A letter from MADA chairman Sam Weaver

Dear MADA Members,

It is a new decade and I want to wish everyone Happy New Year and I hope 2010 is prosperous for all of you.

As we enter this New Year, I want to announce a new and very worthy program we have developed along with the premier vehicle donation organization in this part of the country, Vehicles for Change [VFC]. VFC is a non-profit company which takes donated vehicles, refurbishes them and provides them to low income families in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.

MADA has selected Vehicles for Change as its preferred car donation program for two main reasons:

1. VFC is the only program that actually awards the cars, in good condition, to low income families. A simple car has a huge impact! Over 70% of the families obtain better jobs and a salary increase of $5,000 per year. In addition, parents are able to take their children to after-school athletic and recreational activities never before possible. VFC is a local program awarding 450–500 cars per year to residents in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC.
   
   
2. Vehicles for Change is able to provide its donors with the greatest possible tax deduction. The 2005 tax law allows a donor to deduct the fair market value of their car if the car is repaired and sold to a low income family at a cost significantly below market value. VFC is the only program in this region to provide this level of tax deduction for a donated vehicle.

VFC accepts cars in any condition. Each car is reviewed to determine how to generate the greatest possible income which results in the greatest possible tax deduction for their donors. All other car donation programs simply have the auction house handle the car and sell the car to the highest bidder.

This is why VFC has been selected as the official car donation program of MADA, as designated by our Board of Directors. We have been working together over the past several months to develop a program that would be easy to implement, have very little cost to our dealers and have the greatest possible impact on both your bottom line and the worthy families selected by Vehicles for Change to receive a car. The program is outlined below. I strongly encourage each of you to join Board members in participating as we strive to make this program a major success in 2010.

Sincerely,

Sam Weaver, Jr.
Chairman