Make an impact for Reality Changers by donating your long-term appreciated securities, including mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. When compared with cash donations, or selling your appreciated securities and donating the after-tax proceeds, stock donations allow you to automatically increase your gift and your tax deduction.

How to Donate Stock to Charity

Stock donation is easier than you might expect. When donating stocks, you’ll take a tax deduction for the full fair market value. Because you’re donating stock, you may see your charitable contribution and tax deduction instantly increase. The same benefits apply to mutual fund and bond donations.

The first step in donating stock to charity lies in communication. Reach out to your financial institution to find out what they require to get shares transferred. Reality Changers can provide specific account information and instructions needed by your brokerage company. You’ll likely have to fill out some paperwork to authorize the stock donation to a non-profit. 

How Stock Donations Help Reality Changers

When you make a stock donation to Reality Changers, you’re making an investment in the lives of first-generation college students. Our programs serve students from backgrounds often underrepresented on college campuses. When you donate stock to charity, you’re directly impacting underserved communities of young people and their families. From tutoring to professional development, our team and volunteers work tirelessly to provide avenues for success. You can be the person who makes a difference in a teen’s life!

Why Donate Stock to a Nonprofit Organization

We’re all eager to own investments that grow. In many cases, though, you have to share the profits from your stock positions with the IRS. When you sell a stock, you’ll owe taxes on the capital gains, or the difference in what you received in proceeds versus what you paid for the stock when you initially invested in it.

The taxes on those gains vary based on how long you’ve held the stock. If you’ve owned it for less than a year, you’ll pay your ordinary income tax rate on the gains. If you’ve owned them for more than a year, lower long-term capital gains rates apply. They can take upwards of 20 percent of your profits. 

Stock donations allow you to deduct the full market value of the stock as an itemized charitable deduction. This allows you to avoid capital gains liability you’d owe on the stock if you sold it. It also maximizes the tax deduction you can take.

Benefits of Donating Stock to Charity

Donating appreciated stock allows you to give more generously than via cash donations. Because there are no capital gains to pay for, you’re donating 20 percent more than you could otherwise. You’re also still eligible to deduct the full fair-market value of the asset you donated from your taxes (up to the overall amount allowed by the IRS). Remember, your appreciated assets can include assets that are not publicly traded, like cryptocurrency or restricted stock.

Make Your Stock Donation Today

If you’re ready to pull the trigger, reach out to our team for more information on how to donate stock to charity. We’re happy to walk you through the process and answer any questions you might have. Get in touch today!