Minnesota Attorney General Battles Vehicle Donation Charity

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota charity that relies on vehicle donations says it disagrees with a state attorney general report that too little of the money it raises goes to charity.

Car Donation Foundation said Wednesday the amounts it gives to charity meet or exceed industry standards. The foundation says car donation programs are expensive to run, and it's clear about costs on its website.

The foundation says it's given more than $1.5 million to Minnesota charities since 2011 and more than $30 million to charities nationwide since 2011.

Attorney General Lori Swanson said Wednesday that only about 20 percent of the foundation's gross revenue in the past four years has gone toward charitable grants. Swanson said the foundation had $37 million in revenue last year on almost 50,000 donated vehicles.

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(earlier version)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota's attorney general has accused one of the nation's largest vehicle-donation charities of giving little money to charity while steering millions of dollars to for-profit companies owned by its founders.

Attorney General Lori Swanson alleged today that only about one-fifth of Car Donation Foundation's revenue has gone toward charitable grants. She says the rest has been used for overhead, marketing and payments to a pair of companies.

The St. Paul-based foundation solicits vehicle donations under a "Wheels for Wishes" program that pledges money to local Make-A-Wish chapters to assist children battling cancer.

Almost 50,000 vehicles were donated to the foundation in 2014, amounting to $37 million in revenue.