Donor Services
CFO accepts stocks, real estate, personal property and more
Money isn’t necessarily required to support causes close to one’s heart. When donating through the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, there are options — including property, stocks, businesses, cattle, crops, vehicles, tractors, jewelry and more — that can be given instead of cash.
In some instances, this method can be of even greater benefit to both the donor and the recipient.
Patti Penny, founder of Penmac Staffing, has found gifts of closely held stock to be an advantageous option when donating through the CFO. The idea to donate in that manner came about after conversations with Tom Everett, Penny’s CPA, and Ron Penney, her financial advisor.
“So many people are like me — they didn’t know. I wrote quite a few checks directly, which was taking my cash and not getting the greatest benefit from it,” says Penny, who began donating her ownership shares of Penmac around five years ago. “You still get your tax deduction. It’s the value of the item at fair market value. You still get that.”
Patti Penny (left), founder of Penmac Staffing, with Caitlin Golike, director of donor services at the CFO.
Now, when Penny donates shares, the CFO sells them and places the proceeds in her donor-advised fund. When Penny wants to contribute to a nonprofit cause, she simply directs the CFO to make a grant from the fund.
“I just think it’s wonderful because of the advantages that it brings,” she says. “I wish more people knew about it.”
Ashley Silva, vice president of development for the CFO, says while the foundation regularly receives gifts of appreciated stock, the less-common donations of closely held stock offer similar benefits.
“The are benefits at tax time for doing that. Similarly, there are tax benefits for donating part of your business before you sell it,” says Silva, speaking to the fact that donating prior to selling typically eliminates capital gains tax, which must be paid if stocks or a business are sold. If those shares are instead donated to the CFO, the tax liability changes.
After the CFO liquidates the donation, the donor can count the full amount as a tax deduction. The donation then goes to the charitable cause of a donor’s choice.
“So with an appreciated-stock gift, say you bought at $1 and it’s now worth $5. You don’t have to pay taxes on the gains, under current tax law. This is why you give it away. Gifts of real estate work the same way. If you bought it for $100,000 and now it’s worth $500,000, you get to write off the $500,000,” Silva says.
“At the end of the day, it just comes down to avoiding the capital gains. We take gifts like this to be able to meet folks where they are and to structure their charitable giving in the best way possible.”
Silva suggests that individuals interested in making any unique or significant donations should speak with their financial professionals, as the CFO doesn’t give tax advice. Gifts must also fall within the bounds of the CFO’s gift-acceptance policies — but the CFO works with donors as much as possible to accept what they would like to give.
In addition to accepting unique donations from individuals for donor-advised funds, the CFO can also accept them on behalf of nonprofit organizations.
CFO President and CEO Winter Kinne accepting keys to a KW Tractor from Greg Sutton of TransLand Trucking.
A few years ago, the CFO accepted a donation of a 2015 KW Tractor from Strafford-based TransLand Trucking. With about 500,000 miles, the truck easily had a second life ahead of it after its short move to MHC Kenworth truck sales in Strafford. The proceeds from the sale went into what is now a family donor-advised fund that supports a range of education and human-services organizations.
A high-profile gift on wheels was made after the 2011 Joplin tornado when Missouri native Sheryl Crow donated her vintage white Mercedes-Benz convertible. After the title transferred to the CFO, the 1959 190 SL Roadster was auctioned in the prestigious Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach, California. When the successful bidders learned the proceeds would benefit tornado recovery, they matched their bid with an additional donation, raising a total of $260,000 for the Joplin Schools Recovery Fund.
Pop artist and Missouri native Sheryl Crow with her 1959 Mercedes-Benz, later a gift to the CFO following the 2011 Joplin tornado. (Image copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company; photo by Scott Nidermaier)
Real estate is a common gift, which can be made either during or after the lifetimes of the donors. “We have received commercial properties, we have received houses, we have received vacant pieces of land, subdivision lots, all sorts of things,” Silva says. An example Silva shares is a recent donation of real estate, which came to the CFO by beneficiary deed, which transfers property upon death to the CFO and allows it to avoid probate.
“We have a lot of resources and knowledge when it comes to real estate,” Silva says. “We have a subsidiary organization, the Ozarks Charitable Real Estate Foundation, that we run gifts of this type through.”
No matter the shape of the gift, the resources provided by the CFO to process unique gifts support its driving mission: to help donors achieve their charitable goals and improve the quality of life for everyone in Springfield and across the region.
To learn more about donating to the CFO, email Ashley Silva at asilva@cfozarks.org or call her at 417-864-6199.
