The Watertown Area Community Foundation has been fortunate to receive many unique gifts throughout the years. Recently, one of those gifts came to the Foundation in the form of donated Glacial Lakes Corn Processors (GLCP) stock.
Long-time friends of the Foundation, Dale and Diane Christensen, pictured here, generously gifted 5,000 shares of GLCP stock resulting in a gift of nearly $9,000. “Our cost, with stock splits, was just 11 cents per share,” Dale said. “The stock has now appreciated to $1.81 per share. To make a gift of that magnitude with just a $550 investment, it’s really a dream come true for people who want to make a charitable impact and avoid capital gains tax.”
A retired financial advisor, Dale was a trustee representative for the Foundation from 1981 until his retirement in 2002. The Christensens established a fund at the Foundation in 2004, and Dale served on the WACF Board from 2006 to 2016.
Gifting appreciated stock allows Foundation donors to save on taxes in potentially two ways: by avoiding capital gains taxes and by allowing them to take an income tax deduction, in most cases.
“When you donate appreciated stock, your dollar goes further than if you were to sell the stock and donate your earnings. The money you would have paid in taxes can instead go fully to the Foundation, maximizing your philanthropic impact,” Dale explained.
Depending on income bracket, capital gains could be taxed up to 28%. If the stock is held for less than a year, it could be taxed at an even higher rate. When shares of stock are gifted to the Foundation neither the donor nor the Foundation pays taxes on it.
“What a wonderful thing when you include the Foundation in your charitable giving,” Diane said. “You merely have to look at the fact the Foundation awarded more than $870,000 in grants last year to know that.”
“In recent years, the Foundation has seen more and more gifts of appreciated stock,” agreed Cammie Mengwasser, executive director of the Watertown Area Community Foundation. “Donors are able to maximize their community impact with convenience and ease. A quick phone call or email, and your financial advisor and the Foundation take care of the rest.
