This short guide was created to help you understand the basics of car donation charities and to help you choose the right car donation charity for you. We do not offer any car donation services ourselves, so you can be assured that all of the information in this guide is independent and unbiased.

Background on car donation charities
Donating your car, truck, trailer, boat, motorhome or other vehicle is an increasingly popular way to contribute to charitable organizations. Not only does car donation help those in need, but it also eliminates the hassle of selling your car yourself AND can give you a tax deduction. When you donate a car to charity, the car will typically be sold through a dealer network or at auction, and the proceeds of the sale will be used to fund the charity. However, some car donation charities will take the car, refurbish it, and give it directly to needy families or other groups.

If you are currently considering donating your car to a charitable organization, you've probably already seen that there are dozens of car donation charities 'competing' for your business. But not all car donation charities are the same, and if you're conscientious enough to donate your car to charity, you probably also want to make sure that your car donation has the most positive impact on the cause you want to support.

There are three main types of organizations that will accept your car donation. The first type is not really a charity at all, but is a for-profit company that acts as a clearinghouse for car donations. These car dealers and professional fund-raising companies handle all the logistics of the donation and sale of the vehicle and then give those proceeds to the 'end' charity of your choice. Although these car dealers and professional fund-raising companies can provide a valuable service, they do take a certain percentage of the value of the vehicle- this is money that therefore does NOT go directly to the charity.

The next type of organization that accepts car donations are clearinghouses as described above, but is non-profit. These car donation charities have car donation as their only function- they handle the logistics of the donation and sale, and then give the proceeds to other charities. As non-profit organizations, more of the donation makes its way to 'end' charities when compared to for-profit dealers and fund-raisers.

The third type of organization that accepts car donations is charities that handle the logistics of the donation and sale and then use those funds internally for charitable