Car Donation Talk

Through out the United States of America and other parts of the world, there are various car donation centers so it’s just a mater of contacting the one that is close to you if you intend to make a car donation.

What one should do is just go to the internet and down load fill out the vehicle donation form. The vehicle donation forms are normally easy to fill and they allow a person to select which charity you would like to donate your car to.

The first thing to do is check the legality of the charity before making any donation to them. It is not enough to think that a charity is genuine just because they said so, it is always important to do a thorough research on them.

An individual can even go to an extent of calling the division of tax exempt under the IRS to confirms whether it is legal After filling the request and it is accepted, the day that the car is to be picked by the car donation center, the donor should just clean it, clear all personal belongings and place the keys under the dash board.

The license plates should be removed and returned to the DMV. But there are other places where the license plates don’t need to be removed.

What follows is that the donor is issued with a receipt from the towing agency when the vehicle is being picked up.

On it, there will be the information about the donated car along with the donors name, address and phone number.

At this point after the car has been towed, the donor just needs to inform the charity organization so that the car is on their possession and in return they will mail back the tax deduction receipt along with any other document that is vital.

When filling on the title, the donor should sign his/her name on the column that is written Seller just the way it appears on the title document.

It is good also to request the charity for a tax-exempt status and other documents just to be sure that they are not taking you for a ride.

The rules of donating a car have changed in nowadays the sense that, after taking your car to a car donation center, the donor can claim the fair market value as that of the tax deduction.

Chicago, Arlington House, Sunday, October 23, 2005, 6:15 am

Yesterday, after our lovely Austrian breakfast we went downtown to the Chicago Cultural Center, the main downtown information hub for tourists, to ask some questions about the Pullman Historic District, a planned industrial community, built in the 1880s by industrial magnate George Pullman, creator of the famous Pullman sleeper cars. We figured this would be an interesting place to visit since it brings together architecture, social and industrial history, and it would really give us insight into one of the most interesting personalities of Chicago’s history.

To get more information about this neighbourhood we talked to one of the volunteer greeters who staff the Chicago Cultural Center and offer their local expertise to visitors free of charge. The Chicago Greeter program today offers 150 greeters speaking 20 languages and the Greeter program is one of the best ways of getting to know the city through the eyes of a local resident.

As a matter of fact, I had registered electronically for a Chicago Greeter Tour prior to my departure, but something had gone wrong with my registration and as a result I was not assigned a greeter. The good thing is that the City of Chicago also offers “InstaGreeters” – local volunteers / experts who take people on downtown walking tours without the necessity of a prior registration.

This is how we happened upon our very own personal InstaGreeter tour: Chicago Greeter and local expert Don talked to us a bit about the Pullman Historic District, but the more we talked, and the more he saw that we were really interested, he asked us whether we wanted a 20 minute tour of the Chicago Cultural Center. Considering that this is a Chicago landmark we readily agreed.

The Chicago Cultural Center was originally dedicated in 1897 as the city’s original Public Library. It is an impressive limestone-faced building with intricate details, marble staircases, patterned ceilings, beautiful floor mosaics and two impressive stained glass domes. The cupola on the south side of the building is the world’s largest Tiffany stained-glass dome.

Today the Cultural Center houses one of the city’s Visitor Information Centers , various galleries, exhibition and meeting spaces, the Landmark Chicago Gallery which displays photographs from the permanent collection of Chicago landmarks, the 294-seat Claudia Cassidy Theater as well as the Studio Theater and various other facilities. You can even get married inside the Chicago Cultural Center.

Designed in the beaux-arts style by the Boston firm Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the Chicago Cultural Center was completed in 1897 and dedicated as the city’s original Chicago Public Library. Completed at a cost of nearly $2 million, this remarkable monument was inspired by the neo-classical style of the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893.

To start off, Don told us that the name of the city of Chicago is an Indian word for “stinky onion swamp”. He also explained that Chicago is a city of superlatives: 3 of the world’s 10 highest buildings are located here. Chicago is also widely considered to be the birthplace of modern architecture and a living museum of architecture, showcasing some of the world’s most famous architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Gehry.

