Reputable car donation charities

You have a used vehicle that you’d like to donate to a worthy cause. You’ve done your homework and discovered that not all vehicle donation programs are created equal. In fact, many charitable organizations don’t even operate their own vehicle donation programs. Instead, they use a broker or middleman.

In many cases, the majority of the proceeds from the sale of your vehicle goes to the so-called middleman, leaving just crumbs for the charity. And in others, outright scams exist that have nothing to do with charity other than the word “charity” appearing in their name.

At this point, you may be wondering if trading in your old car for peanuts to a dealer is better than the crumbs many charities are willing to accept for your vehicle donation. Before you throw your hands skyward and declare that it’s all one big scam, let’s dig a little deeper into the charitable vehicle donation industry and take a look under the hood.

Who runs legitimate car donation charities?

The answer to this question begins with a larger question: Is the charity behind the vehicle program a legitimate charity? The minimum requirement for a charity to be considered legitimate is being classified as a nonprofit. This classification is issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

There are 27 different kinds of nonprofit classifications maintained by the IRS, but the most common is 501(c)(3). Most of the nonprofits, including the Humane Society of the United States, operating vehicle donation programs fall under the 501(c)(3) classification. If the charity behind the program isn’t classified as a nonprofit by the IRS, then keep looking. After all, you want your donated vehicle to benefit a worthy cause.

Direct charitable car donation programs

It would be great if there were no costs associated with the vehicle donation process and 100% of the proceeds derived from selling donated vehicles went to fund the charitable work of nonprofits. Practical matters come into play and the vast majority of nonprofits use a fulfillment company to process vehicle donations. Dedicated staff assist donors with paperwork, schedule pickup and coordinate the sale.

The cost and logistics of running a charitable vehicle donation program is prohibitive for most nonprofits—even the largest. It just makes good financial sense to enlist the services of a reputable fulfillment partner to handle these functions.

Charities can then focus on what they do best. In the case of the HSUS, it’s working hard to end cruelty and neglect for all animals. Sometimes a middleman is a valuable partner. The HSUS carefully vetted its vehicle fulfillment partner and an impressive 80% of a donated vehicle’s value is returned to the organization to fund our lifesaving work.

Car donation reviews

It’s always a good idea to read online reviews for products and services in which you have an interest in doing business. The same goes for evaluating charities and their vehicle donation programs.

But as any savvy consumer of online info knows by now, it’s essential to vet the sites doing the reviewing. Not all online review sites provide reliable information and more than a few are biased, or worse, exist solely to attack reputable organizations due to conflicting interests.

As with finding a legitimate vehicle donation program, there are two steps involved in evaluating review sites:

1. Evaluate the charity: Its work and mission, financial statements and leadership.
2. Evaluate the organization’s vehicle donation program. It’s OK to inquire about the amount going to the charity and ease of the donation process (scheduling, pickup, receipts for tax reporting and support).

For the Humane Society of the United States, start by learning about our mission to help animals of all kinds around the world. Then have a look at the HSUS’s IRS Form-990 to evaluate our expenses and income. This is a key document for evaluating any nonprofit and is what the major online charity evaluators utilize in their reviews.

Best place to donate your car to charity

You should be commended for doing your homework prior to selecting a charity to which you’ll donate your used vehicle. It may seem like a lot of extra work, but it only requires asking the right questions and then looking in the right places.

We hope the resources on HumaneCars.org will provide you with the information required to make the call that’s right for you, so you can rest assured that the benefits from your donation will get the most mileage and will go where it can do the most good!

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Top 7 Best Car Donation Programs

 Donating your car to charity is a great way to get rid of your old car while helping fund the programs offered by your favorite nonprofit organization. Most charities don’t handle the vehicle donation process themselves, which costs money and requires a lot of manpower. Instead, they typically contract with a commercial or nonprofit fundraising organization, which handles all of the details, takes a cut of the proceeds, and sends the rest along to the charity.

Unfortunately, the car donation industry is crawling with vermin who will be happy to take the vehicle off your hands under the guise of donating a percentage of the proceeds from its sale, but too often, that percentage is often as low as 13 percent.

To ensure the charity of your choice gets a fair percentage of the proceeds, it’s essential to donate through a highly reputable intermediary that will forward 75 percent or more of the net proceeds to the charity you choose. An intermediary that passes along 60 to 74 percent of the net proceeds is considered more or less satisfactory, but anything less than 60 percent is unacceptable.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to donate only to charities that are considered “highly efficient,” which means that at least 75 percent of their expenses go directly toward their programs to further their stated mission.

