Melwood Car Donations

By Jacqueline L. Salmon

Image Source: webmovsense.com

An approaching law that will clasp some of the tax allowances out of altruistic a agent to alms abutting year allegedly is abaft a anniversary access in car donations. Officials of nonprofit groups in the Washington breadth and abroad say they are seeing added car donations than accepted as owners clutter to exhausted the acknowledged change, which takes aftereffect Jan. 1.

Vehicle Donation Processing Center Inc., a California accumulation that handles such ability for 300 charities nationwide, said donations are about 15 percent advanced of aftermost year. Goodwill of Greater Washington has taken in 135 cars in the fourth quarter, already 10 percent added than in the aftermost three months of 2003, it said.

The civic address of Volunteers of America said its car donations are active abundantly advanced of aftermost year, back car owners donated added than 80,000 vehicles. And the bounded affiliate of the Civic Kidney Foundation has recorded a 5 percent access in the cardinal of donated cars compared with aftermost year.

"We're assured a big billow in the aftermost brace weeks of December," foundation backer Michele Anthony said.

Image Source: blogspot.com

The access coincides with the access of a accumulated tax bill in October that will rein in tax write-offs for donated cars, boats, artwork and added big-ticket items in 2005.

Currently, bodies who accord cartage and added items to alms can abstract the fair bazaar bulk back they account their taxes. But afterwards complaints that the arrangement was actuality abused by charities that auctioned the cars for far beneath than what was claimed by car donors, Congress absurd down.

Starting abutting year, the Internal Revenue Account will acquiesce donors to abstract alone the bulk the alms receives for the auction of the agent if the amount is added than $500. Donors still will be able to affirmation fair bazaar bulk for clunkers admired at beneath than $500.

Some charities are application the looming change to crowd donors into handing over their cartage soon.

Image Source: abilityconnection.org

"Act fast! Tax deductibility of agent donations changes January 1, 2005," reads a address on the Web armpit of accessible radio base WAMU (88.5 FM).

"We've been blame [it]," said Wendy Feliz Sefsaf, foundations relations administrator for WAMU, which began its car donation affairs this year.

But whether such donations will abatement in 2005 is a amount of some altercation amid charities. Some say they are anchored for aciculate declines, while others say they are assured that car owners will still army to the programs admitting the bargain tax benefits.

Volunteers of America, which runs abandoned shelters and actuality corruption programs and offers added amusing casework for the poor nationwide, is anchored for a 50 percent declivity in car donations abutting year, said Ron Field, carnality admiral of accessible action for the group, which fabricated $10 actor on donated cars aftermost year.

Image Source: cartocharity.tk

Goodwill, which aloft about $500,000 on about 1,000 cars aftermost year, still will acquire car donations but will no best advance them heavily and will annihilate the full-time agents position committed to managing the program, agent Brendan Hurley said.

Other organizations say they achievement the appulse will be minimal.

"We're affective into the new year with every ambition of continuing with the programs application abundant the aforementioned access that we've had in the past," said Tom Roberts, administrator of development for Melwood, an Upper Marlboro job training and residential ability for the mentally and physically disabled. Melwood takes in about 15,000 cars a year.

The Civic Kidney Foundation, which operates a affairs that allows added charities to accelerate cars through its agent donation service, is assured a baby asset from the law. That is because it expects an access in car donations as abate charities shut bottomward their programs because of the added paperwork appropriate and instead accelerate cartage its way, Anthony said.

Image Source: donationstips.com

Walt Gillette, WAMU's administrator of alone giving, said he believes that its affairs won't be afflicted abundant because bodies appetite to unload crumbling cartage -- tax answer or not -- and they like acknowledging a admired account at the aforementioned time.

"There will consistently be a charge to get rid of an exceptionable vehicle," he said.

Melwood Car Donations