Donating car to charity? Proceed with caution

Vehicle donations can be one of the most costly ways to give in all of philanthropy, those in the industry say. 


They’re complicated and time-intensive, often requiring extensive advertising, expensive towing, mechanical repairs, storage, paperwork and eventual sales of what are often clunkers. That all costs a lot of money.

Vetmade Industries has a vaunted mission: To return disabled warriors to the workforce. It boasts that “93 percent of funds go directly to the cause of helping our heroes.”

In 2015, well-meaning folks donated cars worth over $2 million to Tampa, Fla.-based Vetmade. But only $91,348 of that money made it to the charity, according to data from the California attorney general. That’s 4.5 percent.

What happened to the overwhelming bulk of that money? About $1.9 million — 95.5 percent of revenues — was spent by a company called Just Donated Inc. in Orange, which specializes in “promoting your cause and generating a steady flow of vehicle donations,” according to its online pitch.

Vehicle donations are one of the most costly ways to give in all of philanthropy, say experts in nonprofits. As gifts, cars and trucks are complicated and time-intensive, often requiring extensive advertising, costly towing, mechanical repair, storage, paperwork and resales of what are often clunkers. The charities usually don’t have to do anything at all, leaving all the work to the (usually) for-profit middlemen.