Why Give Stocks or Mutual Funds?

If you intend to make a contribution to St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, giving shares of stock (from publicly or privately help corporations), stock options, or mutual funds will allow you to take full advantage of your investment earnings by avoiding the tax on your capital gains. Moreover, a gift of stock held more than one year may qualify for a charitable income tax deduction equal to the securities’ full fair-market value. If you were to sell the stock to obtain cash for a charitable gift, you would be required to pay tax on your capital gains.

Appreciated securities may be used for a contribution of any size or purpose, including:

• A gift to the endowment fund (either restricted or unrestricted).
• A payment on your annual pledge.
• A gift to the long range plan fund (e.g. building fund).
• Any other designated gift.

St. Timothy’s will provide you with the appropriate receipts and documentation for tax purposes.

How to Make an Outright Gift of Stock

Electronic Transfer
Giving stock through electronic transfer is the easiest method when a donor maintains holdings in a brokered account.  Depository Trust Company, or DTC, is the clearinghouse for electronic security transfers.

Please alert St. Timothy’s before the transfer so that we can make arrangements with Morgan Stanley to receive the stock.  At the same time, please indicate the purpose of the contribution, such as an annual gift to a school, a pledge payment or funds for a planned gift. A form and instructions that you can use to alert St. Timothy’s of your electronic transfer and its purpose can be downloaded by clicking the button below.

    Gift of Securities Form

Stock Certificates and Stock Powers
If you send a stock certificate that is registered in your name, a letter of intent must be included.  Under separate cover, please send a signed stock power. For your convenience, we provided a stock power form that you can download by clicking the button below:

Irrevocable Stock/Bond Power Form

We do not recommend sending certificates that have been endorsed.  On the stock power, your signature is the only item that is needed.  If the certificate is already in the name of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, no stock power is needed.

The process for reregistering stock certificates, (transferring the certificate into the name of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church) can take from two to four weeks.  Stock certificates should be sent to:

St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church
Gift Accounting
1020 24th Street
West Des Moines, IA  50266

If the certificates have been reregistered to St. Timothy’s, a letter should be included identifying the donor and the purpose of the gift.

How to Give Mutual Fund Shares

The process of giving mutual fund shares takes a few more steps and more time to complete. Many mutual fund companies do not allow share holders to transfer mutual fund shares outside of the fund.  If this is the case, the shares must be transferred to an account within the fund created for St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church.

Using a Share Transfer Form
Most mutual fund companies will provide a standard Transfer of Shares to New Owner Form that authorizes the transfer of shares from your account into an account opened for St. Timothy’s.   The form must be completed by you and St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church.  You may either leave the “transfer to” portion of the form blank and allow St. Timothy’s to fill it in, or you may indicate that the shares are to be transferred to St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church.  If you wish to designate your gift for a specific area, please note this in a letter accompanying the form when it is sent to St. Timothy’s.

All persons listed in the “transfer from” section of the form (owners of the account) must sign the form. All signatures must be medallion guaranteed, not notarized.  Medallion guarantees are available at a bank or a brokerage.  

After completing your portion of the form, please send it to St. Timothy’s at the following address:

St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church
Gift Accounting
1020 24th Street
West Des Moines, IA  50266

St. Timothy’s will forward the form to the mutual fund company with instructions that the shares be sold and the proceeds sent to St. Timothy’s.  The funds will be directed to the purpose you designated in the letter you sent with the form.

If a Share Transfer Form is not Available
If you are unable to obtain a form from your mutual fund company, you may write a letter addressed to the company authorizing the transfer of shares to St. Timothy’s. All owners of the account must sign the letter, and the signatures must be medallion guaranteed.  Please send the signed original of the letter to St. Timothy’s at the address above so that we can attach a letter requesting the transaction.

If Shares are Held for a Brokerage Account
If your mutual fund shares are held in a brokerage account, it is possible to transfer the shares electronically.  Please contact St. Timothy’s for instructions. 

Gifts of mutual fund shares do take some time to finalize, so advance preparation is recommended when the timing of a gift is critical.

If you wish to discuss a gift and any of this information, please do not hesitate to contact Gene Gardner, Special Gifting Projects, at 515-327-0395 or Mary Hovden, Finance Committee Chair, at 515-221-3271.