With these factors in mind, here are my top seven choices for the best car donation programs, listed in no particular order.

1. One Car, One Difference

One Car, One Difference is a public awareness campaign run by the Insurance Auto Auctions Donation Division, which handles all aspects of the donation process through the One Car, One Difference website or their online tool, Auto-Donation.com.

Charities who contract with IAA’s Donation Division, including the Boy Scouts of America and the American Red Cross, typically see around 72 percent of the gross proceeds from the sale of a vehicle, which is about as good as it gets.

2. Charity Motors

Charity Motors is a highly efficient charity that accepts vehicle donations, which they turn around and sell to individuals in need for 50 percent of the fair market value, and they donate a high percentage of the proceeds to the charity of your choice.

If you’re looking for the highest tax deduction, donate your vehicle to Charity Motors to take a deduction that’s worth the fair market value of the car, regardless of the sale price, since they sell the cars at a discount to people in need. If the vehicle is sold at auction with a portion of the proceeds going to charity, you can only take a deduction equal to the actual sale price of the car.

3. Car Donation Wizard

Car Donation Wizard is the car donation tool provided by commercial fundraising organization Advanced Remarketing Services, which consistently passes on over 80 percent of the proceeds to the charities that contract with them, including Habitat for Humanity.

Advanced Remarketing Services is a nationally licensed and highly reputable vehicle dealer, which enables them to save on the costs associated with processing a donation

4. The Arc Vehicle Donation

The Arc is a nonprofit organization that advocates for and serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To handle the car donation process, this highly efficient charity contracts with another highly efficient charity, Melwood, whose Charity Car Donation Center employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. You can support two causes with one car by donating to The Arc through Melwood!

5. AllState Car Donations

Allstate Car Donations isn’t affiliated with the insurance company by the same name. Rather, this organization is the fundraising arm of the Center for Living & Learning, based in Van Nuys, California, which provides paid vocational apprenticeships to recover addicts, ex-offenders, and at-risk populations. The apprentices process the car donations, which pay their salaries and fund other Center programs that teach work ethics, appropriate workplace behaviors, and effective communication skills.

6. Riteway Charity Services

Another highly reputable commercial fundraising organization, Riteway Charity Services typically passes on between 75 and 100 percent of the net proceeds from car donations to the charities that contract with them, which includes Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, a highly efficient nonprofit and world-renowned hospital.

However, some charities get considerably less, depending on the value of the vehicles, although in the majority of cases, it’s above 60 percent. Still, it’s a good idea to double-check with the charity of your choice to ensure they get a high return before settling on donating through Riteway Charity Services.

7. V-DAC (Vehicle Donations to Any Charity)

V-DAC is a commercial fundraising organization that always passes on between 70 and 75 percent of the net proceeds from donated vehicles to the charities that contract with them. Unlike most commercial and charitable intermediaries, V-DAC provides consumers and charities with their fee schedule to help take the guesswork out of determining how much a charity will get, based on the sale price of the car.

V-DAC, with the help of Advanced Remarketing Services, is the driving force behind the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program, which earned five stars in my recent review of them.

Working with Legitimate Car Donation Programs

The list provided above is just our recommendations. If you’ve done a little research, you’ll find that there are more than 965,000 car donation programs in the US today. 

With these numbers, federal and local government agencies will find it difficult to verify the legitimacy of all these organizations. So if you’d like to consider other options, make sure that you don’t get caught up in a scam.

To make sure that you’re working with a legitimate organization when donating a vehicle, it’s always best to visit the IRS website. They have a list of all charities with 501 (c) (3) status that have registered with the IRS.

However, if in case your charity is not on the list, you can also check with your state attorney general’s office if the charity is legitimate.

As much as possible, try to avoid working with a middleman, especially those that do not have a direct affiliation to the charity that you support. This is because most middlemen take much more than the actual funds that can go to your charity after your vehicle is sold, so your chosen charity may end up not benefiting from your donation at all.

If it’s inevitable, try to look for one that donates more than what they get. It’s a good idea to ask for the opinion of your chosen charity as they can recommend those that they have already worked with previously

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Top 5 Charities to Donate a Car in NY and NYC

 The following is a list of the best organizations to donate a car in NY. We focused on providing a list of charities that no only accept vehicle donations, but also support programs that benefit NY and NYC.

