Every Car Deserves a Second Chance
You may be thinking about giving your old car a second chance by donating to the Newgate School in Minneapolis. Here’s what you need to know if you’re asking yourself, “is my car too old to donate?”
The Newgate School depends on donations from drivers like you to keep the school running. By offering tuition-free programs for at-risk adults, the Newgate School can give many students a second chance. Similarly, your old car can gain new life. Of course, you may be wondering, “is my car too old to donate?”
Here are some things to consider when you’re thinking about donating that old vehicle to the life-changing programs at the Newgate School.
What Should I Look For In My Older Car?
While we’re happy to accept nearly any vehicle, some essential qualities make a donated vehicle an excellent learning tool for our students. The goal is to use your unused vehicle as a hands-on textbook to teach our students about auto body and mechanics. We then sell the cars to put money back into the program. Sadly, that means some vehicles may not be of much use towards our goals.
Here are some important qualities we look for:
- The vehicle has been mostly well-maintained
- It has under 150,000 miles, give or take
- Minimal rust underneath the car
- The engine and powertrain are in good shape
- The normal repair costs aren’t more than the vehicle’s value
If you’re unsure if your car meets these qualifications, give us a call and tell us more about your potential donation.
Who Typically Donates to the Newgate School?
Some people don’t just think to themselves, “is my car too old to donate;” they also wonder if they are the right kinds of drivers to donate a vehicle to our program. We’re fortunate enough to take donations from various people, many of whom are just like you.
Here are where some of our cars generally come from:
- Recent college graduates who are upgrading to a newer vehicle
- Grandparents or others who have stopped driving
- Drivers who are upgrading their cars and don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling their old ride
- People in our community with huge hearts and want to help those in need.
Learn more about our program online or look for one of our videos on YouTube, showing our impact within the community.
Write-Offs That Matter
If you typically itemize your taxes, you can donate your old car to earn a tax credit. As a 503C non-profit organization, your donation is entirely tax-deductible. When you bring in your vehicle, we’ll even help you fill out all of the appropriate paperwork to get the full value of your deduction.
The value of your deduction is based on the final sale price of the vehicle after our students get it back into shape. Don’t worry. We’ll go over all of the details when you stop by.
A Chance to Make a Difference
If your old car seems like a good fit for our program, give us a call or stop by today. We’re authorized to transfer titles in MN, so you only have to bring your title. We’ll take care of the rest.
Your donation helps our students learn life-improving skills that put them on the right track to success. We couldn’t do it without you and your old car. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.