Stock donations; have you ever asked your donors to donate their stocks directly to your nonprofit? I know I never did when I was fundraising.
I never even considered having donors donate their stock directly to me.
Of course I know that many donors sell their stocks at year end to make donations that they use for writing off the value on their taxes – but giving stocks to my organization – how would I even begin that process?
Luckily there are brokers, as well as this great company Stock Donator, that make it easy for your nonprofit to accept stocks. It takes the hard work out of the “how to” for accepting stock donations.
Which donors do I ask to donate stocks? In short: All of them.
But in order for your donors to even THINK about making a stock donation, three things need to come together. They need to have motivation, ability, and a prompt.
What do I mean by this?
- Do they have the motivation to donate stock directly to your organization?
They already have SOME motivation – as they are already your donors and already support your mission. However, those donors who have more wealth are more motivated to take the benefits of the larger tax writeoff. This motivation is also higher in the 4th quarter when they begin to look at their tax implications for the year and start to determine how much of a deduction they want to take via charitable giving.
Ensuring that your ask should increase the hope and impact on your mission will ensure the motivation to donate again is there.
- Do your donors have the ability? Do they even own stock?
53% of families in the US have stock – so the answer is probably yes – especially those who make larger donations or are older.
- And lastly – Are they prompted to donate their stock directly to you?
This is the big part – are you prompting them to donate their stock? A few ways you can do this include:
- Adding a note about stock donations directly to your monthly/quarterly newsletter
- Making direct asks over the phone or zoom or in person with your largest individual donors
- Having a targeted email campaign to donors who donate over a certain amount at year end (say those who give over $500 at year end)
- Targeting donors who work at a local company that is publicly traded that also get shares as part of a bonus structure – showing them how they can donate those shares directly to your organization.
Do you need to know the ins and outs of how to help them donate their stock? No
Do you need to incorporate stock donations into your giving strategies? Yes
For more of the “how to” and a complete guide on stock donations go to www.stockdonator.com/mallory