Did you know? non-profits that sell your vehicle to support their programs might provide you with a lesser tax deduction than those that use the vehicle to fulfill their mission.

The IRS law states that, $500 or the price at which was sold your vehicle, whichever amount is greater, may be deducted from your tax statements.

In this article:

5. American Red Cross in Greater New York
4. Goodwill NY
3. Wheels for Wishes
2. Long Island Cares
1. Charity Cars

5

American Red Cross in Greater New York

Make a meaningful impact in NY by donating your vehicle to the car donation program of the American Red Cross. Your support will contribute with the prevention and human treatment during emergencies and may help save lives.

Visit the following link to donate a car in NY to the Red Cross

4

Goodwill NY

To contribute to humanitarian causes, through an organization that already has a very recognizable name and reputation in the industry, one may donate cars in NY through Goodwill. They offer towing at no cost and accept vehicles in any condition.

Consider the fact that the management and selling process of the donated cars is not done by Goodwill, this organization partnered with National Charity Services to make this program possible.

Therefore, for more information, please call National Charity Services at 866-492-2770 to arrange your car donation in NY and contribute to the Goodwill programs.

You may also visit the website of Goodwill to fill their online donation form to initiate the pick-up process. Have your clear title of your car ready with you. After the sale of your vehicle, you will receive your information regarding your claimable tax deduction.

3

Wheels for Wishes

Through Wheels for Wishes, car donations in NYC can have a positive impact on kids from areas such as the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan.

Call them at 1-855-831-9474

Visit the website Wheelsforwishes.org for more information.

2

Long Island Cares

You may not know, but your vehicle might also contribute with one of the most important human needs: food. Help New York citizens that are having a hard time going through hunger with one of the most reputable charities in NY: Long Island Cares, providers of emergency food. They claim to feed 283,000 citizens of Long Island, NY every year. Cars, trucks and RVs, running or not; are all accepted vehicles in their car donation program which is managed by Donation Processors of America (DPA), not by the charity itself. Despite this, the program will provide you with everything you need to claim your tax deduction.

Donate a car in NY to this charity by calling: 877-872-2127

Remember to visit the website of Long Island Cares for more information on their organization and other ways you can contribute.

1

Charity Cars

Remember that most of the car donation programs will sell your vehicle at auction to obtain money to make a positive impact; but how much money will go to the cause you want to contribute to? The truth is most charities pay middlemen to manage the selling of the vehicles they collect. But obviously, you as a donor want to benefit the most, the cause you are most concerned with – and maybe at the same time obtain a worthy tax deduction.

Charity Cars, is a registered 501(C)(3) non-profit that has received the recognition from reputable figures such as Oprah and is one of the best places for car donations in NY, to make a positive impact in its fullest extent and to obtain the best tax deduction possible.

They connect donors such as you, with families across the United States that are currently struggling, such as victims of natural disasters, and need a vehicle for their transportation and to overcome their actual problems.

So this organization removes the middlemen to provide the most benefits for the families in need, what about the benefits regarding tax deductions for the donor?

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The 4 Most Reputable Car Donation Charities

 These are the most reputable charities that you can trust for a car donation in the United States. We compiled this list of trustworthy organizations according to the following criteria, aspects that you should always consider when looking for reliable car donation charities:

What makes a car donation charity reputable?

• Financial Transparency. According to Publication 4303 by the IRS, when requested, a charity must show important documents related to their financial activities such as its IRS letter that makes it a tax-exempt organization and its annual information returns or Forms 990, that are the most recent.
• The organization should help you know where the money of your donated car is going, what percentage is actually being used to support the cause.
• The charity is part of the publicly available IRS online databases, now called Exempt Organizations Select Check, which you can visit here: IRS.gov/eo. A way of confirming that a car donation charity has fulfilled its legal requirements in the United States.
• The organization has positive feedback and reviews from trustworthy sources.
• Years of experience in the industry.

The charities presented in this article are 501(c)(3) organizations; therefore, a donor can receive a tax deduction through his or her contribution. For more information check our article: If I Donate a Car is it Tax Deductible?

4

Cars for Kids by Texas Can! Academies

Since 1992, Cars for Kids receives vehicle donations to support Texas Can! Academies.

Texas Can! is a licensed High School that provides education for kids from grades 9 to 12.

One of the key aspects of this 501(c)(3) car donation charity is that they operate their own auctions, so no money is wasted in middlemen fees, and all the proceeds from their auctions can directly benefit their key programs. Their program works in all 50 States.

