We receive stock donations from a variety of brokerage firms such as e*Trade, Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch among others.

There are two ways in which you may donate stock to United Way of Greater Los Angeles:

• If you hold securities in "street name," that is, you do not have physical possession of the stock certificate, please notify your broker to initiate a "broker-to-broker" transfer. This will transfer the donated stock from your brokerage account to United Way's brokerage account, at which time United Way will liquidate the donated stock. Call Gloria Romero at 213.808.6272 or email gromero@unitedwayla.org for additional instructions regarding disposition.
• If you have physical possession of the actual stock certificate, please do one of the following: Send or deliver to your broker unendorsed certificates and a blank but signed stock power, and instruct the broker to telephone United Way for instructions regarding disposition. Send one stock power for each security to your broker. Call Gloria Romero at 213.808.6272 or email gromero@unitedwayla.org and the appropriate forms will be faxed or mailed.
• Or send to United Way of Greater Los Angeles by first class mail, or deliver by hand, unendorsed certificates and a brief letter of transmittal stating your name, address, and that you intend to transfer that stock as a gift to United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Attn: Gloria Romero, (523 West 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014). Under separate cover, send one stock power for each security to the above address and include one photocopy of the transmittal letter which accompanied the stock. Call Gloria Romero at 213.808.6272 or email gromero@unitedwayla.org for the appropriate forms.

Valuation for Tax Purposes and Date of Gift

The date of the gift is the day the stock passes from your control. The value, for income tax purposes, is the mean between the high and the low quoted selling price on that day. Your gift will be acknowledged by United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

Benefits of Stock Donations

You can realize two tax savings by contributing stock as a gift to United Way of Greater Los Angeles:

• Deduction for charitable contribution
• Federal and California tax law permits taxpayers who itemize to deduct the current value of charitable contributions from their adjusted gross income.  To qualify for such a deduction, the stock must have been held by the taxpayer for more than one year.

• Save on capital gains tax
• Contributions of stock may have no tax liability on the difference between the cost of donated stock and its current, fair market value (FMV): i.e. there may not be tax on the capital gains.

Here is how it can work:

Assume you purchased 100 shares of XYZ Corporation in 1988 for $2,000. Today, the shares are worth $10,000. If you sold the stock, you would realize an $8,000 capital gain. Under current tax rules, you could owe as much as $1,600 in federal capital gains tax.

You decide to make a $10,000 gift to help the community through the United Way Campaign. Normally, you make your gift by payroll deduction or check, but this year you decide to see whether a stock gift would work better for you. Your comparisons are (federal tax benefits only):

This example illustrates the potential value of a stock gift and highlights some of the maximum available benefits. These benefits depend on a number of things, including the amount of the stock's appreciation, your adjusted gross income, and your current federal/state tax rules. We strongly advise that you contact your accountant or other tax advisor to determine the exact income tax effort of your donation of stock to United Way of Greater Los Angeles

For questions and additional information, call Gloria Romero at 213.808.6272 or email gromero@unitedwayla.org.