Steve Gamer, “Maximize Your Charitable Giving with Appreciated Assets”

by Steve Gamer, Vice President, Advancement

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If you own appreciated stock or cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, you have a smart, tax-efficient way to make a bigger impact with your charitable giving. By donating appreciated assets directly to charity, you can avoid capital gains taxes and maximize your gift’s value.

Here’s why it’s a smart move:

• Tax Benefits: When you donate appreciated stock or crypto that you’ve held for over a year, you won’t pay capital gains tax on the growth. Plus, you’ll get a tax deduction for the full market value of the stock.
• Increase Your Charitable Giving Power: Donating stock or crypto lets you give more than you could with cash alone. Since you’re contributing assets that have appreciated, the value of your donation is often far greater than if you were to donate cash after taxes. This means your favorite causes receive a larger gift, helping you make an even bigger impact on the issues that matter to you.
• It’s Easy: At the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles—which oversees nearly $1.5 billion of charitable assets—we’ve helped clients use appreciated stock for their charitable contributions for decades. We handle all the details; you simply transfer the stock—usually into a Donor Advised Fund, an increasingly popular charitable giving account—and we handle the rest.

With the stock market up significantly this year, now is a great time to leverage the advantages of appreciated assets and have more charitable resources to support your favorite causes.

Ready to Get Started?
Contact The Foundation’s experts today at (323) 761-8704 or visit us online at jcfla.org to explore how donating appreciated assets can enhance your giving.

Michelle’s Story: A Simple Switch That Made a Big Difference
Take Michelle, for example. As an executive at a large media company, Michelle received stock grants as part of her compensation. Over the years, her shares had grown substantially, but selling them meant facing a hefty capital gains tax bill on the appreciation.

After talking to her advisor, she learned that by donating her appreciated stock instead of selling it, she could convert the full market value of her stock to fulfill her charitable ambitions and ultimately give more to charity without losing a chunk to taxes. Michelle now makes an annual donation of stock to her Donor Advised Fund, maximizing her charitable impact while enjoying significant tax savings. She’s able to offer more support to causes that are close to her heart—all while keeping her cash flow intact.