8 things to look for when donating your car to charity
When you decide to donate a car or other vehicle to charity in Ontario, the question you might ask yourself is, “Which car donation for charity company should I use?” This is a great question! We have put together a list of things to look for and consider in the process.
With more and more charities and car donation companies entering the marketplace, it’s best to do your due diligence and make the right decision. Here are some things to consider when donating your car:
Is the company website easy to navigate and understand and are the customer service agents available to assist?
Read Google reviews about the car donation for charity company (not the charity itself). Every car donation company has their best reviews on their website. Go to Google Maps to read honest reviews — good, bad and mediocre — from past donors. Or do a Google search on the name of the company to see what you can learn. Then make your decision.
Investigate the charity you are donating to? (Who are they? What do they do? What will your vehicle donation pay for?) Visit the charity’s website. What is their mission and objective? What will your donation pay for?
Is the charity Canadian? Are your donated funds remaining in Canada? If you are in Canada, the assumption would be you are donating to a Canadian charity and the money remains in Canada. Review the Canada Revenue Agency website to ensure the charity you are donating to is a legitimate Canadian-registered charity. You should make sure that the donation dollars from your vehicle are used to help Canadians. Google the charity’s reviews in order to ensure all the money stays in Canada. Or just ask. Be aware that some car donation companies may have Canadian addresses but are in fact based in the United States and ALL the money from your car goes back to the U.S.
Is the list of charities small enough that it’s manageable to navigate and will your donation make a financial impact? If the list of charities is small and varied, it will. However, if it’s too large of a list, it will be hard for your car donation to have a significant impact on the charities themselves. Many charities on a long list can go unnoticed.
Is the company providing a fair value tax receipt for your car? Over-evaluation can be an issue with the Canadian Revenue Agency for the donor, as well as the charity. The biggest tax receipt doesn’t always mean the best. Some companies will dramatically underestimate the value providing a receipt as small as $50. This is an under-evaluation. Think of the fair value for your car. Homeless Cars will always offer a fair value assessment of the vehicle. This reduces all risk of exposure to an audit and cancellation of the tax receipt. Homeless Cars will issue the tax receipt.
Is the donation process quick and seamless? Or is there a third party call to book your tow and process your car at a later date? With Homeless Cars, your tow is booked when you call to donate. There is no such thing as waiting days for a second call to book your tow. One short call will take care of the entire process.
Is the company environmentally friendly? Do they reduce, reuse and recycle? When you donate your old vehicle, every part of that vehicle should be recycled. At Homeless Cars, we:
• reuse all steel and aluminum, saving energy required to create new parts
• responsibly dispose of all fluids, preventing leaching into soil
• reuse or repurpose all spare auto parts, reducing the size of landfills
Have more questions? Please reach out to us directly through our contact form.