How nonprofits get cash from your clunker

Summary

Summary of "How Nonprofits Get Cash from Your Clunker"
The Indicator from Planet Money
Release Date: March 27, 2025

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Introduction

In the March 27, 2025 episode of The Indicator from Planet Money, host Darren Woods delves into the intricate process by which nonprofits transform donated vehicles into substantial financial support. Joined by former Indicator intern Shaun Saldana, the episode titled "How Nonprofits Get Cash from Your Clunker" offers an in-depth exploration of the car donation ecosystem, highlighting the journey of a single Ford Explorer donated to a public radio station in Austin, Texas.

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The Car Donation Process

Shaun Saldana introduces the primary method nonprofits use to fundraise: car donations. Based at KUT in Austin, Shaun explains that the station receives approximately 400 to 500 vehicle donations annually. These donations range from well-maintained cars to those in disrepair, each contributing differently to the nonprofit's finances.

Notable Quote:

"Here at KUT in Austin, we receive anywhere from 400 to 500 donations a year."
— Shaun Saldana [00:41]

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Case Study: Noel Preece's Ford Explorer

The episode follows Noel Preece, a long-time public radio donor, who donates his 2013 Ford Explorer to KUT. The vehicle, described by Noel as having "brakes that probably need to get replaced and roof leaks" ([03:23]), exemplifies the types of cars nonprofits often receive. Shaun emphasizes that such donations serve a dual purpose: providing valuable resources for the nonprofit while offloading vehicles that the donor no longer needs.

Notable Quote:

"Anybody who gives me money is a good person. And Noel's especially a good person because he allowed us to track his Ford Explorer through a long and complicated process."
— Shaun Saldana [03:55]

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Behind the Scenes: Nonprofit and For-Profit Collaboration

Darren Woods and Shaun Saldana introduce Howard Pearl, CEO of Charitable Adult Rides and Services (CARS), a nonprofit managing vehicle donations for around 10,000 organizations nationwide. Howard outlines the vast scale of operations, stating, "We can process as many as 150,000 vehicles in a year" ([04:33]). CARS collaborates with for-profit entities to maximize the financial returns from each donation.

Notable Quote:

"If there is value to be extracted, you'll find it in an automobile."
— Howard Pearl [04:15]

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Economic Breakdown of a Car Donation

The financial journey of Noel's Ford Explorer is meticulously tracked. Darren explains that typically, nonprofits receive about 70% of the sale proceeds, while administrative costs consume the remaining 30%. In Noel's case, KUT received over $5,700 from the final sale price of $7,025. Public Auto Auctions, managed by Andrew Kinsfather, played a pivotal role in auctioning the vehicle, earning $632 from the sale ([08:16]).

Notable Quote:

"Public auto auctions takes fees based on the sale price of each vehicle. And they need to try and empty the lot as quickly as possible."
— Darren Woods [07:24]

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The Auction Process

Public Auto Auctions in Kyle, Texas, handles up to 200 vehicles daily, including unique items like food trucks. Andrew Kinsfather demonstrates the pricing tool used to evaluate donations, considering factors like make, model, mileage, and condition. Noel's Explorer, despite its initial flaws, was auctioned successfully due to its relatively low mileage of 72,000 miles.

Notable Quote:

"Now, this is a full-fledged kitchen on wheels. I mean, it has fryers, a flat grill, regular grill."
— Andrew Kinsfather [06:44]

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Revitalization and Resale

After the auction, Noel's Ford Explorer underwent significant repairs at a used car dealership in North Austin. The vehicle was restored with new tires, brakes, and a fixed sunroof, enhancing its market value to $12,499. This transformation underscores the value extraction process, where donated vehicles are revitalized and resold, benefiting both the nonprofit and the new owner.

Notable Quote:

"It's gone from a run-down donation to a bright and shiny piece of inventory for a small business."
— Shaun Saldana [09:36]

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Conclusion

The episode effectively illustrates how car donations serve as a vital revenue stream for nonprofits. By partnering with organizations like CARS and leveraging auction processes, nonprofits like KUT can transform unwanted vehicles into substantial financial support. Shaun Saldana humorously concludes, "Who knew you could squeeze so much money out of altruism?" ([09:54]), highlighting the symbiotic relationship between donors, nonprofits, and the broader automotive resale market.

Notable Quote:

"Our donor Noel will, however, get some public radio merchandise in the mail."
— Darren Woods [06:09]

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Final Thoughts

For listeners interested in supporting nonprofits, the episode encourages car donations as a tangible way to contribute. By following Noel's Explorer from donation to resale, Woods and Saldana provide a comprehensive look at the economic mechanisms underpinning nonprofit fundraising through vehicle donations.

