"Definitely, charitable car donations are growing," said Austin DePaolo, executive director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center in Spokane. The agency is one of 11 non-profits that benefit from Cars for Charity, a tax-exempt organization that takes in and sells donated cars, disbursing the proceeds.

Vehicle donations are attractive for both donor and charity because they "give the most return for the least amount of effort" compared with other fund-raising methods, DePaolo said.

"Donating a car is a very simple, straightforward thing. It shouldn't involve a whole lot of hassle," said Dennis Poor, supervisor for the Seattle-based consumer protection area, a division of the State Attorney General's Office that includes King, Snohomish, Clallam and Jefferson counties.

Poor said his office has received only a few minor complaints this year involving charitable car donations, and neither required action by the Attorney General's Office. Both, however, involved what Poor and others call the most critical issue facing donors: ownership, as established by vehicle titles.

Those who fail to clear their car titles, or do not file the required seller's report, can -- and have -- wound up being liable for towing, license tab and other fees. Such outstanding fees can, for example, block a driver's license renewal.

"Everyone should file a seller's report, whether they're selling or donating," Poor said.

Rebecca Sherrell, charities project manager in the Secretary of State's Office, said the amount a charity receives from car donations varies according to agreements made between parties. Some organizations, such as Volunteers of America, have their own donation lots. While many charities rely on volunteers, such as mechanics, others may sign pacts with a range of organizations, including towing and salvage companies, charitable fund-raisers or for-profit vehicle processing centers. The greater the number of parties and fees involved, the higher the overhead and the less money to charities, Sherrell and others said.

Overhead is a fact, Brown said. More than 50 percent of the cars donated to Volunteers of America go to salvage, necessitating such fees as towing -- at $80 or more per car. In the last few years, the organization also has spent $200,000 a year in newspaper, TV and other advertising.

But the generosity of many -- including repeat donors -- has helped the program grow from the annual $40,000 raised 10 years ago to about $1 million raised last year. The money is distributed to 30 local charities and the organization's own food distribution programs, crisis care line, children's camps and dispute resolution center, Brown said.

Over the years, Brown has marveled at the generosity of donors, including some who donate many times. Sometimes, transactions can help ease grief. One woman who donated the helicopter of her deceased son, Brown said, received "a sense of closure" when it was ultimately sold for $500 to a chopper enthusiast.

Sam Granato, executive director of the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce, said his family has donated three cars over the years. A local towing company agreed to tow their Peugeot free of cost to Bremerton Vocational Technical School, where the donation became a teaching project. A second car, an old Mercedes, went to Seattle-area homeless, and a third to a charity helping the blind.

Granato said the family had a good experience each time.

"We tended to keep cars way after they were paid for, and ran them for years," Granato said.

"Instead of trading them in, we preferred to donate. It felt like a win-win for us because we got a tax deduction, but we were also helping people."

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