One way of reducing your tax burden is to transfer appreciated stock to MPP's brokerage account and/or MPP Foundation's brokerage account, in lieu of donating cash to these two organizations.
MPP: Transferring appreciated stock to MPP's brokerage account — which MPP then immediately sells and sends the resulting cash to MPP's checking account — allows donors to AVOID THE CAPITAL GAINS TAX that they would otherwise need to pay when selling appreciated stock.
MPP FOUNDATION: When transferring appreciated stock to MPP Foundation's brokerage account, donors would AVOID THE CAPITAL GAINS TAX and also still receive the TAX DEDUCTION that applies to donations to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations like MPP Foundation. This is a *double* tax benefit for the donor.
Organization
Organization type
Donate cash to org’s checking account?
Transfer stock to org’s brokerage account?
MPP
501(c)(4) nonprofit
NO TAX DEDUCTION
AVOID CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MPP Foundation
501(c)(3) nonprofit
TAX DEDUCTION
TAX DEDUCTION *AND* AVOID CAPITAL GAINS TAX
These tax benefits only apply to securities that have been held for more than one year. Securities that have been held for one year or less are considered short-term for tax purposes. The charitable deduction for such gifts is limited to “cost basis” (the original value of an asset — usually the purchase price — adjusted for stock splits, dividends and return of capital distributions). Unless the cost basis is close to fair market value, you will likely find it more financially beneficial to make charitable gifts with securities held long-term (more than one year).
To make a gift of stock, let your broker know that you want to transfer stock to the Marijuana Policy Project Foundation (Tax ID #52-1975211). Your broker will want to know the name of the stock(s) and the number of shares you are contributing.
To transfer your stock, or for more information, please contact Nell Garver at 202-905-2020 or ngarver@mpp.org. We will need to know the name and telephone number of your broker, the name of the stock(s), and the number of shares you are contributing. If you request the transfer in writing, please mail a copy of the transfer request letter to MPP Foundation at 2370 Champlain Street NW, #12, Washington, D.C. 20009.
Please remember to tell your broker not to just sell the stock and forward the proceeds to MPP Foundation. This will jeopardize your tax savings benefits. Stock should be transferred to MPP Foundation’s account. We will notify you with the dollar amount of your gift, based on the date the transfer is completed. Gift value is based on the average of the stock’s high and low price on the day of transfer.
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