWeb
Soldiers Angels announces its new Car Donation Program, now along with donating dollars, items and Stocks you can also donate your automobile, boat or recreation vehicle.
(PRWEB) December 16, 2005 — Do you have an old car, boat, or motorcycle you do not know what to do with? If the answer is yes then please consider donating it to Soldiers’ Angels so the proceeds from the sale of the vehicle may be used to help our deployed and wounded military members.
Soldiers’ Angels and the Donate a Car program have teamed up to take those unwanted motor vehicles off your hand and use the money to support our troops. All you have to is go to www.soldiersangels.org and click on the donate a car button, you will be prompted to a donation form, fill it out, submit it, and someone will come and pick up the donated vehicle.
The money from this donation could help purchase welcome care packages , much need medical supplies for the combat support hospitals, supplies for the wounded, as well as help a military family that has hit hard times.
Call Donate a Car, toll-free seven days a week at 1-800-513-6560 ext 2030 or Soldiers’ Angels at 1-626-398-3131 and one of our friendly customer service representatives would be happy to answer all of your questions.
http://soldiersangels.org
Soldiers Angels
1792 E. Washington Blvd
Pasadena, Ca. 91104
May 20th, 2006
By: Christopher Luck
Donating money and good is a great way to help out worthy causes while still helping yourself out on your taxes. Car donation is no different. Even though some of the car donation tax laws changed a few years back, this is still a great way to help yourself and others. So if you have an old car and just arent quite sure what to do with it, then consider a charitable donation of your vehicle.
As of 2005, the laws for car donation changed. For motor vehicles, boats, and airplanes that are valued at more than $500, things are a bit different than before. The allowable amount of the deduction is now limited to whatever amount the charity sells it for. The charity to which your car donation is made is required to provide you with written acknowledgement of your donation within 30 days of you making it. If the charity provides any false or exaggerated acknowledgement, they can be penalized.
As of the first of January in 2005, when you make a car donation, the tax write off is based on how the charity uses your donated car. If it is sold, you can deduct the gross sale price. If, on the other hand, the charity uses the car for what the new law calls significant tax-approved work of charity, you would be able to claim the market value of the vehicle. Again, however, there are stiff penalties for falsified documents.
Some of the charities, despite acknowledging that the old laws had problems, are skeptical of the new car donation laws. Many of these organizations are concerned about what will happen when the tax deduction responsibility is put in the hands of the charities rather than the donors. A group of them actually sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary suggesting that people may be discouraged from donating when they are unaware of their deduction amount. Not being able to weigh the cost to the benefit of donation may discourage some auto donations.
If you do choose to make a car donation, you will find that the process is very easy. Most charities that offer to take your vehicle will have information on line or via phone about it. In many cases, in fact, you can fill out the appropriate forms on line to get the process underway. You also will likely not even have to be home and the vehicle may not even need to be in working condition. Many charities will come and toe your car away if you can simply leave the title under a floor mat along with the key and put it somewhere accessible http://www.napadaily.com/category/automotive-guides. As soon as the car is sold, you will receive a document in the mail letting you know how much you can write off of your taxes, legally.
Since many charities rely on donations of all sorts: clothing, cars, money, and even appliances, think about what you are doing when you make an auto donation. By donating your vehicle, you are helping out a worthy cause of your choice. In addition, you are helping yourself out. Sure, the tax laws have changed, but you can still benefit from your donation. The car doesnt have to run to be eligible, so your write off might still be more than selling it for junk. So feel good about yourself, help your tax line, and get rid of that old junker by donating your car.
About the Author: If you would like the latest car donation secrets, or find more of my articles, please visit my automotive blog. Thank you for your time!
