Why Is the Percent to Charity So Small On Car Donations?

The quick answer is high (and unavoidable) fixed and variable costs - here's the detail.

1. Variable Car Donations In Minnesota: Advertising; as we have noted elsewhere in our website about auto donation, the average gross selling price of a donated car at auction nationwide is only $400. Without repetitive car donation advertising prospective vehicle donors will be both unaware of their car donation option, and unable to contact a charity car program because they will not have a phone number or appropriate website containing a vehicle donation application.

2. Fixed Car Donation In Minnesota cost: Transportation from donor to auction - a donated car cannot be liquidated at the car donor's home! It must be transported to a vehicle donation liquidation facility, namely a charity car auction.

3. Fixed car donation cost: Sale at Auction:

4. Mini rehab, detailing and misc. fees:

Though reporters may not want to "get it" it isn't hard for the open minded and logical to see that if the average gross proceeds are $400 for the average car donation minus the necessary costs, the net profit on the average donate car is not very high. All of us at the Vehicle Donation Processing Center and the car donation charities with whom we reach agency agreements feel the answer is maximizing the car donation dollars to the charities without getting bogged down with worrying about the percent of gross auto donation sales received by the charity. (And given that the biggest vehicle donation program expense - advertising - is a variable expense, not a fixed, per car, expense like transportation, then the more car donations you can process for your charity, even at a tiny profit, the more that variable advertising cost comes down on a per donated car basis).