The interested donor can also participate in their auctions to get a vehicle at a great price and support their programs aiming for better education for kids in Texas.

They also offer a consignment program for those interested in selling their cars, where they sell them for a fee, which eliminates any effort you could encounter trying to sell it by your own.

Through their website, this organization discloses their annual reports and other related documents.

Their years of experience and transparency make it one of the most reputable car donation charities in the United States.

Please note that this car donation program is not related with the Kars4Kids charity.

Contact Information:

Call them at 866-835-5437

Website: Carsforkids.org

How to contribute: Visit here their online form to donate your vehicle.

3

Keep America Beautiful

More than 60 years of experience in the United States make Keep America Beautiful a reputable charity to consider when donating a car.

The mission of this organization is to create cleaner communities in the US.

This environmentally conscious nonprofit provides education for the public in areas such as recycling. Additionally, it organizes activities that contribute to its mission; activities that, for example, eliminate littering in the US.

Their financial documents, from the year of 2009 and beyond, are publicly available on their website. The nonprofit, also makes it possible to contact its Finance Director for more details about how their contributions are managed.

That kind of transparency, its many years of experience and its positive reviews from reliable figures such as Guidestar and Charity Navigator, make this charity a very trustworthy organization for a car donation. All this information is available online on their website.

Contact information:

Call them at 855.426.2474

Website: kab.org

How to contribute: Fill the online form of Keep America Beautiful, to arrange the pick-up of your vehicle.

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Charity Cars

The mission of this car donation charity is to improve the lives of struggling families in the United States that have been seriously affected by: domestic violence, natural disasters, and/or other conditions.

How they improve their lives? They connect noble donors willing to contribute with their car, and these families that with medium of transportation will be able to overcome most of their present problems and reduce their present difficulties.

Charity Cars has received positive reviews not only from sites such as Greatnonprofits.org and Charity Navigator, but also recognition from other notable figures such as Oprah and many more.

These factors, as well as the disclosing of their financial statements on their website make it one of the most reputable car donation charities in the US.

Contact information:

Call them at 1.800.242.7489

Website: 800charitycars.org

How to contribute: Fill their online donation form

1

Volunteers of America

Respect and trust are built upon years of experience. When you choose to contribute to Volunteers of America, you are trusting more than 115 years of experience, which this organization has accumulated since its creation in 1896.

Their impact in the United States is huge. These are some of their numbers:

• They serve 1 million meals for the hungry per year
• 10,000 veterans without a home are provided with shelter and preparation for jobs. For more about veterans read our article: The 7 Best Charities to Donate a Car to Veterans
• About 50,000 volunteers support their programs
• We highly recommend the interested to visit their website for more information about their very diverse programs.

But overall, their programs support basic needs such as housing, food, and more. They benefit people in emergency situations, veterans, seniors, children, and others that are the most vulnerable.

Volunteers of America developed CarsHelpingPeople.org as its medium to receive car donations. What we like the most of this car donation program:

• Their website makes it possible for donors to contribute locally, to benefit the community they are more concerned on.
• For every 1 dollar received, 88 cents benefit people in need
• The donation of your car goes directly to Volunteers of America, no middleman included
• A 501(c)(3) charity, therefore you can be eligible to receive a tax deduction

Other reasons why we consider this as one of the most reputable car donation charities:

• They are open and not secretive with their financials, which can be found here.
• Their transparency is also supported by their GuideStar Exchange Seal
• Their operations have been rated by reputable figures in the industry. Read their reviews from Better Business Bureau and GuideStar

Contact information:

Call them at 877.721.4862

Website: carshelpingpeople.org

How to contribute: Filling their vehicle donation form on their website.

→ Now that you found an organization you can trust, you can learn about other aspects such as tax deductions. Keep reading and visit our categories for more.

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Top 7 Charities to Donate your Car in Sacramento

 The city of Sacramento in the state of California is one of the largest cities in that state. Even though there are diverse social problems in the city, we can help. Continue reading for a description of some of the most known non-profit organizations located in Sacramento, California, that make a positive impact in the city in areas such as: education, health, politics, and more. Consider these charities to support the city of Sacramento through a car donation.

