A gift of appreciated stock is an efficient way to support the causes you care about in Fond du Lac County. Rather than selling shares and giving the proceeds, you transfer the shares directly to the Fond du Lac Area Foundation. Because the shares are not sold in your name, the capital gains tax that would have come with a sale generally does not come due.
Whether you have held a stock for many years or give shares as part of your annual giving, the first step is the same: let us know the gift is coming, and our team will provide the transfer instructions and help from start to finish.
A gift of stock counts in the tax year the shares arrive in the Foundation's account, not the year you asked your broker to send them. A transfer passes through your brokerage and the Foundation's brokerage, and December is the busiest month of the year for stock gifts.
If you plan to make a stock gift that should count in the current tax year, we recommend starting the transfer by December 1. That allows time for the paperwork, the transfer itself, and any follow-up. Gifts made earlier in the year follow the same process without the year-end timing to plan around.
Stock follows a different rule than a check. A gift made by check is generally treated as a gift in the year it is mailed, as long as it is postmarked by December 31. A stock gift counts only when the shares arrive, which is why we suggest starting early.
Your broker completes the transfer itself. Your part is a few short steps, and we take care of everything after the shares arrive.
If a professional advisor manages your investments, much of this can happen directly between your advisor and our office. Advisors can find more on For Professional Advisors.
Whether it makes sense to transfer shares or sell them first usually depends on how much the stock has changed in value and how long you have held it. These three situations cover most donors.
Transfer the shares
You generally avoid capital gains tax on the growth, and the deduction is generally based on the full market value of the shares on the date of the gift
Talk with your advisor first
The deduction is generally limited to what you paid for the stock, so the advantage over a cash gift is smaller
Sell it yourself, then give the proceeds
Selling first generally allows you to claim the loss on your own return
A stock gift is often most valuable when there is a large gap between what you paid and what the shares are worth today, such as stock purchased many years ago. Once the shares arrive in the Foundation's account, the gift is complete.
The Foundation does not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your advisor.
Some donors choose to combine several years of charitable giving into a single year, often with a gift of appreciated stock. This approach, sometimes called bunching, can help a donor whose yearly giving would otherwise fall below the standard deduction itemize in the year of the gift and take the standard deduction in other years.
A donor advised fund is often used for bunching because it separates the timing of the gift from the timing of the grants. You make one larger gift of stock in a single year, and then recommend grants from the fund to the organizations you care about over the years that follow. Whether bunching makes sense depends on your full tax picture, so it is a good conversation to have with your advisor. The Foundation does not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your advisor.
A gift of stock can support any fund at the Foundation, including a fund you already hold, a scholarship fund, a fund in one of our affiliate communities of Beaver Dam, Horicon, Oakfield, Ripon, and Waupun, or the Community Fund, the Foundation's general fund for Fond du Lac County. A gift that does not name a fund goes to the Community Fund.
Stock can also be used to establish a new fund; most funds can be established with an initial contribution of $1,000, and appreciated shares are a common way to begin. Unlike a qualified charitable distribution from an IRA, a gift of stock can go to a donor advised fund. See How to Start a Charitable Fund, Ways to Give, and Qualified Charitable Distributions from Your IRA.
Bonds and other publicly traded securities follow the same transfer process as stock, with the same year-end timing. Closely held or restricted stock, such as shares in a family business, is reviewed case by case, so please mention it early in the conversation.
Once the shares are sold, a stock gift does the same work as any other gift to a fund. In fiscal year 2025, the Foundation awarded $3.7 million in grant dollars and $409,528 in scholarship dollars, and 32 new funds were established. Gifts to the Community Fund are granted through the Foundation's competitive grant process, with applications reviewed by the Grant Committee and considered by the Board of Directors.
Contact the Fond du Lac Area Foundation with the stock, the number of shares, and the fund you want to support. We provide transfer instructions, your broker moves the shares to the Foundation's account, and the shares are sold on receipt and credited to the fund. Your gift can support any fund at the Foundation, including the Community Fund for Fond du Lac County, and you receive an acknowledgment letter.
A stock gift counts in the year the shares arrive in the Foundation's account, not the year you requested the transfer. Because transfers take time to process, especially in December, we recommend starting a year-end stock gift by December 1.
Generally, no. When you transfer the shares rather than selling them, no sale takes place in your name, so the capital gains tax a sale would have triggered generally does not come due. The Foundation does not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your advisor.
Yes. A gift of stock can go to a donor advised fund, to any other type of fund, or to the Community Fund. This is one difference from a qualified charitable distribution from an IRA, which cannot go to a donor advised fund.
The shares are sold on receipt, and the proceeds are placed in the fund you named, where they are invested alongside the Foundation's other funds. The fund holds the proceeds rather than your particular stock, and grants follow the fund's purpose.
Let us know the stock, the number of shares, and the fund you have in mind, and we'll send the transfer instructions and help make sure your gift reaches the right place. We're here to help, whether you are giving on your own or working with an advisor.
