If you still feel compelled to use an intermediary organization – possibly because you’re busy – at least ask the organization how much of the car or boat’s value will go to charity. If the organization simply gives charities flat fees — say, $100 for a used vehicle regardless of its value, or $2,000 a month — your donation may not be eligible for a tax deduction.
The current budgetary crisis reminds us that sensible decision making continues to be precious and rare in the highest offices of our representative democracy. Keeping this in mind, those of us at the bitter end of federal, state and local funding must continue to buttress ourselves with an ample, if not overwhelming, set of data that substantiates our claims that what we do makes a measurable difference. To forfeit the pursuit and accumulation of this evidence of impact is to contribute to the nonsense that imperils the individuals and communities we serve. We have it within our power to take the higher ground toward intelligence, rather than the low road to compliance. Accountability has been maligned as the punitive force driving toward a lowest common denominator. There was a time and place for this type of evolutionary thinking - Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) - but the times have changed. Performance management is the “strengths-based” approach to identifying and replicating effective and efficient service delivery.
