By Bill Smith, as published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch .

Salvation Army Capt. Gerhard Scheler admits that when he first noticed the billboards and radio ads touting the new MERS Goodwill vehicle donation program, he was "not very pleased."

After all, 10 percent to 20 percent of the $5 million a year budget needed to run the Salvation Army's 102-bed Adult Rehabilitation Center comes from its own vehicle donation program, one in which 2,000 used cars and trucks a year are donated and sold to raise cash for the center.

"Lord," Scheler remembers asking when the MERS Goodwill campaign kicked into high gear earlier this year, "you know what good we're doing. Watch out for us. Don't let them eat us up."

MERS Goodwill President Lewis C. Chartock seemed amused this week by Scheler's concern. He offered no apologies for diving into the vehicle donation pool, or for hiring the woman who once ran the Salvation Army's donation program.

"That's what it's all about - entrepreneurial efforts," Chartock said. The Salvation Army, he said, "is outspending us 10-to-1" in advertising.

Besides, he said, "I don't know why they're upset with me. I haven't found a way to get a bucket out in front of every Schnucks store."

So far at least, the battle for vehicle donation supremacy between two of St. Louis' best-known social service agencies has taken on more the look of a sibling pillow fight than a knock-down, drag-out slugfest. Competition for dollars among area charities may be stiff, but it is almost always polite.

And while officials with both agencies admit they are after the same donors, they maintain that there are enough vehicles to go around. Ultimately, they say, the increased advertising and attention may help not only their two organizations, but others in Missouri and Illinois that solicit used cars and trucks to help pay the bills.

"I see a billboard for their program, and I say, 'That's a good thing,'" Chartock said.

And, said Salvation Army center assistant administrator Tim Sunderland, in spite of MERS Goodwill's heavy marketing of its own donation program, "this is the best summer we've ever had."

With two weeks left in 2006, local charities are seeing a noticeable increase in vehicle donations as area residents scramble to meet a Dec. 31 tax deadline. By signing over a used car, truck or even a boat to a nonprofit before Jan. 1, donors can take tax deductions on their next tax returns.

Until 2005, the Internal Revenue Service allowed donors to estimate the value of their donated vehicles themselves, usually using standard guidebook values and often inflating their actual worth.

But for the past two years, IRS rules have allowed donors to claim only the actual sale price of vehicles, or $500, whichever is greater.

Charities that have been in the vehicle donation game since before 2005 say they have noticed a slight dip in the number and value of donated vehicles after the IRS rule change, but it has not been dramatic. The Salvation Army here says some West Coast programs saw drops as much as 40 percent after the rules were tightened.

Several charities in Illinois and Missouri are involved in donation programs, among them the American Cancer Society, the Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the National Kidney Foundation and the Humane Society of Missouri.

Like many donation programs, the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter pays Bridgeton-based St. Louis Auto Auction a flat fee of $65 per vehicle to sell donated cars. The Red Cross receives any money above that flat fee, occasionally up to several thousand dollars.

"We will take as many as come our way," said Mary Segneri with the Red Cross' development office. "If it has a motor in it and a title, we can sell it."

During the charity's 2006 fiscal year, it received 76 vehicles, realizing $34,000 for the charity.

That number pales compared with the Salvation Army's 2,000 vehicles per year. Roni Vetter, the MERS Goodwill donation coordinator, said she hopes that charity can bring in 1,500 vehicles next year.

Joe Pereles, a longtime Red Cross volunteer, said his family has donated two cars to the Red Cross, the most recent a "well-loved" 1998 Grand Prix that sold at auction for around $2,600.

On Thursday, Zane Campbell of Kirkwood dropped off his 1995 Nissan Pathfinder with 180,000 miles to the MERS Goodwill office.

"It took about five minutes," Campbell said. "To me, it was about convenience. I'm just glad it's gone."

The Humane Society here has been soliciting donated vehicles for the past five years. Judy Miniace, director of development, says the charity receives between $40,000 and $50,000 a year from the program.

Locally, the largest vehicle auction house is St. Louis Auto Auction, but Gateway Auto Auction in Granite City also handles vehicles for several charities. The Salvation Army auctions some vehicles as far away as Springfield, MO.

MERS Goodwill uses money from the program to help operate a variety of programs in the bistate area. All of the Salvation Army program money goes into its rehabilitation center, which works with men addicted to drugs or alcohol.

The Better Business Bureau has urged potential donors to be careful in making vehicle donations. Some groups are not considered charities and thus the contributions are not tax-deductible. In other cases, high towing and middle-man fees may mean that only a small percentage of the actual sale price of a vehicle gets to the organization.

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Red Cross Note: To find out more about donating a car to the Red Cross, please contact the St. Louis Area Chapter at 314.516.2277 or www.redcrossstl.org .