Refugee & Immigration Services
Car Donation Procedure

	The car must be in good working condition (no work needed to get it on the road). It will be given to a refugee before s/he is working, so s/he will have no money to make repairs.
	When determining which client will receive a car, we focus first on families – especially those with young children – and then on single individuals who may be able to carpool a bunch of people to work.
	We do not give a car to a refugee until s/he has a driver’s license and can get insurance on the vehicle.
	We ask that the car be donated with a current emissions certificate so that we can register it immediately.
	We ask the donor not to sign the title over to Catholic Charities, but to the refugee we select.  The donor will receive a letter, on our letterhead, that says “Thank you for donating your car to our clients.  We have selected XXXX”, and we tell a little bit about XXXX’s family so that the donor will know a little about the person who received their generous donation.  We recommend you discuss this with your tax advisor first to ensure you are fully aware of the implications regarding tax deduction.
	The letter from us will only describe the vehicle (year, make, model), but will not put a value on it.  It’s the donor’s responsibility to place the value on it.
	At times we have a list of refugees in need of vehicles and can place the donation immediately.  However, at times of limited arrivals, it may take a few weeks in order for us to be in the position of accepting a donated vehicle.  We will not accept the donation unless we have a client ready to receive said donation.
	We try to be as accommodating as possible in picking up the donated vehicle.  We can go to the donor’s home or office, sometimes even after hours or on weekends (if absolutely necessary).  We bring the letter with us when we pick up the car.