In this article:

7. Sacramento Sheriff‘s Toy Project
6. League of Women Voters of California
5. Keaton Raphael Memorial
4. Courageous Connection
3. The Hemophilia Council of California
2. Chick in Crisis
1. Boys and Girls Club El Dorado County Western Slope

7

Sacramento Sheriff‘s Toy Project

The Sheriff’s Toy Project started in 1984 with the view of contributing with the inmates from overcrowded jails. The initial idea was to help them to serve their sentence by repairing donated bicycles as well as making and repairing some toys made of wood. Once the toys were finished, they were given to people from the poorest communities. In 2012 the project officially became a non-profit organization.

Nowadays, The Sheriff’s Project continues based on the same principles that were thought when it was launched. Its member helps those ones in need but this time through different and innovative ways. Now, a team formed by Offenders, law enforcements officers and community volunteers join forces to make toys such as rocking horses, rocking motorcycles and build dollhouses. And not only that, they also renovate bicycles and make them look like new ones.

The volunteers never stop helping. They work hard along the year, especially in the winter, distributing items to people and non -profit organization that need them most.

The Sheriff’s project has donated so far:

840 bikes

480 computers

29,248 toys

And 7,728 kids and 4,046 families have received the help from the Sacramento Sheriff’s Toy Project.

People who want to be part of this project can get involved by donating some money or even make a car donation a car throughout the web page toyproject.org at the Donate section and for more information can call at (916) 361-4571.

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League of Women Voters of California

The League of Women Voters of California General Fund is a non-profit organization thus it does not endorse or oppose candidates or political parties. Its members work on the achievement of solutions regarding community issues at the state level, enhance citizen participation and also engage communities in encouraging solutions to public policy issues through means such as education and advocacy.

This league was formed in 1920 as a movement that encouraged the women’s right to vote as established in the 19^th amendment of the Constitution and helped 20 million women internalize their new rights and duties as voters. Carrie Chapman Catt has been known as the leader of this movement and stated that women had also the power, by voting, to improve the general welfare of the people.

This movement strongly believes in representative governments and individual liberties as stated in the Constitution, in a democracy depending on active and participative citizens, and in the economy growth when competent people are in charge, among others.

If you want to contribute with money or donate your car in Sacramento to this organization, you can do it at the web page lwvc.org by clicking on Give section. Other way to help is purchasing items from the fund store. Moreover, if people want to get in contact with the leaders of this movement they can do it through the following phone numbers and addresses:

Phone numbers: (888) 870-VOTE (8683) or (916) 442-7215 (916) 442-7215

League of Women Voters of California,
1107 Ninth Street, Suite 300
Sacramento, CA 95814-3608

5

Keaton Raphael Memorial

Keaton Raphael Memorial is a fund dedicated to help children suffering from cancer and their families by giving them not only medical support but also psychological and financial help. It is widely known that when someone is diagnosed with cancer his or her life changes completely, especially when that person is a kid. Sometimes the parents of the sick child lose their job, visits to the hospital increases and new daily routines are adopted. The situations mentioned before are the main reasons either sick children parents or relatives get stressed. When tough time comes in, Keaton Raphael Memorial appears to provide and take care of people by helping financially and economically. The fund has several programs created for every need that help the children and the families face the cancer and its consequences. ‘Hope Chest’ is one the common programs. It offers educational resources and financial support for all the members of the family who are as anxious and nervous as the children with cancer. This foundation serves several institutions such as Children Hospital Oakland, US Davids Comprehensive Cancer Center among others.

This non-profit organization started in 1997 when Keaton, Robyn and Kyle Rapahel’s son was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. As a family, Kyle, Robyn and Keaton himself did everything they could to fight the cancer. Unfortunately, they lost the battle. So in memorial of their son, they created this organization in order to make people aware that giving up is never an option.

People can get involved in this cause by donating at the web page childcancer.org at the Donate section or by following the fund on their different social networks found on the web page. You can also contribute to this organization in Sacramento with a car donation.

4

Courageous Connection

Courageous Connection is an organization located in Elk which does not pursuit any profit. Its main purpose is to emancipate and improve the life of young people in foster. The will to help of this organization is growing and looking for youth in need to be helped.

Courageous Connection started in 2007. Its founders Dr. Hasan Abdulmalik and Mike Jones were members of the Sacramento County to represent at the Breakthrough Series Collaborative, BSC which was a project aiming to change the current programs for foster youth with the help from Sacramento County and the State of California. In 2008 the pilot plan was put in motion on a single school campus in Sacramento. The founders and their team developed better programs for youth in foster care, learned the needs and what was missing in the programs that have been developed at that time. From the very beginning, the founders have in mind what they wanted to do. A proof of that was the status of 501C3 nonprofit organization given in 2011. Moreover, in 2013 was held for the first time the first annual Kick Off to National Foster Care Month where all the work done was recognized by the Major and City Counsel of Elk who also promised more support for the foster youth.

