Archive for January, 2009

Donate Your Car to Charity

January 19, 2009

I just finally got rid of my 1995 Ford F-150: I donated it to Cars 4 Causes.  So far, the process has been simple. I called them up at 1-800-766-2273 and told them about the car (make, model, mileage, condition, etc.) and they evaluated whether or not they would accept it.  After running it by the “acquisitions” folks, they said they’d take the thing.  

They are making arrangements with my friend (whose driveway has been home to the car for the last 5 months) to pick it up at no cost to me.  I’m mailing them the title, and when they receive the car they will mail me the paperwork with a bill of sale.  Then I can finally take it off my insurance and stop paying property tax on it. 

Separate from their web site, you can also find their blog, including FAQ and easy steps in a searchable, conversational format.  Good stuff.  This made it very user-friendly for me to take care of donating my car located in Connecticut while I am living in Chicago.

Choose your Charity

According to the Frequently Asked Questions, Cars 4 Causes allows car donors to choose the charity which receives 50% of the proceeds from the sale of their donated vehicle. I’m excited that I’ll be able to provide an extra little gift of at least a few hundred dollars to one of my favorite charities.

Other Resources

Check out the IRS guidance for car donors in Publication 4303 here.

Check out the charitable status of any organization through the online version of Publication 78, which is the updated list of nonprofits in good standing maintained by the IRS here

As an example, here are the search results (which are affirmative) for Cars 4 Causes as of January 13, 2009:

Cars 4 Causes on IRS Pub 78

Cars 4 Causes on IRS Pub 78

 

Other Car Donation Services:

Put “Donate Car to Charity” in Google and you’ll pull up 342,000 results, there are lots of organizations with similar names and similar services.  Some organizations are nonprofits themselves, such as Cars 4 Causes.  Others are for-profit middlemen who handle all the details of the transaction (and I believe are paid a fee by the charities they support).  Whether you work with a for-profit or nonprofit, some part of the proceeds from the sale of your car will have to pay the expenses to run the car donation operation, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to work with a for profit management company as long as they are not charging unreasonable fees to their charity partners (isn’t that what we like about social enterprises?).  No matter who you work with, just be sure to check out any organization and make sure you understand how the process works, what portion of the sale price of the car goes to charity and what you will be able to deduct, and what you are responsible for.

Author’s note 3.20.09: Because of the increasingly hostile and unsupported comments from some spammers, I have closed comments on this post.  Everyone’s gotten to say their peace, and I don’t feel additional debate is useful.  Read through the comments and make your own decision about donating your car to the charity of your choice.

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Posted in Giving Things | 18 Comments »

Global Youth Action Network Inauguration Event

January 12, 2009

I got an email from Jonah Wittkamper, one of those people who just goes out and does it.  He’s passionate about getting young people involved in philanthropy and has served as a philanthropic advisor to the next generation of some extremely wealthy families, helping them find a calling and a commitment they are passionate about.  And he’s hosting an inauguration event.  If you live in D.C., or if you’re lucky enough to be headed there for the inauguration, check out his event, which is far more affordable for young people than many others in D.C. next weekend. Jonah’s a “good egg,” as they say, and definitely someone you’ll enjoy knowing.

Are you, or friends, coming to inauguration?

I am hosting an inauguration party to promote the proposal for a Presidential Commission on Youth and Intergenerational Partnerships.

Kennedy created a commission for women, with good results. It seems historically appropriate for Obama to host one for youth. The event will benefit the Global Youth Action Network, the organization behind the idea. They need all the support they can get.

The party goes from 5 to 9pm on Mon, Jan 19. Please help spread the word.

Tickets are $40, which includes free food, drinks and a silent auction. Anyone interested should register early because it is one of the most affordable events in town. Here are links:

The event: http://www.youthlink.org/inauguration/
The idea: http://www.pcoy.org
The Global Youth Action Network: http://www.youthlink.org
To share on facebook: http://www.youthlink.org/pcoy/fb/

I spent 2008 as part of the technology team behind the Obama mobile phone text messaging campaign. It was fun, but I am now returning to issues of youth and philanthropy.

Best wishes,

Jonah

Co-Founder
Campaign for a Presidential Commission on Youth and Intergenerational Partnerships 

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Posted in Involving the Next Generation, Lifestyle | Leave a Comment »

“Giving Game”

January 9, 2009

 

Remember these VW Beetle Convertible commercials (see above) where someone opens a door for someone else and then they trace it backwards and show how one nice thing someone did led to a continual chain of nice things?  Now you (and your kids) can be the person who sets the whole chain in motion.

 There’s an online site www.GivingGame.org that helps you initiate and track a chain of kindness–using cards that are passed along from person to person and then logged on the site. Almost 13,000 people have signed up and there are over 100,000 cards in circulation in 63 countries.

According to the site: “The Giving Game has three critical parts:

“You – You perform a kind act for someone else. Your act of kindness can be done secretly or known to the person.

“Giving Game Cards – You leave a game card with your kind act. Each game card has a unique ID number and will inspire the next person to do another kind act and pass it on! Cards have instructions on the back for the person receiving the kind act to know how to play the Giving Game.

“Giving Game Web Site – Log onto the Giving Game website and track the kind acts you and your card inspired! You can register your card(s) online, record your kind acts, and read the stories of others. As your card travels from one kind person to another, you can see what’s happening, who’s involved and which cities and countries it reaches!”

Getting Started

To get started, you need cards.  Whether you want to do it as an individual or as a group your cards will forever be associated with the originating group.  You can print them off the web site (which probably results in flimsier cards harder to pass on) or you can buy them from the online store.

Helpful hint: you need to register for the game first, then click through and RE-register for the store.  I kept trying to log into the store with my game log-in info until I figured out that it wanted me to register for the store separately.

Cards can be bought for $1 each, or in sets of 30 for $14.10.  The cards can also be customized with your group name and screen name, so the receiver will know where you came from.  

Since it seems only logical to order 30 cards at a time, I ordered a set. (Sticker shock: $8.43 in shipping costs, although this number stays the same if you buy 1 pack of 30 or 2 and goes up to just $8.68 if you order three. Must be assuming some weight and box size.  Aren’t you glad I’m here to do this little bit of research for you?)

I can’t wait to start giving them out and hopefully see them passed on.  I think tracking your cards through the future is the best part, and will make you want to give out more cards to watch them travel.  

You’ve Got the Cards, Now Get Going!

  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is coming up. Are you volunteering with a group somewhere? What a great way to kick off a Giving Game.
  • Get a family pack and put your last name on the custom cards.  What a great family ritual to sit down once a month and track your cards, and of course to try to get additional cards going out there. 
  • If you’re a teacher, do it as a class project.  Print the school name and grade on the cards and give one to each kid to pass on with an act of kindness and then track.  Bonus points for the card that travels the farthest, or passes to the most people.
  • Get  the Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop to order a pack of cards. Customize them with “Pack #1410, Mt. Prospect, IL” for a special touch
  • Do you belong to a Mom’s Group?  A knitting circle? A wine-tasting group? 
  • …or just forget the group and start your own thing! You could keep the cards anonymous so the receiver of your kindness doesn’t know who you are. Pay a stranger’s meter and put a card under the windshield. Snow-blow the neighbor’s driveway and tuck a card in their mailbox. Pick up someone’s tab in the diner and have the wait staff deliver a card instead of a check.  

I’m sure you can think  of lots of great ideas to get the cards in circulation.  And, much like the 29-Day Giving Challenge, a game like this helps us become aware of our own acts of kindness every day. Good stuff.

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Posted in Gift of Giving, Involving the Next Generation | 6 Comments »