Donating Gifts of Securities
Some people choose to support National Wildlife Federation by donating gifts of appreciated securities. In addition to providing NWF with the crucial financial support needed to conserve wildlife and wild places, you can save on capital gains taxation on your appreciated securities.
Many people use securities to make an outright gift and join the J.N. "Ding" Darling Circle, or to make a planned gift that provides lifetime income for themselves by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity with NWF.
You can donate securities by transferring:
Stock Certificates
To use stock certificates, you need a stock power for each certificate that you plan to donate. These stock powers need to be signature guaranteed - simply go to your local bank or broker and have them witness your signature. They will stamp it accordingly.
After you have signed the powers (do not sign the back of the certificate(s)), mail the certificate(s) in one envelope and the signed stock powers with the signature guarantee in a separate envelope. Please mail the two envelopes to:
National Wildlife Federation
Attn: Gifts of Stock
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
Reston, Virginia 20190
NOTE: To ensure the arrival of your gift, we recommend that the stock certificate be sent by certified mail with return receipt.
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Stock held through your broker
To have your broker transfer shares to NWF electronically, most brokerage firms will require a letter of intent from you to request the transfer. When doing so you can provide the following account information to them or simply have them call Stephanie Parsons at 1-800-332-4949, Monday-Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST, for the information.
Please ask your broker to contact Stephanie Parsons at 1-800-332-4949, Monday-Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST, before transferring any securities. This will ensure that our broker is aware of your gift and is actively looking for it.
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Mutual Funds
To donate mutual funds, it may be necessary for NWF to set up a new account with your mutual fund company and have the shares transferred into that new account. Once received, we liquidate the shares. We can handle setting up the account ourselves; simply provide us with the name and phone number of your contact. Most brokerage firms require a letter of intent from you or a Transfer of Ownership form to request the transfer. We can help you coordinate this, just contact Stephanie Parsons toll-free at 1-800-332-4949, Monday-Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST.
In order to retain the tax benefits for yourself, in all three options, it is very important that you do not sell the shares! If you sell the shares, the IRS will consider any subsequent gift made to NWF to be a cash gift and will tax you on all the capital gains. But, if the shares you are donating have decreased in value from your original cost, you should consider selling the stock and donating the cash to NWF. This way you can take a capital loss deduction on your income tax and a charitable deduction for the full amount of the donation.
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We thank you for your interest in supporting National Wildlife Federation. If you have any questions regarding gifts of stock, please contact Stephanie Parsons at parsonss@nwf.org, or at 1-800-332-4949, Monday-Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST. |