One of the most important programs this organization has is the Bike shop, where the young people in youth care refurbish bicycles so that they can have better incomes. Another one is a store where youth can go to buy the essential items at low prices. Since Courageous Connection is a nonprofit organization, help from other people is necessary as well. Thus people who want to donate money or bikes can contact the founder and other members through the web site courageousconnection.org or follow the organization on its social networks.

3

The Hemophilia Council of California

The Hemophilia Council of California was born when four organizations devoted to helping people suffering from Hemophilia decided to join forces in the 1970s. In 1989 it was recognized as a nonprofit organization. This Hemophilia Council started the coordination of its advocacy agenda to raise more unified voices that stand up for those ones with bleeding disorders living in California.

The Hemophilia Council of California has been working for 26 years and still keeps its mission to share access to advanced and qualified care for people with these kinds of disorders through means such as advocacy, education and collaboration from other organizations.

Every year, at the Future Leaders day, young people suffering from bleeding disorders meet and travel from California to Sacramento to spread different pieces of knowledge about how to face this situation. The topics go from how state government works for the support for these organizations to how to tell the experiences and what careers young people should take. All the expenses are covered by the organization. For more information, people can call at (916) 498-3780 or visit hemophiliaca.org. There is also a useful Pharmacy forum that allows communication among consumers about what drugs and health care they might be provided. For more information about this forum is recommended to check the web page where the dates of this kind of event are posted and updated.

People can get involved in this organization by donating at the section Invest in our community found at the right top of the web page as well as by following the Hemophilia Council of California on its social networks.

2

Chick in Crisis

Chicks in Crisis is a nonprofit organization in Elk California that offers adoption, parenting and educational services. From the very moment of its creation this organization has found home for 30 babies a year not only in California but across The United States. Moreover, parents also receive support when they decide to keep the baby with them. Chick in Crisis has helped to decrease the number of abandoned babies, foster care and even death.

Chick in Crisis programs represent an opportunity to learn more about parenting, nutrition and cooking and some other topics that are good to know when a new little person arrives in our lives.

Chick in Crisis was born 17 years ago, when Inez, its founder decided to something to decrease the figures of abandoned children. The organization can be found wherever their help is needed such as hospitals, jails, schools, among others.

If people wish to help, they can donate a car, or contribute with some of the items needed that can be found on the site chicksincrisis.org at Donate sections.

For more information, the following numbers and addresses is at your disposal as well as their social networks: (916) 730-6391 and (916)441-1243

Chicks In Crisis is located at:

The Ranch
9455 East Stockton Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95624

1

Boys and Girls Club El Dorado County Western Slope

The nonprofit organization Boys and Girls Club was formed in 1955 when a group of people concerned about the need of young people of the Dorado county decided to look for a program where the need of the youth were fulfilled. The Boys and Girls Club was the program which suit best what those people were looking for. This organization has been serving and helping people for 140 years and approximately 4,000 clubs have been provided with programs and life experiences for over 4 million kids. Counties where Boys and Girls Club has been established have evidence the decrease of school dropouts, crime rates and less gang and drugs involvements.

The main mission of this club is to make the young people in need internalize that they are valuable and thus they can be potential, productive, responsible and caring citizens. The Boys and Girls Club catalyzes the process of transformation into a new America in which the civic spirit is the one that existed at the foundation of America.

Boys and Girls Club has several programs such as Academic success, Good Character and Citizenship and Healthy Lifestyles, all of them are aimed to improve the lives of the children so they can be women and men of good which will help turn America into a better nation.

People can contribute by donating at the web page bgce.org at Donate section. More information about employment, voluntary work and membership is found at Contact Us section.

» Remember that you can find in our website more charities to contribute to in California, visit our articles regarding other cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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Top 7 Charities for a Car Donation in Los Angeles

 In the United States there are hundreds of foundations committed to create a better world for people in need. In this article we are going to present the top car donation charities in the city of Los Angeles, California, in order to inform people about their work as organizations – and for those donors that are considering a car donation in Los Angeles. These foundations are always open to every kind of collaboration from the community, and with this work we hope to make people conscious and encourage them to make a donation.

