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How to Make Sure You Donate to a Charity That Serves Your Local Area
Just about everyone who is moved to donate to charity, whether in the form of a vehicle, other non-cash goods or plain 'ol money, wants to be sure their gift goes to the best possible use. One way to make sure that happens it to actually become involved in your chosen charity. In most cases, that's best done on the local level. Such opportunities can also be a good social outlet for those who don't otherwise get out much or are sick of meeting all the same old people. Volunteerism is one of the best ways for those without a lot of extra money or stuff lying about to donate to charity without breaking the bank. In essence, the thing you are best able to donate is that you have extra of. Many people have more than plenty of extra stuff, whereas they don't often think of themselves as having any extra money. It is on this premise that the Goodwill and Salvation Army (among many others) began taking donations of non-cash goods from the start, creating their now-famous thrift stores. Since the Goodwill organization came up with the idea of taking old cars in the 1960s, it has caught on. It should be noted that many of the advertisements you see are actually put up by for-profit agents of otherwise legitimate charitable organizations. When you donate to a charity that employs such an organization, you may only donate a fraction of the car's real value to your charity. It is in everyone's best interest that you keep your business with charities as direct as possible, and that means localism, too. This, of course, isn't good for local causes. Therefore, perhaps the easiest way to make sure the vehicle or goods you donate to charity are actually used for that purpose is to find out, before you donate, just what sort of use they intend to put your old auto. Ideally, this would then be fixed up a bit and donated to a needy individual or family who are in grave need of transportation. One thing that many ads imploring you to to take just about any vehicle you own (regardless of the shape) and donate to charity, is that there actually is a great need for transportation among the working poor. Often the least expensive rents, or places that don't require first and last month's rent saved up, are often found well outside the metro boundaries. Conversely, many of the manufacturing job and other entry-level work has moved out to where it's cheap to build a "big box" store, namely, the outer ring suburbs or larger cities. Of course, there are always people in rural communities that can use any good quality car that you can donate to charity Though fewer than half in the US live outside urban areas, that still means several million people are working (and often commuting to) rural America. That means that the donation of real cars to people who need to drive them is paramount, no matter where you live. Though national services that operate large public campaigns, encouraging people to donate to charity. The problem is, unless your charity is truly local, you don't know what's going to happen to your car or the charity of your choice. It is your right and duty to check and see where the car is going and to what use. If the organization you organize the pick up and/or sale with is a third-party agent (almost always operated for profit), you may need to keep looking for a charitable organization in your local community that is not focused on selling your vehicle as soon as it's donated to charity. Though this may require a bit of calling around, there is very likely a local organization that can arrange the gift of a running car to someone who needs it. Counties without large cities often conduct their own pickup and donation service. Your state Attorney General's Office should have a list of charitable organizations registered in the state as well as a list of organizations that are authorized to conduct the necessary filings when your car is donated to charity Don't forget that the local high school and police departments may also benefit when you decide your car is ready to be donated to charity Call around or look online for IRS registered non-profit organizations (NPOs) if you're not sure who is taking cars in your area. | ||
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