My Personal Charitable Account

Q: I have stocks that have increased in value that I would like to donate to Heaven’s Family. Should I donate the stocks directly to you, or would it be easier to donate the stocks through my personal charitable account with Fidelity Investments.

A: Heaven’s Family has the ability to receive and liquidate stocks using several different options. However, donating stocks through a personal donor-advised fund such as your Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund is generally easier for everyone.

Donor-advised funds, like your Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, specialize in receiving and liquidating non-cash assets and disbursing contributions to charitable organizations. When Fidelity receives your contribution, you receive an immediate charitable tax deduction. You then have the flexibility of distributing the proceeds from your stock contribution to multiple charitable organizations at a time of your choosing.

Fidelity’s website reported that contributions made from their Charitable Gift Fund in the first quarter of this year reached $269 million, a 25-percent increase in donations over the same time in 2010. Contributions such as privately held securities and partnership interests in businesses nearly quadrupled this year compared with the first quarter of 2010.

Clearly, more people are utilizing personal charitable accounts/donor-advised funds. Heaven’s Family has one with the National Christian Foundation (you can learn more about them at www.nationalchristian.com/givingfund).

Congratulations for being part of a growing movement of contributors of non-cash assets to worthy charities!

Please email us at [email protected] for more information or to ask any questions.