Cars 4 Causes® races by $20 million in car donations

California, October 8, 2007 — Cars 4 Causes®, “The Charity that Gives to Charities®”, announced this week that it has surpassed the $20 million mark in funds passed on from vehicle donations to charities.

“When we tallied up the donations and saw that they were topping $20 million, we were thrilled,” says Pat Jessup, Cars 4 Causes® executive director. “We work every day helping people donating cars on the one hand and moving the proceeds on to charities on the other. How astounding it is to find out that we have passed $20 million on to benefit other charities!”
It’s an exciting milestone on the road of charity car donations for the 501(c)[3] corporation. Though the charity is known nationwide for its work, this latest achievement puts it in the top spot of a car donation non-profit serving other charities.
Cars 4 Causes® began its work in the charity car donation arena back in 1997, moving fewer than 30 cars a month. It opened its doors with a simple goal: to turn the proceeds from donated cars into funds to benefit charity. It began by funding youth education, but it quickly expanded its reach. Today, Cars 4 Causes® has given to over 11,000 qualified charities, most of them donor-requested.
The number of its charity car donations has expanded too. The non-profit corporation currently moves about 1,500 vehicle donations per month. About 500 of those pass smog requirements and are sold as affordable transportation. Some are recycled off the roads, some go to wholesale auctioneers, and many classic or luxury cars are sold to the highest bidders on eBay worldwide.
“We know we’ve been doing the right thing,” says Jessup, “because we’re busy and we have a file drawer full of testimonials. And that’s really why this $20 million mark is so gratifying.”
“All of the company’s expansions have been donor-driven”, Jessup adds. For example, Cars 4 Causes® launched its Car Give-Away program when a donor requested the charity’s help in giving a car to a needy family in his church. Now, charities can apply for car donations for individuals in need. And, over the last 5 years, Cars 4 Causes® has given almost $1 million worth of cars to people in need.
The non-profit firm’s Clean Air Program was set up to take care of unusable cars that people wanted to donate. Through the program, Cars 4 Causes® recycles cars that are uneconomical to repair, cannot meet smog requirements, or just cannot be upgraded into affordable transportation. These are taken off the road, removing their pollution potential (hence, the Clean Air moniker). Jessup estimates that Cars 4 Causes® has saved the State of California approximately $10 million over the last five years and at the same time passed proceeds on to charity organizations ¯ all by taking cars off the road that the state would have paid a bounty to remove itself.
“Car donations can make a tremendous difference in a person’s life,” says Jessup. She’s found in her work with vehicle donations (including truck donations motorcycles, boats and RVs) that donors are typically aware of potential tax deduction benefits from a donation, but that they don’t always know what a difference they are making in the lives of individuals in need.
Cars 4 Causes® sees the effect these vehicle donations can have. It has also become a one-stop shop for car donors. Its experts walk donors quickly and easily through the paperwork and process of giving a car to benefit their charity of choice.
“Our work has won Cars 4 Causes® a warm place in the hearts of many people in the charitable giving community,” Jessup says. “Charities love receiving that Cars 4 Causes® envelope with a check inside due to our generous donors. And donors love how easy we make it to donate.”
Her final thought about car donations and the Cars 4 Causes® $20 million milestone? “The road we’ve traveled to here is just the beginning,” she says. “We have a lot of work ahead of us and some new programs we hope to be announcing in the near future, too.”

Cars 4 Causes®, "The Charity That Gives To Charities"® is a non-profit, IRS Code 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity. We help people turn used vehicles into tax-deductible charity donations. Cars 4 Causes® has been a trusted avenue for charity funding since 1997. Proceeds from tax-deductible donations of vehicles go to qualifying non-profits.