Chicago likes to do everything big. The world’s largest public library is located here: the Harold Washington Library Center houses 2 million books. Chicago is also home to the largest building in the United States (excluding the Pentagon): the Merchandise Mart has 90 acres of floor space, housed in an Art Deco landmark. Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park is one of the world’s largest fountains. Chicago also has the only river in the world that flows backwards. Engineers reversed the Chicago River in 1900 for sanitary purposes. Here’s another interesting fact: Chicago also has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw.

Our local expert Don took us through the building and showed us the two stained glass domes, the exhibit halls, the photo collection of Chicago landmarks, and to keep going along the line of superlatives, Don gave us a brief synopsis of Millennium Park, located right across Michigan Avenue from the Chicago Cultural Center. The idea for Millennium Park was conceived by famous mayor Richard M. Daley, and with the help of private sector donations Millennium Park has become one of the most impressive outdoor venues anywhere. The project cost $495 million, of which $220 million were financed privately.

Our Chicago Greeter Don, a former vice-president at Motorola, is very knowledgeable about the history of Chicago and very passionate about his city. His pride in his city is obvious, and there is a lot to be proud of. For me, Chicago’s waterfront including Grant Park, the lakefront trail and its beaches are some of the most awesome features of this city. In total Chicago has more than 7300 acres of parkland, 552 parks, 33 beaches, nine museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons, 10 bird and wildlife gardens, and it’s not surprising that Chicago has won numerous awards including “Best City in the World” and other accolades.

With Don’s help we got a great overview of the Cultural Center and a bit of insight into Chicago’s interesting history. It was the perfect preparation for our tour of the Pullman Historic District, an industrial community created by George Pullman, an industrial despot, yet a foresightful social entrepreneur who, according to Don, was universally despised.

Armed with a bit of background knowledge we were looking forward to our exploration of Pullman’s social experiment.

The call for better fuel alternatives is being held and heard all around the global community. Different sectors are already making their contributions in the development of alternative fuels that will reduce the dependency of the human race on non-renewable fossil fuel supply. Governments and private sectors across the globe have been making steps in researching and developing better fuel alternatives. Private individuals have also joined in the cause of developing better sources of energy and fuel.

Recently, Jack and Susan Taylor gave the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center $25 million to create the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels. As the name suggests, the institute will be doing works related to the identification and development of better alternative fuels. The institute is named after the Enterprise Rent-A-Car which is car rental service that was founded by Jack Taylor back in 1957.

The gift made by the Taylors will increase the speed at which the development in the alternative fuel industry is being made. The development and subsequent use of these alternative fuels will significantly decrease the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. This is because they will be developing fuels that will burn cleaner than fossil fuels. These fuels will be a good step in addressing the threat posed by global warming to the entire human populace.

Dr. William H. Danforth, the chairman of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, has this to say about the $25 million gift: “We are very grateful to jack and Susan Taylor for their generous gift to expand the Danforth Center’s basic research in plant science and address the growing need for biofuels. This gift establishes a truly unique partnership to address an important issue for future generations by utilizing the latest advances in plant science.”

Danforth Center’s team of researchers will use the $25 million gift to further expand the center’s capability in the research for better renewable sources of energy. Aside from the $25 million given to the Danforth Center, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car has also pledged to fund the planting of 50 million trees in the country’s national forests over the next 50 years. Converted to current monetary value, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car will be spending another $50 million.

After the donation of the $25 million by Jack and Susan Taylor, Andrew Taylor, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Rent-A-Car has this to say: “For 50 years, this company that my father built from the ground up has relied on the availability of vehicles and fuel. Today, more than ever, it is essential that we pursue new energy sources that will sustain not only our business, but also the environment around us for future generations. The creation of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels sends a clear message that my family and our company are committed to help address this critical public need.”

The newly created institute will be headed by a distinguished scientific leader in the renewable biofuel field. Though the center has yet to name the said scientist, they are positive that under his or her leadership, the institute will be making great advances in the alternative fuel field. To support the expansion of the center’s research capability, an additional 12 new scientists will be hired over the next three years. They will join the 18 scientists currently employed by the center.

