With the stock market at an all-time high, BCF donors have increasingly been choosing to magnify the impact of their giving by donating appreciated stock in lieu of cash. Here’s how a stock donation might work for you:
If you’ve owned shares in the S&P 500 for the last five years, those shares have doubled in value (assuming reinvested dividends). If you donate a portion of those shares now valued at $20,000, you would deduct that full amount from your taxes and you would not pay capital gains tax on the $10,000 of appreciation. If you’re in the upper income tax bracket, the deduction could save you $10,000 on your taxes and you’d save another $3,500 in capital gains tax. Bottom line: BCF would get $20,000 to support our amazing students at an effective cost to you of $6,500! (Similarly, a donation of stock valued at $2,000 would cost only $650.)
Everyone’s tax situation will be slightly different, of course; for example, the tax benefit would increase if you sell shares owned for more than five years but decrease for those in lower tax brackets. Regardless, the strong stock market performance of the past several years makes a stock donation worth considering.*
HOW TO MAKE A GIFT OF STOCK To make a stock gift, notify your broker that you wish to transfer securities into Berkeley Community Fund’s brokerage account at LPL Financial Services. You will need to give your broker the following information:
Bank Information:
Account Transfers Department
LPL Financial Services
9785 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
Account Name: Berkeley Community Fund
Account Number: 1221-9231
DTC #: 0075 (first two digits are zeroes)
Please notify Berkeley Community Fund about the gift transaction at the same time you instruct your broker to transfer securities into our LPL Financial Services account.We kindly ask that you please alert us in advance about the stock and number and type of shares you plan to donate so we may properly acknowledge you.
GIFTS THROUGH VANGUARD
If you have appreciated stock with Vanguard that you would like to donate, please send us a message and we will provide you with our Vanguard brokerage account number to facilitate easy transfer.
Questions? Contact Joleen Ruffin, Executive Director, at joleen@berkfund.org. Be sure to provide your name and address so that we may acknowledge your gift with a receipt.
The Berkeley Community Fund is a charitable organization as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Gifts to the Berkeley Community Fund are tax-deductible contributions in accordance with Code section 170. Our tax id is 94-3264327.
Thank you for your generosity!
*The Berkeley Community Fund does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