In this article:

7. Extraordinary Families
6. Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)
5. Inland Empire Lighthouse for the Blind
4. Goodwill Southern California
3. Create Now
2. Youth Mentoring
1. United Way Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA)

7

Extraordinary Families

Extraordinary Families Extraordinary Families is an organization born in 2014 from the merger of two non-profits foundations: the Southern California Foster Family and Adoption Agency (SCFFAA) and the Child Welfare Initiative (CWI). Both organizations shared the same vision of improving the lives of children affected by the child welfare system. This organization is both a foster care and adoption agency, and also a children’s policy organization. As a provider of services to foster children, Extraordinary Families is dedicated to recruit, train, and support high-quality foster and adoptive homes for children who have been removed from their own families for abuse and neglect.

Likewise, Extraordinary Families implements policy and practice reforms in the child welfare system in order to change the way our community manage problems related with families. The mission of this organization is to find homes and provide support for those foster children.

Despite being a foundation relatively new, Extraordinary Families has achieved positive results. According to data provided by the organization, it has supported 160 children through its certified foster family, has consolidated 50 adoptions in 2015, and has connected to employment opportunities at least 310 young people last year.

Extraordinary Families, as any other non-profit foundation, needs the help of the community to continue with its work.For that reason, the organization accepts all kinds of contributions including money through Paypal or directly with a personal or business check, or with a credit card; and resources like computers, office equipment, toys, clothes, passes to theme parks, sporting or cultural events, among many others like car donations.

6

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles is a foundation responsible for providing civil legal services to poor and low-income people in different communities in Los Angeles County. The main goal of this organization is to achieve equal justice for poor people. With their representation, LAFLA’s attorneys try to change people's lives.

LAFLA was created in 1929 and since that moment until now, it has helped million people providing direct representation, offering counsel and advice, and giving workshops and seminars to educate the community about their legal rights. After all these years, nowadays the organization has five neighborhood offices, four Self-Help Legal Access Centers, and three Domestic Violence Clinics.

The work of Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles is to protect human and civil rights;

support families; preserve quality and affordable housing; maintain economic stability; promote safety, security, and health; and finally serve populations with special needs. As reported by the web of the foundation, in 2014 LAFLA assisted nearly 80,000 low-income people and provided education and important legal information to over 55,000 self-represented litigants.

Donations are highly important to every organization, and LAFLA is not the exception. To continue supporting people who cannot pay for civil legal services, this organization accepts different types of contributions including car donations. People who want to donate their vehicle can do it in an easy way. For doing a contribution, donors have to fill in a form and submit the donation. For additional information, people can call 855-500-RIDE (855-500-7433).

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Inland Empire Lighthouse for the Blind

People who are visually impaired usually have problems to carry on a normal life. That is exactly what Inland Empire Lighthouse for the Blind wants to change. This organization, created in 1951, is a private non-profit corporation where blind adults and children can receive training to prepare themselves to go back to the street. The idea is that these people can overcome their condition, so they can have a full and normal life.

This organization is similar to a school were people with visual impairment receive classes, instructions, materials, meals, transportation and referral services. The program in the Lighthouse is divided into two terms: the first one that begins in the middle of September and the second one that begins in the middle of June.

The services in this organization have no charge to the totally and legally blind and they do not receive funds from the Federal, County, City, State, or from United Way. Owing to its primary means of support comes from fundraising, Wills, and Trusts, the Inland Empire Lighthouse for the Blind invites people to make donations to the organization. People can make contributions via email filling in a donation form accompanied by a check or money, or by phone calling 909-884-3121.

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Goodwill Southern California

People’s lives can be transformed through the power of work, which is the mission of Goodwill Southern California, an organization that helps individuals with disabilities and disadvantages by providing work experience, training, education, and job placement services. The work of this foundation is possible thanks to donations of unwanted items.

What this organization does is to reduce, reuse and recycle. It receives more than 2.3 million donations of all kinds of goods, which are resold to fund training and job placement. Today, Goodwill Southern California runs 80 retail stores, 44 attended donation centers, five Career Resource Centers, three Work Source Centers, and three campuses.

This foundation generates a profound ripple effect that benefits the entire local economy. Thanks to the job programs of Goodwill Southern California, it has been possible to reduce unemployment, poverty, and crime in many communities of the area. The stores manage by the foundation employ 20-30 people from the surrounding communities, improving these people’s lives.