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Credits

• Produced by: Angel Carreras
• Engineering by: Maggie Luthar and Jimmy Keeley
• Fact-Checked by: Sarah Juarez
• Edited by: Cake and Cannon
• Production: The Indicator is a production of NPR

Transcript

[NPR Sponsor]

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[Darren Woods]

This is the INDICATOR from Planet Money. I'm Darren woods and today we're joined by former Indicator intern Shaun Saldana.

[Shaun Saldana]

I'm glad to be back, Darian.

[Darren Woods]

It is very good to have you. You're now at member station KUT in Austin.

[Shaun Saldana]

That's exactly right. I work for a radio show called the Texas Standard. And today's story has to do with one of the ways we raise money, car donations.

[Darren Woods]

Car donations, yes. This is something that make a wish America does. Also Habitat for Humanity. These are just a couple of nonprofits that help pay their bills this way.

[Shaun Saldana]

Yes. And here at the member station level, we do a lot of begging for old and beaten up vehicles because it can be very lucrative. Here at KUT in Austin, we receive anywhere from 400 to 500 donations a year.

[Darren Woods]

And so that is why on today's show we're going to follow one of these donations to see exactly actually how old cars turn into hard cash for nonprofits.

[Shaun Saldana]

After the break, a driveway moment.

[NPR Sponsor]

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Spectrum Business working to power businesses nationwide with reliable connectivity services When Emily and Mike decided to start a custom shoe design store in Charlotte, North Carolina, they knew the road ahead wouldn't be easy. They dreamed of creating a fun, inspiring environment to promote self expression. But they knew they couldn't achieve their vision without reliable Internet. So they chose Spectrum to help them stay connected and to keep important tools like cloud based design programs running smoothly and as they grew, offering workshops, custom designs and more. Spectrum was there every step of the way with flexible pricing and dedicated 247 service. Learn [e-mail] Business restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. This message comes from Charles Schwab. When it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices like full service, wealth management and advice when you need it. You can also invest on your own and trade on thinkorswim. Visit schwab.com to learn more. This message comes from NPR sponsor Shopify. Start selling with Shopify today. Whether you're a garage entrepreneur or IPO ready, Shopify is the only tool you need to start, run and grow your business without the struggle. Go to shopify.com NPR.

[Darren Woods]

All right, Shawn, so today's story starts out in Austin, Texas, where you met up with a longtime public radio fan for the first stop on our journey.

[Noel Preece]

My name's Noel Preece.

[Shaun Saldana]

And you are a public radio donor.

[Noel Preece]

Yeah, we've been donors off and on for most of the time that we've been in Austin.

[Shaun Saldana]

Yeah, Noel's family has lived here since 2008, and together he and I inspected a 2013 Ford Explorer that his mother in law used to drive. It's silver, has a lot of dings and dents, and when I asked him how he'd describe it, this is what he told me.

[Noel Preece]

I think the brakes probably need to get replaced and the roof leaks.

[Darren Woods]

Okay, so is this actually useful for the public radio station or is it just offloaded junk?

[Shaun Saldana]

It's both useful and offloaded junk. And that is exactly why Noel gave it away.

[Noel Preece]

It needs work. And so I thought, well, if I donate it, then that work can go to somebody else and all of the profits can go to, you know, services that I have relied on for a really long time.

[Darren Woods]

Okay, well, I've never met Noel, but he sounds like an ideal public radio fan to me.

[Shaun Saldana]

Anybody who gives me money is a good person. And Noel's especially a good person because he allowed us to track his Ford Explorer through a long and complicated process.

[Darren Woods]

Yeah, that's because behind every car donation, there is a system of non profit and for profit companies that come together to extract as much value as possible.

[Howard Pearl]

If there is value to be extracted, you'll find it in an automobile.

[Shaun Saldana]

That is the voice of Howard Pearl, the CEO of Charitable Adult Rides and Services, a nonprofit whose acronym spells out the word CARS. CARS helps administer vehicle donations for around 10,000 nonprofits across the country.

[Howard Pearl]

We can process as many as 150,000 vehicles in a year. And those vehicles can be anything from heavy construction equipment to collectible vehicles.

[Darren Woods]

So the nonprofit that gets the vehicle donated, they end up with around 70% or more of the proceeds, and the rest goes to administrative costs and the nonprofit cars.

[Shaun Saldana]

Some of those donations are sold for parts and scrap metal, but the majority are auctioned off and sent back out into the world. Noel's donation is one of these, which is why right before we sent it off, he and I plastered the back bumper and NPR stickers and then dropped a care package into the passenger seat.

[Noel Preece]

To the new vehicle owner.

[Shaun Saldana]

That's the note I prepared for the potential new owner.

[Noel Preece]

KUT socks with song notes. And what I.

