Hi duke1245 –
What a fine program you run there! Yes, it sounds like you really do
need a van donated. It would be much better to have that $1000 go to
the animals!
As you can see here, there are always people willing to donate. The
trick is matching the donors to the charities with the need –
To whom should I give my 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan?
http://philip.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0004qU
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ADVERTISE
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So, the first step is to GET THE WORD OUT! Make sure every individual
and every company in your city knows that your organization is looking
for a donation. Advertise it on your website, flyers, posters, in the
paper, everywhere!
“The Shomron SPCA desperately needs a new rescue vehicle that can also
be used to haul abused horses and donkeys. Their current vehicle, a
donated 1986 Subaru delivery van with over 160,000 miles on it, is in
constant need of repair and cannot haul large animals. … Can anyone
donate all or part of the cost of this vehicle for the SPCA and take a
tax-deduction? Can anyone ask a local GMC dealer to donate this
vehicle in exchange for positive publicity?”
CHAI
http://www.chai-online.org/shelters.htm
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“Donations needed for our transport van! Our dogs stay in foster-care
every night (none stay in the store). We love this and our foster
dogs do to! Unfortunately, we have a problem -- the van is without
air conditioning and has been for several weeks….”
FURR ANGELS SHELTER
http://www.furr-angels.com/shelter_petconnection.htm
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“Donate your used car or truck; we handle all paperwork/pickup. OR,
donate a new van or truck for actual rescuing/transporting of dogs.”
SECOND CHANCE RESCUE
http://www.secondchancerescue.com/don_help.html
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SOLICIT
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The next step is to actively solicit individuals, businesses and
government organizations. You would be surprised how many vehicles are
donated by such organizations. Although some of these below are not
directly related to what you need, I provide them in a effort to show
you the different avenues you could pursue.
“The Orange County Vehicle Donation program provides vehicles to
eligible low income working families in transportation crisis.
Vehicles are to be used for work related transportation.”
ORANGE COUNTY, NC - DOT
http://www.co.orange.nc.us/aging/wfw/#donate
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“VAN DONATION - We got a 17 passenger van from DOT last month, at no
cost to us, and it is in for painting. It will only cost us the price
of the materials, thanks to Edwin Manchester of Cherokee Houseraising,
who is going to make a donation to help with those costs.”
VALLEY RIVER ANIMAL SHELTER
http://www.valleyriverhumanesociety.org/humane/html/recent_news_from_vrhs.html
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Car dealer gives cars to people coming off welfare
http://www.news-star.com/stories/092197/lfe_car.html
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“Special Thanks to Tony, Bob & Heidi, and the whole staff at Tyson
Motors on Rte. 51 & I55 in Shorewood …for donating their used parts
van to the shelter after our van could no longer be used.”
WILL COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY
http://www.wchumanesociety.org/specialthanks.html
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Private sector could play key role in filling transportation gaps for
the working poor
““We accept about 60 to 70 cars per day,” said George Fink, who
manages the program. “The most important thing is that it puts people
into cheap transportation who need it …””
DETROIT NEWS - Donations of cars, van pools offer relief
http://www.detnews.com/specialreports/2001/poverty/solutions/solutions.htm
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SHOP GOVERNMENT AUCTIONS
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Another option, if there is one in your area, is to approach US
Customs / Dept of the Treasury, regarding seized vehicles. You can
ask if they have a donation program or you can attend the next auction
a bid on a vehicle. These are vehicles that have been seized by the US
government and are usually sold for a very low price. For example:
1994, DODGE GRAND CARAVAN, VAN, $450
Auction locations and prices paid for cars at previous auctions are
here –
DEPT OF THE TREASURY – Auctions
http://www.treas.gov/auctions/customs/
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REPAIR THE OLD VAN FOR FREE
============================
You could also try to find a way to have your old non-working van
repaired for free.
First, solicit parts donations from auto parts stores or repair shops.
Then, for the actual work, approach your local vocational schools and
technical colleges. They often solicit vehicles to be worked on by
students. In some cases they only do this if you actually donate the
vehicle to them outright so that they can sell it for profit, but
because you are a 501-c organization, there might be one near you that
would consider taking on the job and returning the vehicle to you.
For example –
State Farm donations keep auto collision repair training on the
cutting edge.
http://www.dtae.org/public/results2/road.html
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CONTACT AUTO-DONATION ORGANIZATIONS
=========================================
Many non-profit organizations solicit car donations as part of their
ongoing fund-raising efforts. They accept hundreds of cars from all
over the country and then (sometimes first fixing them up) resell
them. The donors get a tax deduction and the non-profit group gets the
money which they then supposedly keep for their own charity or
contribute to a named charity.
Now I understand that you are not in this business (and it literally
is a business unto itself) and I’m certainly not encouraging you to
become involved in it. There has been a lot of legal discussion on the
fine line these organizations are walking in using their 501-c status
to obtain donations.
But here’s my thought. Suppose you contacted one of these
organizations and asked if they could find a vehicle for you. They are
already advertising and have the leads. Maybe it would save your group
the steps.
Here’s where I would start ---
AUTOS FOR ANIMALS
http://www.autos4animals.org/mainpage.htm
As you can see there are a million similar organizations …
://www.google.com/search?q=%22VEHICLE+DONATION%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1
Now, many of these look pretty suspicious to me so I would caution you
against becoming involved with any of them. But perhaps if you can
talk to someone at the animal one, they could help you in your search.
Here’s a list of reputable programs –
CHARITY REVIEW COUNSEL – AUTO DONOR PROGRAMS
http://www.crcmn.org/donorinfo/autolist.htm
VEHICLE DONATION PROGRAMS
http://www.getbehindthewheel.com/topics/donate_a_vehicle/donate_a_vehicle.htm
More useful might be to contact a large Humane Society nearby that
solicits vehicle donations – here is a list to start with – (to
narrow it down, add your city to the search terms.)
GOOGLE SEARCH RESULTS - "VEHICLE DONATION" "HUMANE SOCIETY"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22VEHICLE+DONATION%22+%22humane+society%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1
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KNOW THE LAW
===========================
Remember, it is important that you understand the legalities of
soliciting a vehicle. The legal issue being argued with regard to the
above vehicle-donation organizations has to do with what they are
telling the donors to deduct on their taxes. Make sure you do not
falsely advertise the donor benefits.
Here’s more on that ---
THE CHARITY REVIEW COUNCIL
Donating Your Car to Charity
http://www.crcmn.org/donorinfo/autodonations.htm
IRS RULES
http://www.simpsonthacher.com/FSL5CS/articles/articles415.asp
IRS MEMO
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/0527mem1.pdf
Donate a Car? (scroll down)
http://www.vcnet.com/~cffop/donations.html
Other useful information –
SAMPLE AUTO DONATION FORM
SANTA CLARA VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY
http://www.scvhumane.org/you_can_help/donation/auto_form.htm
And, last of all, you always have to decide whether it’s easier to get
the donation of the vehicle or to raise the money to buy one yourself.
Sometimes it makes more sense to raise a couple thousand dollars from
various sources than to try to convince a single person to make a
donation of an entire vehicle. So keep that thought in mind as well.
The information above should give you a good start on finding a new
van for your critters. Good luck in your project. If anything I’ve
said isn’t clear, please feel free to ask for clarification.
--K~
search terms –
car donations
Auto donations
"VEHICLE DONATION"
Donation van “animal shelter”
Department of transportation donations
Department of transportation car donations
US Customs auto auction
"VEHICLE DONATION" "humane society"
auto repair student program donation |
