Laura and her husband wrote on their own blog recently about their decision to donate their car to Portland Rescue Mission:
After almost a year of sitting out on our front patio, the Passat that bought from the lot of used cars near Denver is finally gone. I set up the transfer yesterday morning, and the tow truck came in the afternoon and took it away. It turned out we did not need to apply for a new title to donate the car (thank you DMV for that wrong information), just fill out a free power of attorney that didn’t even require a notary. If I had known it would be this easy this decluttering project would have been done long ago.
So many places these days ask for car donations, . The Salvation Army. The Humane Society. Goodwill. All worthy, but we wanted to donate to a charity where we were sure our money would stay and serve our own community. So, after quite a bit of research and discussion, we donated the Passat to the Portland Rescue Mission, a win for the Mission, a win for the community and a win for us as well.
Donated cars, after they are repaired, are sold by the Mission at their own used car lot. The money raised from the sale of the car will go toward providing meals, shelter and recovery care and services for homeless men, women and children in Portland, so the community benefits. The average car donation can provide over 600 meals for the homeless; the Passat should bring in enough to provide far more than that, so the Mission benefits. And, we will receive a deductible tax donation in the amount of what the car is sold for after repairs rather than a flat, pre-set amount, so we benefit from the donation too. Win-Win-Win!