Posts Tagged ‘car donations’

Car Donation Charity Founder Admits to Fraud

Monday, August 16th, 2010

After pocketing over $2 million from car donations, Shoba Bakhsh, founder of “Hope for the Disabled Kids, Inc.,” has plead guilty on the charges placed against her. This is in line with the State Attorney General’s efforts to crack down on fraudulent car donation charities.

Bakhsh was charged with lying to donors and misusing the funds for her own family and uses. Since the lawsuit, her company has been shut down. In the time it was operating, it accepted thousands of cars generating over 2 million dollars. The company operated eight years, and not a penny was spent on the charitable organizations it claimed to represent for the last two. Although, because Bakhsh destroyed all the records from the previous years, there is no telling if anything ever went to the charities.

As Attorney General Cuomo stated, “This individual manipulated donors and exploited children with serious medical needs in order to enrich herself and her family. As a result of her actions, millions of dollars that should have gone to help disabled children were instead spent on department store bills and real estate. As our investigation continues, my office encourages New Yorkers to be generous and informed donors.”

When you donate a car to charity, do yourself a favor and do the research. You want to make sure your money goes to good use, and the one sure way to do that is to pick a great company to complete the transaction for you.

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Car Donations In Any Condition

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

A car doesn’t have to be in working condition to be a valid donation. In fact, you can donate a car that doesn’t seem to have any redeemable value at all. There is even a special occasion when someone will make sure the vehicle never runs again before trying to sell it. The resulting shape and state of these vehicles has been called “art” by some and “cubes” by others.


While some charities use a car donation as transportation within their own organization and others fix up the vehicles to sell them at auction, these options just aren’t available for vehicles that have been – in the best sense of the phrase – run into the ground. That doesn’t mean they are completely worthless, though. In fact, up in Winnipeg there is currently a program going on in which the Habitat for Humanity is benefiting from cars that have a certain “boxy” theme to them.

In an article in the Winnipeg Free Press they discuss the collaboration between Habitat for Humanity and Urbanmine – a metal recycler. This car donation program will give the proceeds from the recycled car to Habitat, which will then used those funds to help with the construction of new homes. This is just one of the many examples of people using charitable car donations to make a difference wherever they can. In this case, there are two distinct benefits. One, the Habitat for Humanity will receive some very important funding, and two, the recycling process will remove old clunkers from the road and make sure they don’t just waste away in a landfill.

No matter how attached you may be to your old car, there comes a time when you just have to let it go. You may not be fond of the idea that your faithful car or truck is headed toward a temporary career as “modern art” but the money made from recycling the steel and other components in the car can really help out a worthy organization.

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State Attorney General Cracks Down on Fraudulent Car Donation Charities

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recently announced on Tuesday June 22nd that he has subpoenaed 16 different car donation charities and fundraisers that could be scams. This is all part of an ongoing investigation that Cuomo hopes will halt fraudulent activity that takes advantage of trusting citizens.

One organization, Feed the Hungry (FTH) is charged with raising $430,000 with car donations between 2002 and 2009 but only donating 1.8 percent of that towards its said cause of feeding homeless New Yorkers. The rest of the money, was allegedly spent on personal purchases by the director of the charity, Nicholas Cascone Jr.

When you decide to donate a car, it cannot be expressed enough that you need to carefully consider your options. While you might believe you are making a charitable contribution, you might just be taken for a ride instead.

“We remain concerned that similar practices may prevail in other organizations and will diligently work to root out any other sham charities. As we continue working to clean up this industry, we encourage generous New Yorkers to stay informed and to keep donating to worthy charities,” said Cuomo.

Other charities that are under the microscope include Kars 4 Kids, Bless the Kids and Lechaim for Life. While you can still receive your car donation tax deduction if you were to donate to such charities, you might not be donating to a worthy cause and these companies are still taking advantage of their nonprofit status.

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Donating A Car – James Bond Style

Monday, June 14th, 2010

The James Bond Aston Martin DB5 from “Goldfinger” and “Thunderball” is going to be auctioned on October 27th. Since 1969, Jerry Lee, an American radio broadcaster, has owned the classic car.

Aston Martin has only made two special edition cars ever, and this one is completely operational with secret agent gadgets, like a tracking device, revolving number plates, oil slick sprayer, machine guns, nail spreader and a bulletproof shield.

Like many car donations, the proceeds from this auction will go towards charity, and while your car donation might not bring in the $6 million expected from the car driven by Sean Connery, you can still make a difference with a car donation of your own.

When you donate a car to charity, you help those in need. And who knows, maybe getting rid of that clunker will help free you up to purchase the ultimate car, the James Bond Aston Martin DB5.

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Avoiding Car Donation Scams

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

When you want to donate a car, you have to be careful which business to which you donate. As with any business, there are some scams, and unfortunately, when it comes to charities, some people are all too willing to play on your heartstrings and take your money. We recently came across this video about car donation scams, and we thought it would be good to pass along.

This video describes something that is unfortunately, common practice for some car donation operations. Rest assured, when you donate a car to 1800CarDonations.org, we make sure your money actually gets into the hands of people who need it.

