Gifts of Stocks, Mutual Funds and Bonds
A Tax Savings Bonanza

If you have marketable securities that have grown substantially in value, the tax laws make it possible for you to make an important gift at remarkably low after-tax cost. Indeed, under the right circumstance, a benefactor could make a gift worth $100,000 at a cost of as little as $32,400. A lifetime gift of appreciated securities generally qualifies not only for the income tax deduction associated with all lifetime charitable gifts, but it also avoids the long-term capital gains tax on your paper profit. Usually, a sale of appreciated securities results in a tax on your full gain—meaning that you keep only part of the profit. But if appreciated securities are given to a qualified charitable organization, there is no tax on your gain, even though your "profit" is counted as part of your charitable deduction.

Here are the rules for giving appreciated securities or other property:

The full fair market value of the property, if you have owned it more than one year, is deductible in the year of the gift. If the gift, coupled with other gifts, exceeds 30% of your adjusted gross income (the maximum deduction allowable for most gifts of appreciated property), the excess can be carried over and deducted in up to five subsequent years.

No matter how much the property has appreciated in value, you pay no capital gains tax on your paper profit. Important: The securities should be transferred to Advocate to avoid capital gains. If you contribute assets other than publicly traded securities, you will need a qualified appraisal if the value is over $5,000.

How to Make a Gift of Securities (Stocks, Bonds, etc.)
Here are the steps for giving your appreciated stocks and bonds. Please feel free to call the Office of Planned Giving at (847) 384-3428 with any questions.

If Your Broker Holds the Shares:

1. If your securities reside in a brokerage account, ask your broker to transfer the specified shares electronically to: DTC #5198, for further credit to Account #101-04250. The account is in the name of the Advocate Charitable Foundation.
   
   
2. When directing your broker to make this transfer, you need to include the above information in a written letter. In this letter, you should also specify the hospital, program or fund to which you are making your gift. Please make sure to also send a copy of this letter to the development office for your hospital or program or to the Office of Planned Giving, Advocate Charitable Foundation, 205 West Touhy Avenue, Suite 225, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068.
   
   
3. If your broker has questions about making an electronic gift of securities, please have your broker contact the Office of Planned Giving at 847.384.3428.
   
   
4. The gift will be valued on the date the securities are received into the Foundation's account. The value will be the mean of the high and the low trades on the date the gift was received.
   
   
5. You should not allow your broker to sell the securities and send us a check. If the broker does this, the tax advantages of making the gift may be eliminated.

If You Hold the Certificates:

1. Please mail the certificates via U.S. Postal Service (first class mail) without any endorsement or assignment along with a letter stating the purpose of your gift to the:
   
   Office of Planned Giving
   Advocate Charitable Foundation
   205 West Touhy Ave., Suite 225
   Park Ridge, Illinois 60068
   
   In a separate envelope, please send one endorsed Stock Power Form per certificate to the above address. You will need to guarantee the signature on the stock power form. This is different from having a document notarized. Most banks provide a signature guarantee service. You should endorse each form exactly as your name(s) appear on the front of your certificate(s). You do not need to include any other information on the form.
   
   
2. The stock certificates will not be negotiable until we have received both envelopes.
   
   
3. The gift date will be established from the later postmark of the two envelopes. The value will be the mean of the high and the low trades on the gift date.

For more information about gifts by will or living trust, or if you have already decided to include Advocate in your estate plans, please call Maria Mueller at 847.384.3428.

Back to back to make a planned gift