Making vehicle donations is also possible in this foundation. People who want to make this kind of contribution just need to contact Goodwill Southern California through the telephone number 800.898.8285. Donors only need to have the title in hand. For additional information about car donations for this organization in Los Angeles, people can visit the website goodwillgoodvehicles.com.

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Create Now

For helping people it is necessary to change their vision of the world. That is exactly the main goal of Create Now, a non-profit organization that envisions a world where young people are able to experience creative self-expression through the arts. The mission of this foundation is to give young people the right opportunities to find their vocation through education and creative arts mentoring.

This foundation programs are focus in the needs of the youth. Create Now recruits and trains volunteer mentors and professional teaching artists for taking care of the students. The organization focuses in seven main areas, which are Visual Arts, Literary Arts, Music, Digital Media, Cultural Journeys, Performing Arts, and Fashion Design.

According to data provided by the web of this foundation, in Los Angeles 26.7% of children live in poverty, and the city has the highest juvenile incarceration rate in the United States. For these and other reasons, the programs of Create Now are dedicated to provide necessary opportunities for the most troubled youth.

Create Now offers different options for people who want to make donations to the organization. As other foundations, Create Now has a vehicle donation program. So, if you have any type of vehicle and you want to donate it, you can do it online. The service is provided by V-DAC at www.v-dac.com and you can call (877) 999-8322. People just need to fill in a form for the contribution and later they will contact by the company.

All of these organizations make a great work and show us that always It's better to give than to receive. Remember that any help is welcome, so we can contribute even in a small way. Your donation can change people’s lives. For that reason, we invite you to contribute with any of these foundations.

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Youth Mentoring

Youth Mentoring is an organization dedicated to connecting youth with mentors for helping them in the process of growing. This organization, founded in 2001, focuses its work in two main aspects: initiation and mentoring. Young people do not need to be fixed, they just need to be guided, and that is the job of mentors.

This foundation has many programs to support its work with young people. One of the most important programs is called Worksite Mentoring, which is related with employee engagement. In this program, boys and girls who are part of the organization are transported to some worksites to participate in life-skills workshops with employees who have been trained as mentors.

The mission of Youth Mentoring is -in some way- changing the lives of youth through a new vision of the world. With this different approach, the organization has achieved to help over 450 youth in the Los Angeles area every year. Youth Mentoring has changed lives and transformed communities.

If we want to transform young people into responsible adults is important to support their education. Youth Mentoring assures that donations can truly help to change lives, for that reason it offers different ways to contribute. It is possible to make a contribution to this organization through its website. People just need to set up the amount and frequency, and finally fill in a form with the required data. For more information about donations, people can write to this email contact: ymc@youthmentoring.org.

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United Way Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA)

The United Way Greater Los Angeles is a non-profit organization that was born to fight against poverty. Nowadays, most of the problems people face up in our communities have to do with poverty, for that reason the UWGLA’s purpose is to break the cycle of poverty to end the problem at its roots.

This organization, created in 1964, focuses its work in three areas: education, financial stability, and housing and healthcare. According to UWGLA web, in L.A. County only 71% of students graduate from school, so the foundation mission is changing this situation in order to help people to escape from poverty. The staff member of UWGLA strongly believes that a quality education can be all a young person needs to overcome poverty.

Regarding the second area, financial stability, the foundation works to provide jobs opportunities for people with financial problems. In this way, the organization tries to improve their quality of life. And respecting housing and healthcare, The United Way Greater Los Angeles works side-by-side with all kinds of institutions -public, private and non-profit organizations- to support different programs and strategies to put an end to homelessness.

The foundation programs have had a positive impact in the community. In accordance with numbers given by the organization, in the education area they have managed to engaged more than 10,000 parents, teachers and students to support students' learning process and they have also secured 1,240 work-based learning opportunities.

In relation to the foundation impact of ending homelessness, UWGLA has achieved to help more than 6,000 people to find a place to live, and in the case of financial stability area, the organization has helped more than 2,000 post-9/11 veterans to obtain permanent jobs.

As any non-profit organization, the United Way Greater Los Angeles accepts different types of donations to fund their programs. This foundation receives contributions like workplace giving, planned giving, and even vehicle donations. For making questions regarding donations, people can call (866) 366-7335, writing to this email donorservices@unitedwayla.org or to this mailing address: 1150 S. Olive Street, Suite T500 LA, CA 90015. In case you want to make a vehicle donation, please call (877) 348-5608.

» Discover more great charities to make a car donation to, in the State of California, by visiting the rest of our articles of cities such as San Francisco and Sacramento.

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