Nonprofit's Vehicle Donation Program Bucks National Trend: Double-Digit Increases in Six Months

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 11, 2011 -- While the recession seems to have taken a toll on most nonprofits' car donation programs, one charitable organization is running counter to that trend: the National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP). Donations of cars, trucks and other vehicles in the last six months to the organization's National Vehicle Donation Program have increased by more than 20 percent.

"When we kicked off our program in the fall of 2010, we didn't know what to expect," said Roger Playwin, SVdP's national executive director. "The recession was still ongoing and there were a lot of other nonprofit organizations operating vehicle donation programs. At the same time, we built some distinct advantages into our program for our SVdP locations and the donors. First and foremost, the donated vehicle, or the money generated when it's auctioned, is linked directly to donors' zip codes. To borrow a phrase from a popular tourism ad, what you donate in your community stays in your community."

SVdP's vehicle donation program also has been experiencing gross numbers that are above the current industry average, and the program's managers are hoping for an even bigger increase in the last quarter of the year, historically a time when many people donate a used vehicle to lighten their tax burden.

Playwin said he's pleased about the increase, but he's more excited about what the funds do for the people served by the Society, whose mission is to help those in need and living in poverty.

"The average car donated to the program generates more than $600 in net proceeds," he said. "For the people we serve, that can mean a month's rent for a family, more than two years of prescription medicine for someone, or nutrition for an infant for four months."

SVdP also is a member of One Car One Difference(TM), a national public awareness program created by Insurance Auto Auctions' Donation Division to support more than 100 participating charities nationwide.

For more information about SVdP's vehicle donation program or to donate, log on to http://www.svdpusacars.com, or call (800) 322-8284.

One of the oldest and most effective charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (http://www.svdpusa.org) is a Catholic lay organization of some 700,000 men and women throughout the world who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually and offer person-to-person service to the needy and people living in poverty in 142 countries on five continents. With the U.S. headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., membership in the United States totals more than 172,000 in 4,600 communities.

Programs include home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, job training and placement, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, transportation and utility costs, care for the elderly and medicine. Providing more than $595 million in tangible and in-kind services, SVdP serves more than 14 million people in need each year, performs more than 648,000 visits to people in their homes, and delivers more than 7 million service hours to those in need, regardless of race, religion or national origin.