From the dedication that every sector is showing in the development of alternative fuels, it seems that the global community is finally addressing the global warming issue. These steps are done in hope that they would act like EBC Greenstuff brake parts in putting a stop to the deterioration of the environment.

Giving your vehicle to a vehicle donation center is a gesture of good will and generosity that helps the charity of your choice to make a difference in the life of people and families in need. A car donation center usually does business through a ‘middle’ agent between you (the donor) and the charity you wish to help (the recipient of your donation). Car Donations are quick and easily handled utilizing charity vehicle donation programs. You can donate cars, trucks, vans, boats, planes, even lots and real estate.

When one has a car that is a good candidate for automotive donation, there are very often time constraints that don’t allow for a great deal of shopping around for the most needy individuals in the community, much less, repairing and making that vehicle a useful donation. An authorized vehicle donation center, that is recognized by charitable organizations and the IRS, will be able to take care of your vehicle, find the best and most effective use for the vehicle and give you a verifiable receipt for your tax forms.

But, how do you know your vehicle is being used for the charitable purposes the supposedly authorized vehicle donation center claims to support? There are several signs, especially when you’re looking online for such a service or responding to solicitation, that you’re dealing with a non-authorized vehicle donation center.

A quick check with just a few, even as little as one or two of the charitable organizations (preferably ones you’ve heard of before), should yield an acknowledgement of the authorized vehicle donation center’s association as a qualified agent of that charity. Any legitimately authorized vehicle donation center will be able to provide you with a list of charities it brokers deals for.

Though very few authorized vehicle donation centers are registered with the IRS as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, the charity you donate to must be. Without this badge of approval from the tax authorities, you’ll not be allowed to legally take the deduction. Even worse, this can set you up for an audit and no one wants to mess with that kind of attention. A truly legitimate authorized vehicle donation center will be able to provide you with their tax ID number so you may confirm it on the IRS website.

Several states additionally certify authorized vehicle donation centers on their own. If your state is one of these, you can easily check with the state attorney general’s office to see if the donation center you’re considering is listed on the state non-profit rolls. If not, you may not be dealing with an authorized vehicle donation center at all.

Over 95% of transactions that take place at authorized vehicle donation centers, are done as a “for-profit” business venture. The donation center must follow certain rules of conduct with regards to how you may be enticed into vehicle donation. There also exists a register of organizations that are not allowed to do business in the state.

One very important function of an authorized vehicle donation centers is helping you determine a fair donation value for your donated car, truck, boat or RV to be reported to the IRS. This is not the so-called “blue book” value but, instead, its value on the market. Bear in mind, this market may be wholesale rather than retail.

Most often, the value you’ll be given a receipt for is the value the charity ultimately receives for the car. If you don’t receive a receipt suitable for tax purposes right away, that’s o.k., but if you receive no word in a few months, you should start making phone calls to the authorized vehicle donation center’s offices in question. If the car is being repaired before sale, it could take some time. Even though authorized vehicle donation centers very rarely do that, preferring the wholesale and scrap methods.

This is especially true in the case of vehicles that are not currently running. However, there is still money to be made, and most legitimate and authorized vehicle donation centers will be happy to come and haul your old car, truck or boat away for free. You should be suspicious of any supposedly authorized vehicle donation center that would require you to pay for towing services and ask.

If the fair value of your car is less than $250, there is no reason to bother with a form of donation from your chosen charity or a third-party organization such as an authorized vehicle donation center. However, for anything over that amount, you will need a receipt in writing. If you receive more than $5,000 for your vehicle, you will be require to fill out an additional form (Form 8283, section B) to be signed by a representative of the authorized vehicle donation center in question AND an independent appraisal.

Though there are certainly charlatans out there who would take advantage of charitable giving to line their own pockets, the IRS and state governments take this very seriously. The state Attorney General’s office will have a list of known scammers to avoid. Once you know the authorized vehicle donation center you’ve chosen is on the up and up, you can donate with peace of mind.