The Cars 4 Causes® Story


cars 4 causes donate carCars 4 Causes® originated out of a desire to help fund youth education. Along the road to achieving this one charitable goal, we’ve discovered a wide and wonderful community of charities and the people who make them possible. And so, as we’ve grown and evolved, we’ve branched out to what we are today, The Charity that Gives to Charities®. This year, we topped the $20 million mark. That means that we have contributed more than $20 million on to benefit more than 11,000 charities, all from the proceeds of vehicle donations.

This is the story of our journey.
We established Cars 4 Causes® in 1997. The urge to set up a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation grew, like so many do, out of a single, personal realization. Two of our founders were parents; when they participated in their son’s classes, they discovered how under-funded the schools were. One teacher was spending $200 to $300 per month on her class - out of her own limited salary!

The unfairness to both teachers and students fueled the idea that became Cars 4 Causes®. Our original objective was simply to convert car donations into funds for education, and we would have continued just doing that if not for requests from donors and charities.

Donor requests spur changes
A donor asked if we could accept car donations for charities other than education. We hesitated but were soon convinced. We found that many charities don’t have the resources to convert car donations into the funding they need. We can help there. And further, people who donate their cars want a say in where the proceeds go. We set up Cars 4 Causes® so donors themselves choose the charities that benefit from their donations. In fact, our charity list, which now exceeds 10,000 charities (See a brief sample of charities), is almost entirely the result of donors’ requests, and we have passed on thousands of checks and millions of dollars to these charitable organizations.

Affordable Transportation
In the beginning, we processed donated cars through auctions but soon realized that we could get a better return for donors and charities by doing it ourselves. So, we launched our own Affordable Transportation program. We set up vehicle sales lots and began selling cars directly. Our car buyers are mostly working families and individuals. Today, our Affordable Transportation program serves multi purposes: It provides inexpensive transportation to those in need, it generates returns for charities, and it may produce solid tax write-offs for donors.

Give-Away Program
Another change in Cars 4 Causes® originated when a couple came to us wanting to make an anonymous gift of a car to a struggling family in their church. That led us to setting up the Cars 4 Causes® Give-Away Program. Through this program, charitable organizations can sponsor individuals to receive a donated car from Cars 4 Causes®.

Clean Air Program
Cars 4 Causes® also has a third expansion, the Clean Air Program. Through it, we recycle cars that are uneconomical to repair, cannot meet smog requirements, and just cannot be upgraded into affordable transportation. These vehicles don't pass the Cars 4 Causes® screening, so we recycle them. To date, we've taken approximately 20,000 such cars off the road. Surprisingly, their metals often become some of our most familiar household items -- faucets, door knobs, bicycle and appliance parts. Some of the metals are even recycled into new car parts!

Cars 4 Communitiessm
The newest Cars 4 Causes® program is Cars 4 Communitiessm. By donating your vehicle to a Cars 4 Communitiessm sponsored program, you are directly donating to that program. In doing so, your contribution will have a profound effect on that programs ability to stay running. You can choose from education programs, arts & music programs, and much more. If you wish to have your community program sponsord by Cars 4 Communitiessm, please contact us for more information.

Our future plans
While youth education continues to be a heartfelt priority, Cars 4 Causes® is evolving with the needs of the world around us, continuing to be The Charity that Gives to Charities® but also discovering new ways to help the community and environment. Our journey has just begun; our road still stretches out ahead of us. Join us in our efforts; and check back with us here often to see our progress and our news.

Sincerely,
Pat Jessup
Executive Director

Donate your car to Cars 4 Causes® now!

Cars 4 Causes®, C4C®, Cars 4 Clean Air®, Cars 4 Caring®,Cars With A Cause®, Cars For A Cause®, Cars For Causes® Are all Copyright by Cars 4 Causes "The Charity That Gives To Charities"®.