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Choosing A Car Donation Charity

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

In the car donation business, a few charities are, unfortunately, less than stellar. In the news recently, you may have heard about Cars 4 Causes®, which is currently undergoing a lawsuit for allegedly failing to pay the funds owed to the fundraiser. You can read about the lawsuit here, but here is the short version of what happened:

  • Cars 4 Causes hired Charity Development, LLC to handle the logistics of car donations. Charity Development handles the repair, storage and selling of the cars given to Cars 4 Causes, and Charity Development in turn gives Cars 4 Causes the money.
  • Charity Development claims that they have been delivering more proceeds to Cars 4 Causes than the company has actually donated to charities.
  • Charity Development asserts that Cars 4 Causes is only giving about 16% of the proceeds to the designated charities, while they are spending the rest on their own internal overhead and other programs.

When you want to donate a car to charity, make sure you choose a reputable company that will do its part of the bargain. Make sure you research the charity company online and find out everything you can about them. If they are reputable, then they will not have anything to hide.

At 1800CarDonations.org, we care just as much about your charity car donation as you do. Make sure your donation goes to people in need, and make sure you choose a company that can help your donation make a difference.

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How A Tax Deduction Works When You Donate a Car

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

One of the biggest incentives to entice you to donate a car is the tax deduction that you get from the government. A few years ago, the IRS buckled down on car donations and some things changed, but that doesn’t mean that you still can’t get your car’s value. Here’s how it all works:

  1. When you decide to donate a car to charity, it used to be that you could deduct the fair market value of your car—which is not the same thing as the full “suggested retail price.” However, because people were abusing this, the IRS stepped in.
  2. Now, when you do a car donation to charity, you do not have much (if any) control over the amount you get back from the government. If your car is valued over $500, then your deduction is based on the actual selling price from the charity. This means:
  3. You need to donate your car, and within 30 days, the charity will send you the statement that says the amount for which your car sold. It can be a little scary donating a car without knowing how much money you’ll get back, but that is how it works with every charity organization.
  4. When you file for your deduction, you will need to include this statement of sale with the tax return.
  5. After that, it is easy, since you only need to wait for the money from the government—which is sometimes easier said than done.

The process to donate a car is especially easy, even with the changes from the IRS. It puts a lot more control in the government’s hands, but the end result is the same.

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IRS Rules For Charity Car Donations

Monday, April 26th, 2010

One of the many benefits of donating a car to charity is the opportunity to take a significant tax deduction. However, in order to get the best tax break possible, it is very important that you follow all the rules and suggestions laid out by the IRS. This way you can receive your deduction without incurring too much unwanted interest from the Internal Revenue Service.

A few years ago the rules changed regarding the amount you can claim for a donation. Now, the amount you can deduct is based on the fair market value of the car, unless that value is over a certain amount. You can find more details about these deductions on the IRS page.

The IRS, however, has made a number of suggestions to make this process easier. They recommend:

Itemizing Your Deduction

Often, tax payers don’t itemize their deductions because it is so much easier to take the standard deduction. If, however, you are planning to claim a car donation, you must take the time to fully itemize your tax deductions.

Calculating/Deducting the Fair Market Value

Before you do your taxes, you are going to have to figure out the actual value of the vehicle. This can be done with many of the buying guides on the market, but be sure to take mileage, condition, and other factors into consideration. You are allowed to deduct the fair market value of the vehicle, up to a certain amount. Remember, if that value exceeds that number, then the deduction should be kept to the amount of the gross proceeds.

Document Everything

It’s no secret that the IRS is going to want proof of all your activities. That means you will need to have all the proper records and information ready for them. You will receive a receipt that shows your donation, and you will need to hang on to any other related documents as well.

Donating your car to charity isn’t a difficult process. Just make sure that you follow these rules and suggestions to maximize your deduction and get as much value out of your vehicle as possible.

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Consider A Car Donation On Earth Day

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Your tires are bald, your engine is making noises that are more than a little disturbing, the windshield is full of cracks, and your passenger door doesn’t quite shut all the way. It might be time to get rid of your old clunker. You could try to sell it, but that would mean having to distract the buyer as he or she starts the car so they don’t notice the cloud of blue smoke coughing out of the muffler. There is a better way to get rid of your car, and there is – just possibly – another reason to consider putting that old car to rest.

On April 22, the country officially celebrates Earth Day – a day to take time out and consider (and either appreciate or worry about) the current condition of the environment. Whether you are “green” or not, this is a good time to consider the little things that you could do to improve the situation. Earth Day doesn’t mean you have to go out of your way and start planting new trees in and around the city, but perhaps this is the time to consider getting rid of a gas guzzling clunker.

Car donations can be beneficial in many different ways. When you donate a car to charity it will usually be sold at auction, or it will be broken down into parts that can be sold off. Of course, if it isn’t sellable, it can always be recycled. Whatever the final destination of the car, you will be able to provide some value somewhere with that old vehicle. The proceeds from the car will benefit the charitable organizations, you will be eligible for a tax deduction, and you will be removing an inefficient vehicle from the road. That’s three great reasons to consider donating a car.

If you have been looking for that one more reason to donate a car to charity, think about the upcoming Earth Day and decide whether or not this is the time to move away from those old and inefficient vehicles, help people in need, and, in a small way, improve environmental conditions.

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