At Issue: Catholic Charities car donation program on a roll
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Bruno Cellucci is best known at Catholic Charities for his accounting and business skills.
Over the past 12 months, Cellucci, the agency’s director of Accounting and Business Services, has also garnered attention for launching an innovative auto donation program.
The program accepts any car – even those that are not drivable – and tows them away at no cost. With one phone call, folks can finally unload their old cars, get the highest tax deduction allowable under current IRS regulations and help people in need in the community.
Depending upon the appraisal each donated vehicle receives, Catholic Charities will give the vehicle to a consumer desperately in need of transportation, sell it to a salvage yard or at an auction. Proceeds realized are directed to one of the agency’s programs in need.
The response to date has been terrific, Cellucci said.
Some 70 vehicles were turned over to the agency between last March, when the program began, and this February. "And it continues to grow. We’ve had calls from car owners in all four counties and we’d go further if people call us. It’s been working out very well."
Cellucci, who says he has a passion for cars and supervises the agency fleet of 160 vehicles, came up with the idea for the program in response to calls Catholic Charities was getting from people wanting to donate their vehicles.
"I’m a car aficionado, and I’d been hearing from folks who would come in and want to give us their old cars and we were turning them away," he said. "That’s bad on so many levels. Someone wants to give you something and you don’t have the resources to take it. "So, I thought about it, and with my knowledge of cars and working with a large fleet, I thought, let me step up to the plate."
Catholic Charities' Executive Director Francis E. Dolan approved of the plan, it was posted on the agency web site and the calls started coming in.
A lot of the calls came from people who wanted their cars to come to a worthy end or, in other cases, go on to a better life.
Some of the cars end up being sold for scrap, bringing the agency between $150-$300 for its programs. "If the car doesn’t have many issues, when we pick it up, we turn it over to a client," he said.
Of the cars sold at auction, some generated between $1,000 – $3,000. A few of them brought in more, Cellucci said. "One Lexus sold for $10,000 which really benefited our programs. The lady who donated it said she would be very happy if it could benefit Catholic Charities. We were so happy she chose to give it to us," he said.
"A number of people have called because they really, really wanted their cars to go to Catholic Charities," Cellucci said.
Some of these are folks like Cellucci, who have that passion for cars including the "guy from North Jersey" who called because the time had finally come to let go of his old BMW.
"He said it was his first great car, but that he had bought a new one. I sensed in talking to him that he didn’t want to let it go."
When Cellucci assured the man his would be auctioned off to someone who could afford to maintain it properly, the deal was set.
Cellucci noted that unlike many nonprofits, Catholic Charities does not outsource auto donation to a national company because the agency wanted to guarantee that all the proceeds remain in the four-county service area of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
If you are interested in donating your car to Catholic Charities, call 1-877-383-CCDT or go to www.catholiccharitiestrenton.org and click on donate your old car.
[[In-content Ad]]Related Stories
Friday, November 29, 2024
E-Editions
Events
Bruno Cellucci is best known at Catholic Charities for his accounting and business skills.
Over the past 12 months, Cellucci, the agency’s director of Accounting and Business Services, has also garnered attention for launching an innovative auto donation program.
The program accepts any car – even those that are not drivable – and tows them away at no cost. With one phone call, folks can finally unload their old cars, get the highest tax deduction allowable under current IRS regulations and help people in need in the community.
Depending upon the appraisal each donated vehicle receives, Catholic Charities will give the vehicle to a consumer desperately in need of transportation, sell it to a salvage yard or at an auction. Proceeds realized are directed to one of the agency’s programs in need.
The response to date has been terrific, Cellucci said.
Some 70 vehicles were turned over to the agency between last March, when the program began, and this February. "And it continues to grow. We’ve had calls from car owners in all four counties and we’d go further if people call us. It’s been working out very well."
Cellucci, who says he has a passion for cars and supervises the agency fleet of 160 vehicles, came up with the idea for the program in response to calls Catholic Charities was getting from people wanting to donate their vehicles.
"I’m a car aficionado, and I’d been hearing from folks who would come in and want to give us their old cars and we were turning them away," he said. "That’s bad on so many levels. Someone wants to give you something and you don’t have the resources to take it. "So, I thought about it, and with my knowledge of cars and working with a large fleet, I thought, let me step up to the plate."
Catholic Charities' Executive Director Francis E. Dolan approved of the plan, it was posted on the agency web site and the calls started coming in.
A lot of the calls came from people who wanted their cars to come to a worthy end or, in other cases, go on to a better life.
Some of the cars end up being sold for scrap, bringing the agency between $150-$300 for its programs. "If the car doesn’t have many issues, when we pick it up, we turn it over to a client," he said.
Of the cars sold at auction, some generated between $1,000 – $3,000. A few of them brought in more, Cellucci said. "One Lexus sold for $10,000 which really benefited our programs. The lady who donated it said she would be very happy if it could benefit Catholic Charities. We were so happy she chose to give it to us," he said.
"A number of people have called because they really, really wanted their cars to go to Catholic Charities," Cellucci said.
Some of these are folks like Cellucci, who have that passion for cars including the "guy from North Jersey" who called because the time had finally come to let go of his old BMW.
"He said it was his first great car, but that he had bought a new one. I sensed in talking to him that he didn’t want to let it go."
When Cellucci assured the man his would be auctioned off to someone who could afford to maintain it properly, the deal was set.
Cellucci noted that unlike many nonprofits, Catholic Charities does not outsource auto donation to a national company because the agency wanted to guarantee that all the proceeds remain in the four-county service area of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
If you are interested in donating your car to Catholic Charities, call 1-877-383-CCDT or go to www.catholiccharitiestrenton.org and click on donate your old car.
[[In-content Ad]]