Donate
Make a Bigger Impact by Donating Long-Term Appreciated Securities to the Center for Whale Research.
By gifting securities instead of cash or selling the assets and donating the after-tax proceeds, you can increase both the value of your gift and your tax benefits.
Making a gift of stocks or other securities to the Center for Whale Research is a smart and simple way to maximize how your giving can support our efforts to ensure the conservation of the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales.
Make a more significant impact by donating long-term appreciated securities, such as stocks, directly to the Center for Whale Research.
By gifting securities instead of cash or selling the assets and donating the after-tax proceeds, you can increase both the value of your gift and your tax benefits.
Donating STOCKS and OTHER SECURITIES
Making a gift of stocks or other securities to the Center for Whale Research is a smart and simple way to maximize how your giving can support our efforts to ensure the conservation of the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales.
If you donate Appreciated Securities that you have held for over 365 days, the benefits are multiple:
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Immediate income tax deduction – You will receive a gift credit based on the fair market value of your gift (stocks or other securities). Under current tax laws (United States), if you have held the appreciated security for a minimum of 365 days, you can deduct the full fair market value of the stock at the point of transfer to the Center for Whale Research. It does not matter what you originally paid for the stock or securities—your gift credit will be based on their value on the day of transfer.
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No capital gains tax – You pay no capital gains tax on the securities you donate.
Two simple steps are all it takes:
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You transfer your stocks or securities to the Center for Whale Research.
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The Center for Whale Research will sell your securities and use the proceeds to support its programs.
For more information about making a gift of stock or other securities to the Center for Whale Research, please email us at executivedirector@whaleresearch.com.
Ready to Make a Securities Donation?
Securities Transfer Information
Our Legal Name: Center for Whale Research
Our Federal Tax ID Number: 91-1334319
The Center for Whale Research is a 501C3 non-profit organization registered in Washington State.
Our Address: Center for Whale Research, P.O. Box 1577, Friday Harbor, WA 98250
To make a gift of stock or other securities, please contact Scott Sheffield at 425-289-4222 with your name and the account number below.
DTC: 0164, Code
Brokerage Account #: 8916-8679 Center for Whale Research
To ensure that the Center for Whale Research can acknowledge your gift, please use your full name in the memo field on your stock transfer form.
Please let us know if you are thinking of sending stock or other securities by emailing executivedirector@whaleresearch.com. Please provide your broker’s name and phone number and the name and number of shares you are donating.
How will my Gift be Valued?
Securities can fluctuate in price on a given day. Your security gift will be valued on the day it is received using information on both the highest and lowest price on that day. For example, assume that the high of a stock donated to the Center for Whale Research on the day of transfer was $100 and the lowest value was $90, then the gift would be valued at $95 per share. For gifts that are held by your broker, the gift will be valued on the day the gift is received into our account. For stock certificates that you hold and send us directly, we will take the gift date as the postmark date on the envelope.
The information supplied above is not a substitute for professional financial or legal advice. Consult your financial adviser or an attorney to learn about the options that best suit your investment situation, and to maximize the tax benefits of your donation.
Note. This information applies to securities donations from United States residents. If you reside in another country and wish to make a securities donation to the Center for Whale Research, please consult your tax advisor about the laws of your country.
The Benefits of Donating Appreciated Securities
Donating appreciated securities (that you have held for a minimum of 365 days) to the Center for Whale Research means that your assets can have the maximum impact in helping to protect the Southern Resident killer whales. By giving appreciated securities to the Center for Whale Research, you benefit from a tax break, and you can deduct the value of the gift as a charitable donation. But that is not all—the tax benefits are two-fold—you also benefit from avoiding capital gains tax on the transfer. Thus, by making a donation of appreciated security as opposed to a cash donation, your gift can have more impact.
Here’s How it Works:
Let’s assume that you plan to make a $10,000 cash donation to the Center for Whale Research. The donation would cost you $6,300 (value of the donation minus the tax saving—assuming a 37% income tax bracket). Now let’s compare that to a donation of $10,000 of an appreciated security that you purchased for $5,000. By donating an appreciated security, you would save an extra $1,000 because you would not be subject to capital gains tax (assuming the higher rate of 20%). There are clear advantages to donating appreciated stocks, but these advantages scale with the appreciated value of the security. For example, for an extra cost of $1,650, compared to the net cost of a $10,000 cash donation, you could gift 50% more ($15,000) to the Center for Whale Research in appreciated assets.
Note. For the securities gift to be fully tax-deductible, they must have been held by you for at least one year.
Donate Appreciated Securities:
If you wish to donate securities, please inform your broker in writing that you wish to give appreciated securities to the Center for Whale Research. Be sure to let the broker know when you’d like the transfer made.
Your broker should call Scott Sheffield at 425-289-4222 to obtain pertinent account information.
The information supplied above is not a substitute for professional financial or legal advice. Consult your financial adviser or an attorney to learn about the options that best suit your investment situation and to maximize the tax benefits of your donation.
Note. This information applies to securities donations from United States residents. If you reside in another country and wish to make a securities donation to the Center for Whale Research, please consult your tax advisor about the laws of your country.
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