Wheels to Work was founded as a 501(c)3 so that decent donated cars can be transferred directly to people in need instead of being flipped for cash. Wheels to Work has a structure to transfer the cars in a tax free, tax deductible, and secure way from a liability standpoint.
There is a huge multiplier effect, and donated cars are used for school and/or employment which can lead to huge gains. The goal of Wheels to Work is to get the car to a person so that the car can change their life, and move them up the socio economic ladder.
Wheels to Work partners with Re:Source Cleveland, a local nonprofit that works with newcomers to Cleveland. They have access to services such as housing, employment, education, etc. Their biggest problem is transportation, and a car can be a miracle. Re:Source Cleveland vets the client, ensures that they are a legal driver (license and insurance), helps them with registration, and stays in contact.
The need for cars massively outweighs the market for decent donated cars, so every car makes it to people who really need it. If we got 100 cars, we could move them in a month.
Wheels to Work has been accepting car donations since July of 2021, and every car has been incredible. As of April of 2024, Wheels to Work has completed 18 car donations. Click here to see a picture and a few details of every car donation.
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You Donate
When you’re ready to donate a car, please fill out our Car Donation Form (click here). We seek out car donations with a blue book value of around $4,000 and no major issues. For nearly every car, we transfer as is without any mechanical update.
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We Put the Car to Work
Wheels to Work contacts Re:Source Cleveland’s Executive Director Patrick Kearns and works with his team to find someone where the impact can be the greatest.
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Stay in Touch
Wheels to Work will follow up with pictures and general details when the car is transferred (usually within 2 weeks). Then, we follow up in six weeks to see how everything is going, and we try to follow up in two years.
FAQs
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If you have a car to donate, the first thing to do is to fill out the donation form on the website. If you would like to contact us directly, you can send us an email at wheelstoworkcleveland@gmail.org.
I meet with you at a time and place of your convenience. I need the title, the car, the keys, and the person whose name is on the title to be at the meeting. I transfer the title and fill out a box on form 1098-C. If you would like, we can take pictures. The whole process takes about 5 minutes, but I’m happy to chat.
I then follow up within 30 days with the documentation for your tax deduction if you are able to deduct. Further down the line, I will follow up with pictures and quotes from the car recipient of your donation at six weeks, and then we try to follow up in two years.
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We do not have strict guidelines on who gets the cars. We work directly with the Executive Director of Re:Source Cleveland and his team to try to determine on a case by case basis of who needs the car the most and who can take care of a car.
The demand for donated cars heavily outweighs supply, so we are able to get the cars to people where it can change their life.
Please click here to view a page for a picture and details on every car.
We do not accept requests from individuals for cars.
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I spend about $1800 a year on D&O insurance, website fees, and title transfers. I have mostly raised that money through family and friends.
Long term, I would like to try to raise money to pay me 15 bucks an hour to do this.
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The standard deduction for a single filer is $12,000 and $24,000. Most people are not going to be able to deduct this donation on their taxes. If you are unable to deduct, there is nothing that you need to do. If you are able, you can take the full blue book value.
Wheels to Work is obligated by the IRS to fill out copies A, B, C, and D of form 1098-C detailing the car donation.
Copy A is sent directly to the IRS. Copy B and C is sent to the car donor (you) within 30 days of the car donation which are used for the donor’s taxes. Copy D is kept by Wheels to Work..
If you are able to deduct the donation on your taxes, you are able to claim the full blue book value of your car because it is given directly to a person. If you are not able to or choose not to deduct, then you do not need to do anything with Copies B and C.
Further instructions are included with Copies B and C about filing form 8283. I haven’t completed this process, but a tax attorney could help you.
About Us
In 2018 I bought a car, and I donated my old one to Marcus who calls that donated car “The Game Changer.” You can read his story here.
In Cleveland and for the most part nationwide, nobody donates cars directly to people. They flip the cars for quick cash. A tiny fraction makes it to charity. Those cars go through the auction house, the used car dealership, and predatory lenders, and are then sold at jacked up prices with predatory loans to impoverished people.
I started working on this in 2019, and in 2020 Wheels to Work was incorporated as a 501(c)3 with a board of directors. My mother, Therese Sweeney Drake, filed for charity status and provided a number of supporting services as a lawyer with decades of experience on nonprofit boards. Mary Jo Toumert is retired from a career in HR, and also has extensive nonprofit board experience as a lawyer as well. Noah Toumert works at Re:Source Cleveland and helped offer a connection there. None of this work would be possible without the support of Re:Source Cleveland. Tommy Flynn works in finance and is just a killer guy.
This is a community organization with volunteer labor, which I run pretty much by myself with expert advice from a small board, and if you would like to learn more, please read the 2023 annual report by clicking here.
Under our model, 100% of a donated car makes it directly to people who need it. It’s that simple, it really is. Donated cars can be so much more than cash. For our drivers, the cars are opportunity in material form. They can lead to a job or a better job farther away, education, and improved overall quality of life, such as enhanced independence and opportunity.
I’m outmatched in marketing by huge corporations with massive budgets, so spread the word!
But I just like gettin people cars My moto has always been “Just One Car.”
Connor Drake (Founder/Executive Director)
“It was a shock because, you know, that was the first car in my life that I owned. It was one of those gifts that I can say has truly changed my life. It was a deeply spiritual moment for me.”
Our Mission
To provide donors, non profits, and persons in need with a car donation service that directly donates working vehicles to people.
Our Vision
To revolutionize the car donation industry so that working donated cars are given directly to people who need them.
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