PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Would you like to see your motorcycle do some good for motorcycling?
Donate your bike. If your reliable steed is about to be retired in favor of a newer model, there’s a way for you to use it to help out the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.
Or maybe your garage is just too full and you need to get rid of a bike or two. Or a relative gave you a motorcycle that just doesn’t quite fit your needs.
If you have a motorcycle that you want to get rid of for any reason, the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum’s new Cycle Donor Program may be able to help you out, while you help the museum.
Win-win situation. Under the program, you can donate your motorcycle to the museum and get a tax deduction in return. That way, you are not only helping preserve motorcycling’s heritage, but you are helping educate people about motorcycling and motorcyclists as well.
That’s because the nonprofit American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which administers the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, is devoted to the preservation of America’s motorcycling heritage.
The mission of the organization is to not only preserve the heritage of motorcycling, but to educate the public with respect to American motorcycling’s great traditions through the operation of the museum.
The Cycle Donor Program is an excellent way to help the museum and to avoid the hassle of trying to sell a bike on your own.
About the program. Motorcycles donated through the Cycle Donor program may be wonderful machines, but they don’t have the historical significance needed to justify becoming part of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum’s permanent collection.
So each donor must sign a form acknowledging that the donated bike will be sold to generate money for the museum, no strings attached.
Criterion. Before a machine will be considered for a donation, a prospective donor will be asked to send a good photograph and description, including mileage, condition, and proposed value.
Once a machine is accepted for the Cycle Donor program, and because the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is a nonprofit foundation, the donation of motorcycles – or even scooters or all-terrain vehicles – qualifies as a tax-deductible charitable contribution.
Tax deduction. The amount of the donor’s tax deduction will be based on the true market value of the machine, which means the eventual selling price, minus any fees. That amount will be confirmed, after the sale, in a letter to the donor.
In most cases, transportation costs are left to the donor. Those costs may also be tax-deductible.
Individuals, clubs or corporations who donate through the Cycle Donor Program will be recognized within the organization’s Donor Recognition Program, just like a cash gift. Contributions of $500 or more receive recognition in the form of a walnut plaque mounted permanently in the Museum Founders Hall.
Learn more. For more information contact Dan Smith at 800-262-5646, ext. 1198, or by e-mail at dsmith@motorcyclemuseum.org.
