Under current Federal law, allowable deductions for charitable contributions of vehicles, boats and airplanes (collectively referred to as assets in this summary) for which the claimed value exceeds $500 will depend how the asset is used by the recipient charity. If the organization sells the asset without any significant intervening use or material improvement, the donors deduction is limited to the gross sales proceeds received by the charity. But, if the organization uses the asset in direct furtherance of its charitable purpose the donor may deduct the fair market value of the asset. (According to the IRS, the donor, not the recipient charity, must determine the fair market value which the IRS describes as the price that a willing buyer and willing seller would agree upon if neither were pressured to do so. Assistance with vehicle values can be found at www.kbb.com Kelly Blue Books web site)
A commercial fundraiser generally is a person or corporation who is paid by a charity to raise money on the charity's behalf. The for-profit business usually arranges a flat fee or charges the charity a percentage of the donations collected in the charity's name. By law, the California Attorney General oversees the activities of commercial fundraisers for charitable purposes. These commercial fundraisers must file financial reports with the Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts, obtain a $25,000 surety bond and meet all registration requirements.
According to the State of California Department of Justice Registry of Charitable Trusts website, it is an individual decision whether a charity uses a commercial fundraiser. Historically, only about one-third of the total dollars collected by the commercial fundraisers in California actually go to charities. However, most of the over 80,000 charities registered with the Attorney General do not use commercial fundraisers to solicit donations.
For more information on Commercial Fundraisers or to verify if a business or entity is registered as a Commercial Fundraiser you may visit the State of California Department of Justice Commercial Fundraiser website or contact the Registrar at (916) 445-2021.