Boat Angels

[Kevin G]

I'm just full of questions lately. An older friend of mine is donating his boat to Boat Angels. I have seen a lot of the donations on Ebay. Does anyone know much about this organization? Are they legit? Where does the money go?

I just dont want to see this old friend get the shaft.

Thanks

KG

[Gary E]

If he's willing to give it away, what's the problem?

I've seen them to.. and some of the boats are such junk they CANT EVEN BE GIVEN AWAY...

[Bob Cleek]

Don't know this outfit, but most of them are pretty much scams. You give them a total POS and they give you a receipt for a huge tax-deductable charitable donation. Then the IRS gives you a tax audit notice.

[Kevin G]

I know my friend is willing to give the boat away, and it is in nice condition, but he is of the mind that his "donation" will go to a good cause. I think it is otherwise, and I feel he would be better off just selling it and giving the money to his favorite charity. I also think it is prbly just a smoke screen, but then again,"A man convinced against his will is a man unconvinced still".

thanks for the input.

KG

[Concordia...41]

Is there a Sea Scout or other sailing / boating / scouting program in your area?

I'm all for giving stuff away, but like to know that it's going to something specific.

If the boat is really in decent shape, I'd guess about any local charity could use it in a raffle or other fund raiser.

That'll be .02 please

- M

[botebum]

He should ebay it himself and give the money to the charity of his choice.

Doug

[JimConlin]

I vaguely understand that if you give a boat/car to an organization and they sell it quickly, your allowable tax deduction is based on the price it sold for. OTOH, if the org. owns the boat for some longer period (two years?) and then sells it, you can take a deduction for some other amount, like an appraisal. Some organizations are doing lease-then-buy deals where the boat is leased for a period and then sold to the lessee.
Call Mass. Maritime Academy.

[bamamick]

Yeah, I agree. If he is leery of giving it to this outfit then he shouldn't do it. I have donated a couple of cars before. The first time I donated was to an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center near our home, and to be quite honest I really just wanted to sell the car and couldn't, so I took a tax credit for it.

Well, I didn't get a warm and fuzzy out of that at all, so the next time such an opportunity came around I asked our missions guy at church to find me someone to give my truck to, and he did. This family was a mom and dad with three teenagers. The mom had cancer, their insurance wasn't very good, and the kids were having trouble getting to school and keeping after-school jobs because they couldn't get dependable transportation. The dad was working two jobs because, get this, he thought that he should actually try and pay the doctor bills that he had piling up. Can you imagine? Anyway (and sorry for the sarcasm. Strange mood these days), I changed the oil, filled the tank, and washed it for them, then when they arrived as a family to pick it up I just handed them the keys. They didn't know what to say and neither did I. These were not people who felt that they were owed something. It really hurt the dad to even let anyone know that they could use some help. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a 17 year old whose mother is dying and seen tears of joy over something as silly as an old beat-up pickup truck? Well, I have now, and I can tell you that the tears are in MY eyes right now just remembering all of this.

The next week I got an incredibly kind and thoughtful card in the mail from the mother, and about two months later she passed away. I still see the boys and the truck is still kicking. All of this I will remember for the rest of my days. And no, I never took any tax deduction and I will never look to do anything like my first experience ever again.

If your friend wants to donate his boat and really wants something good to come out of it, it won't be nearly as easy as just calling someone to come pick it up, but I would urge him to go the extra mile and make a real difference. He can make this a truly meaningful experience if he will. I wish him luck.

Mickey Lake

[BETTY-B]

Ten or more years ago there was one here in Seattle that was always advertizing. I had a friend work for the guy for a little while. He stopped when he figured out just how much a scam it was. Charity was getting nothing. I would never do that. Ebay it and personally send a bunch of butane stoves to Africa...

[Ethan]

Yeah, I agree. If he is leery of giving it to this outfit then he shouldn't do it. I have donated a couple of cars before. The first time I donated was to an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center near our home, and to be quite honest I really just wanted to sell the car and couldn't, so I took a tax credit for it.

Well, I didn't get a warm and fuzzy out of that at all, so the next time such an opportunity came around I asked our missions guy at church to find me someone to give my truck to, and he did. This family was a mom and dad with three teenagers. The mom had cancer, their insurance wasn't very good, and the kids were having trouble getting to school and keeping after-school jobs because they couldn't get dependable transportation. The dad was working two jobs because, get this, he thought that he should actually try and pay the doctor bills that he had piling up. Can you imagine? Anyway (and sorry for the sarcasm. Strange mood these days), I changed the oil, filled the tank, and washed it for them, then when they arrived as a family to pick it up I just handed them the keys. They didn't know what to say and neither did I. These were not people who felt that they were owed something. It really hurt the dad to even let anyone know that they could use some help. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a 17 year old whose mother is dying and seen tears of joy over something as silly as an old beat-up pickup truck? Well, I have now, and I can tell you that the tears are in MY eyes right now just remembering all of this.

The next week I got an incredibly kind and thoughtful card in the mail from the mother, and about two months later she passed away. I still see the boys and the truck is still kicking. All of this I will remember for the rest of my days. And no, I never took any tax deduction and I will never look to do anything like my first experience ever again.

If your friend wants to donate his boat and really wants something good to come out of it, it won't be nearly as easy as just calling someone to come pick it up, but I would urge him to go the extra mile and make a real difference. He can make this a truly meaningful experience if he will. I wish him luck.

Mickey Lake

Mickey, I'm printing your post out to share with a few folks. Thanks very much for sharing this! I'd really like to shake your hand some day.

[Wild Dingo]

Mickey good stuff mate

[Kevin G]

All:

Tried to get him to sell the boat cheap, get the money and give it directly to the charity that he regularly supports (a Home for older folk), but he (and SHMBO)have made up his mind.

Thanks for your ideas, because I felt about the same.


Best

KG

[Russ Manheimer]

Having shaken your hand at Mystic it feels even better to say thanks for sharing that Mickey. Inspiring.

Our 93 Camry has 287K miles but runs great. Hope to do something similar.

Best,

Russ

[BETTY-B]

Kevin,

Set up a WBF charity. 100% to worthy causes. Let me know if you need help.

DAN

[Hwyl]

We already have Ester's fund. All the money tax deductible.

[Kasey]

I would normally say, "Forgive my ignorance" but we're long past THAT, now, aren't we?

What is Esther's fund? Who runs it, and what does it do?

[Hwyl]

I would normally say, "Forgive my ignorance" but we're long past THAT, now, aren't we?

What is Esther's fund? Who runs it, and what does it do?

Here it is. Forum members have been very generous. I'm hoping for an update from Amanda Harrow.

[Tylerdurden]

If he is truly going to give it. (Tax deductions are not giving) then put an ad up for some poor sailor or give directly to some program for sailing. Good people keep others on the water.

[Lew Barrett]

Thanks for that Mickey.