Turn Your Stock Into Impact Before Year-End

Donating appreciated stock directly (in-kind) rather than selling it first generally lets you avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation and claim a deduction for the stock’s full fair market value — meaning more of the asset’s value goes to charity instead of to taxes.

The contribution generally needs to happen before your tax year ends, and before you sell the shares — donating cash from a sale you’ve already completed doesn’t provide the same capital-gains benefit as donating the stock itself.

It depends on your gain and tax rate, but as an illustrative example: donating $100,000 of stock with an $80,000 gain directly could avoid roughly $16,000 in capital gains tax (at a 20% rate) compared to selling first and donating the after-tax proceeds — leaving $16,000 more available to give. Actual outcomes vary; consult your tax advisor.

No. Once the stock is contributed to your donor-advised fund, the assets can continue to be invested, and you can recommend grants to charities on your own timeline rather than all at once.

It’s contributed in-kind to your donor-advised fund, where it can then be invested according to your (or your advisor’s) strategy, and later sold or held as part of the fund’s assets — you don’t need to sell it yourself before donating.

As early as possible. This strategy works best when there’s time to plan ahead, since the stock needs to be contributed — and not yet sold — before your tax-year deadline.