Give from assets
Publicly traded stock
Transferring eligible shares to an organization that accepts securities, through its brokerage or a stock-gift provider.
Understand the route
How this gift works
A stock gift transfers shares instead of sending cash from a sale. The organization must be able to receive the security, either through its own brokerage or an approved service. Your brokerage initiates the transfer using verified receiving instructions. Telling the organization about the gift helps it identify an incoming transfer that may not carry your name.
Background: Fidelity Charitable: securities transfer example IRS: valuing donated property
Who does what
- You and your advisor choose the security and shares.
- Your brokerage sends the shares to the verified destination.
- The organization or approved receiver identifies receipt and acknowledges it.
These guides describe giving in the U.S. The receiving organization’s policies and your provider’s current instructions set the actual process.
Who this may fit
Supporters holding publicly traded securities, especially appreciated shares held more than a year.
Before you begin
Gather these details before starting the process. You do not need to have every answer before talking with the organization.
Check off the details you have ready. This checklist stays here while this page is open.
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The route at a glance
- Confirm that the organization accepts securities.
- Request its current transfer instructions from an authorized staff member or approved provider.
- Ask your brokerage to transfer the shares and wait for verified receipt.
From intention to confirmation
The process, step by step
Step 1 of 5
Confirm acceptance
Ask whether the organization can accept this security and whether special restrictions apply. Do this before directing your broker to send anything.
Review the asset choice
Discuss the holding period, cost basis and your broader plan with your advisor. A transfer of shares and a sale followed by a cash gift are different actions.
Verify instructions
Obtain the recipient’s brokerage name, account details and transfer instructions through an authorized contact. Resolve discrepancies by calling a known number.
Initiate with your brokerage
Complete its official transfer authorization for the intended security and share count. Use the recipient’s exact instructions, and ask how to track the transfer.
Notify and reconcile
Tell the organization the security, share count and approximate send date through its approved contact process. Ask it to confirm what arrived and when, then retain the acknowledgment.
These steps keep your place in the guide. Confirm progress with the organization and provider.
Make the next conversation easier.
Choose who you are speaking with. Copy these questions into your own message, or bring them to a call.
Nothing is sent from this page. Review the wording before sharing. Use the organization’s secure process for private documents.
Browse every question by contact
Ask the organization
- Do you accept securities, and who confirms receipt?
- How will the gift be valued and acknowledged?
Ask the provider
- Which broker or transfer agent will receive the shares?
- What information will you share with the organization?
Ask your advisor
- Which shares and how many?
- Is a year-end deadline relevant?
Confirm it. Keep the records.
Confirm which shares arrived, when they arrived and that they were matched to your gift. A transfer request alone is not confirmation of receipt.
- Your brokerage’s transfer confirmation.
- The organization’s acknowledgment describing the security received.
- Records your tax preparer needs for basis, holding period and any reporting.
Important distinctions
- Do not use an old receiving account without checking it is still current.
- The charity’s acknowledgment is not your independent tax valuation. Ask your preparer how the contribution date and value should be established.
Check the applicable rules: Fidelity Charitable: securities transfer example IRS: valuing donated property
A few more useful answers
Does selling first work the same way?
No. Selling creates a separate transaction before the cash gift. Review the consequences with your advisor before choosing either route.
Why notify the organization?
An incoming transfer may be difficult to match to a donor. A short notice lets staff reconcile the security and shares with the receiving account.
Read the sources
Sources checked October 9, 2026. IRS references describe U.S. rules. Named organizations and providers are examples of their own processes; each organization sets its own policy.
Before acting, confirm current instructions with the recipient and relevant provider. Discuss personal tax, legal and financial questions with your own advisor.