You have a boat that you want to donate to a charity. You do not want to sell it and go through the hassles that come with the selling the boat. Donating a boat to a charity is a noble task, gives your self esteem a high and very importantly, you become eligible for tax exemption.

So far, so good and it sounds real nice and smooth. But the reality is quite different and chances are that you may come across bumps. You need to be aware of the bumps and know how to preempt and overcome the bumps that come your way if you want to donate a boat to charity.

The following tips will help you make your donation process smoother and a good experience:

Avoid the middlemen: You will come across a lot of advertisements on the local newspapers, radio and the TV about the so called non-profit organizations that claim to facilitate your donation of a boat to a charity.

Beware of these types of organizations as these organizations typically charge a big percentage of the value of the boat as facilitation charges and in the process, the charitable organizations receive much lesser than was originally intended. Preferably, you should find out the charitable organizations and enquire with them directly whether they need boats.

Donate to the deserving charity: You must first evaluate whether the charity you have identified actually needs a boat or not. Go through some thorough homework before you actually decide on selecting the right charitable organization.

Calculate the value for the charity: If for some reason, you must contact an intermediary organization for facilitating the donation, find out the amount they would give to the charity finally. If the amount is too low, then the effort is not worth it. You must also remember that boat donation in this manner will not make you eligible for tax exemption.

Is the charity approved? Get this verified first. This is because for a charity to give you tax exemption, it must be approved by an authority from the government. Hence, you must verify whether the charitable organization is approved and eligible to receive donations.

Deliver the boat yourself: In order to ensure that the boat you are giving to the boat donation charities is in the best condition, try and deliver it personally. The charity will benefit from receiving a boat in good condition too.

When you donate a boat, you must remember to keep the documentation very clear. People who donate boats usually have the tax factor in mind and hence will need all the relevant papers in hand. Hence, when you donate a boat to charity, you not only save tax, you are also doing something for a noble cause. However, as mentioned, tread with caution before you donate a boat to charity.