Gifts of Securities

Gifts of stock may make attractive gift vehicles for donors who hold appreciated securities, i.e., stocks with a current market value in excess of their cost. By giving securities, you can enjoy valuable tax and financial benefits, including bypassing capital gains taxes and benefitting from an income tax deduction—both of which effectively reduces the cost for you of making your gift and increases the impact of your gift for the university.

Using appreciated securities for charitable gifts makes sense even if you want to retain that stock as part of your investment portfolio. Instead of making an outright cash gift, you can gift the appreciated stock and use the cash you would have gifted to buy the same securities on the stock market. You may get a new and higher original purchase price for the shares which will reduce your capital gains exposure.

The most popular and efficient way to donate stock to the University is via electronic transfer.

If your stock is handled by a broker, notify the broker that you wish to make a donation of securities to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Your broker will need a written authorization from you before they can make the transfer. Be sure to tell them the name of the stock that you want to transfer, the number of shares, and where you would like to designate your gift once it reaches the University.

Once you have authorized the transfer, ask your broker to contact Wendy Curtice in the Information & Donor Services Office at 413-577-1480 or by email at wcurtice@admin.umass.edu. Our office will give your broker complete transfer instructions.

NOTE: Even if you have donated securities in the past, be sure your broker contacts us BEFORE initiating the transfer. The transfer instructions can change from year to year. A quick phone call from your broker to verify current instructions will prevent any transfer problems.

Stock certificates should be mailed or delivered to the following address:

Information & Donor Services
Memorial Hall
University of Massachusetts Amherst
134 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9270
Attn: David Markland

If mailing a stock certificate, send your UNENDORSED certificate(s) and a cover letter, which includes your name, address, and purpose of the donation, in one envelope. In a second envelope, send a signed, signature guaranteed stock power. (Note: there are some situations which require this signature guarantee and some that do not. Please inquire as to whether it is needed for each situation, including those that deal with power of attorney.) We strongly recommend using registered mail to forward your certificates and stock power. A stock power form can be obtained at your local bank or by calling Wendy Curtice in the Information & Donor Services Office at 413-577-1480.

If hand delivering a stock certificate, please deliver them to the address listed above.

NOTE: Please do not mail endorsed certificates. Once the certificate is endorsed, it is legal tender and can be exchanged by anyone.