[Shaun Saldana]

We did this to let the future owner know that we are following this Ford Explorer. And just a few minutes after this, the first group of people who profited off of Noel's Vehicle arrived. Right now, the Ford Explorer is being loaded up onto the bed of a tow truck while a woman named Sonya grabs the keys. That is it.

[NPR Sponsor]

That's all that entitles to you donating the vehicle.

[Shaun Saldana]

They will call you. Sonja works at Leo's Towing, a local company with two trucks. And for this particular job, they earned $175.

[Darren Woods]

So as Noel's Ford Explorer gets repurposed, we know that many people are going to benefit financially from this clipping the ticket, but generally not the donors themselves. You know, it can be claimed as a tax deduction, but most people don't. As you know, in the tax returns, they just claim the standard deduction.

[Shaun Saldana]

Our donor Noel, will, however, get some public radio merchandise in the mail.

[Darren Woods]

Very nice. And now Noel's car is off to the next step in its journey.

[Shaun Saldana]

Exactly to the auction lot.

[Andrew Kinsfather]

That's a Nissan Altima. That's a little Mini Cooper Town Cars, Toyota Priuses. I mean, it is an array of everything.

[Shaun Saldana]

That's Andrew Kinsfather, the general manager of Public Auto Auctions in Kyle, Texas. It's about half an hour south of Austin. On any given day, there are up to 200 vehicles on the lot. And as I found out, they don't just take in cars and SUVs.

[Andrew Kinsfather]

Now, this is a food truck that we have out here.

[Shaun Saldana]

This is not even a car.

[Andrew Kinsfather]

No, it's not a car. It is a full fledged kitchen on wheels. I mean, it has fryers, a flat grill, regular grill.

[Shaun Saldana]

After Andrew and I got settled in his office, he showed me this pricing tool they use.

[Andrew Kinsfather]

The exterior color was silver.

[Shaun Saldana]

This allows him to compare similar makes and models that have sold in the past year. And because our public radio car has dings and dents and that leaky roof, it gets a 2 out of 5 rating.

[Andrew Kinsfather]

And that gives us an adjusted MMR value of $6,800.

[Darren Woods]

Public auto auctions takes fees based on the sale price of each vehicle. And they need to try and empty the lot as quickly as possible. I heard that these days a lot of car auctions take place online.

[Shaun Saldana]

You heard correctly. Which is why right now, a robot voice is doing the calls.

[Auction Voice]

Next item. 2013 Ford Explorer, new bid, $4,000. I need $4,200.

[Darren Woods]

Wait, I recognize that voice. Is that the person who's always on the end of my phone calls to corporate?

[Shaun Saldana]

Yes, it's the most personal voice that they could find.

[Darren Woods]

Okay.

[Shaun Saldana]

Noel's car was one of the most sought after items because it only had 72,000 miles, which means that within just seconds of it opening, its price shot up.

[Auction Voice]

Going once for $5,000. Going twice for $5,000. Come on. This is a nice one, guys. New bid. 60.

[Darren Woods]

This is a nice one, guys. It will keep you cool when the roof leaks.

[Auction Voice]

Sold for $7,025.

[Darren Woods]

All right, so doing the math, from that final sale price, public auto auctions received $632. The nonprofit cars received a little over a thousand. And kut, the member station that you work for, Sean, that got just over $5,700.

[Shaun Saldana]

And we were thrilled to receive every single penny. Darian.

[Darren Woods]

Yep.

[Shaun Saldana]

And after all those checks cleared, our public radio car has exited the sphere of nonprofits and altruism and re entered the free market. Bumper has been repaired. All of our public radio stickers have been removed. About a month after it sold, I tracked our SUV down at the last stop in our journey, a used car dealership in North Austin. Its owner, Sam Safa, put around $1,200 into fixing it up, which is why right now it has new tires, new brakes, and a sunroof that does not leak. Started up clean.

[Andrew Kinsfather]

It started out very clean. Low mileage, 72,000 miles on it.

[Darren Woods]

I'm not in the market for a car, but it sounds like an okay deal. How much is it going for?

[Shaun Saldana]

Well, Darian, if you were in the market for a new car, this one costs $12,499. And at this point, our public radio car has completed a transformation.

[Darren Woods]

It's had a bit of a makeover.

[Shaun Saldana]

Yeah, it's gone from a run down donation to a bright and shiny piece of inventory for a small business.

[Darren Woods]

That's right. So it seems to be good for both the station and for the car. Well, Sean, thanks for all the car talk.

[Shaun Saldana]

Who knew you could squeeze so much money out of altruism?

[Darren Woods]

If you like this episode and want to help, you can donate your car to your local member station or something. A bit easier is just to tell a friend about this podcast. This episode was produced by Angel Carreras with engineering by Maggie Luthar and Jimmy Keeley. It was fact checked by Sarah Juarez. Cake and Cannon edits the show and the indicator is a production of npr.

[NPR Sponsor]

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