Source: www.isnare.com
May 20th, 2006
By: Mansi Aggarwal
Charity is perhaps the best feature of humanity. It is a perfect way to support the downtrodden. There are many types of natural and man-made evils in our society. So, there are variable causes for which the blessed ones can and should donate. Unlike before, nowadays there are numerous charitable institutions across the globes that are working in different areas. The main aim of a charitable organization is to help the people in need and work for their development. For instance helping in the rehabilitation of victims of natural disasters like famines, tsunami, earthquakes etc., working for prisoners of war or any oppressed community, child education, women upliftment and so forth are some different tasks taken up by these organizations. So, charitable organizations can variously be literary, religious, scientific and so forth. These organizations largely rely on government grants and the charities/ donations by the well-to-do section of society in order to function or continue with their respective social service. However, people may have different motives behind donating money in these charitable foundations. While there are those who contribute for the sake of human welfare there are others who do it to earn recognition and save tax. Tax wavier possibly is one of the foremost reasons at the moment that instigates many affluent people, multinational companies, and corporations to give money in these institutions. However, those who donate for the purpose of saving tax should keep in mind that every charity is not tax deductible.
There are basically two types of non-profit organizations.
1. Charitable institutions that are exempted from paying taxes.
2. Institutions to which the donations made are tax-free. Such organizations are registered under the 501 (c)(3) category of the Internal Revenue Service. Once you make a donation to any such organization, get a receipt made as evidence to assist you in tax deduction.
But besides enlisted in the 501 (C)(3) category, several other things about an organization should be considered before making a donation.
Check the annual report of the organization. Annual report will brief you with the requisite crucial details such as current work, situation, finances etc. of the organization.
Also take into consideration the institutions aims and means proposed to achieve them.
Notice the amount of donations the charity receives annually and its sources.
In case of door- to- door solicitations, prior to parting off with your money, try to wrinkle out the important details (the name, full address, goals, licensing, tax deduction and so forth) of the organization. If that person is unable to present the details, he might be fake, trying to befool people.
Charities can be made in different forms. Giving cash is one way; other ways include giving those items that the constitution requires. For example if the charity is working for rehabilitation of tsunami victims then facilitating it with tents, food stuffs, clothing etc. will be an appropriate rather wonderful charity. Generally people are under the illusion that only large sum of money can be given as charity, but this is not the case like. Donation can be as small as 10 or 20 dollars. The amount does not actually make a difference, what actually matters are your philanthropic feelings and desire to contribute.
About the Author: Mansi Aggarwal writes about charity donations. Learn more at http://www.givingtocharities.com
Source: www.isnare.com
May 20th, 2006
By: John Mancini
Many people ask why about most things in their lives, especially when it comes to a sacrifice that they must make. One of these aspects in life includes work done for noble causes. This includes donations, charity work and volunteer work for the greater good. Many people need to see on paper why they should do such a thing like donate their car. There are social reasons as well as personal reasons that you will want to donate a car. Read below for more.
The Social Reasons for Donating a Vehicle
The social reasons for car donations are innumerable. There are so many services that are available to the community when cars are donated. Volunteers of America has a Vehicle Donation Program that is dedicated to helping the community through the charitable donation of cars.
Volunteers of America offers children and youth services that are built for the purpose of protecting children, teenagers and families. There are also elderly services that offer retirement communities, meal programs and assisted living programs.
In addition to these, there are also emergency services, homeless services, and housing services that benefit from something as simple as donating a car. The goal is to reach out to the community and to keep the hungry fed and housed. The housing services help individuals who may never consider owning a home become first time homebuyers.
The Personal Reasons for Donating a Vehicle
There are many personal reasons to donate the car, boat, RV, SUV or other vehicle. The first is the sense that you have done something good for someone else. The feeling you have done something for the community will give you a greater sense of connection within the community.
Also, the process is much easier than trying to sell a car whether through a car company or through for sell by owner. There is also the financial aspect. Donating a car can be a nice tax write off and you can often save more off of taxes than you could actually sell the car for.
About the Author: John Mancini is a true car maniac. To get more information about car donations, visit http://www.donate-a-car-now.net or http://www.cardonationexplained.info
Source: www.isnare.com
May 20th, 2006