Looking down a residential street in a small town during the fall

Stocks and Securities

Donating appreciated securities, including stocks or bonds, is an easy and tax-effective way to make a gift to the Center for Rural Affairs or the Granary Foundation. Because gifts of securities like stock shares avoid taxation, you will be able to make a larger, more impactful donation. Donors also generally qualify for a tax deduction of the full fair-market value of the gifted security.

Benefits of gifts of securities

  • Avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of appreciated stock.
  • Receive a charitable income tax deduction.
  • Further our mission today.

How to make a gift of securities

By electronic transfer. Please contact us for instructions on how you can transfer stock or bonds from your brokerage or investment account to the Center for Rural Affairs.

By certified mail. If you hold securities in certificate form, you will need to mail two envelopes separately to complete your gift. In the first envelope, place the unsigned stock certificate(s). In the other envelope, include a signed stock power for each certificate. You may obtain this power from your broker or bank. Please remember to use certified mail.

Through a donor-advised fund. A donor-advised fund (DAF) is an investment account used for charitable giving. The funds you contribute to the account can grow tax-free, and you are able to recommend donations to IRS-qualified charities at any time. The flexibility of DAFs has made them an increasingly popular way to give. These accounts are offered by community foundations, universities, certain individual charities, and major fund companies.

More on gifts of securities

There are special rules for valuing a gift of stock. The value of a charitable gift of stock is determined by taking the mean between the high and low stock price on the date of the gift. Mutual fund shares are valued using the closing price for the fund on the date of the gift.

Contact us

If you have any questions about gifts of stocks and bonds, please contact us at 402.687.2100 or give@cfra.org. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you have.