Donating Gifts of Securities
Some people choose to support the C&O Canal
Trust by donating gifts of appreciated securities.
In addition to providing the Trust with the crucial
financial support needed to protect the park, you
can save on capital gains taxation on your appreciated
securities.
You can donate securities by transferring:
Stock Certificates
To use stock certificates, you need a stock power
for each certificate that you plan to donate. These
stock powers need to be signature guaranteed - simply
go to your local bank or broker and have them witness
your signature. They will stamp it accordingly.
After you have signed the powers (do not sign the
back of the certificate(s)), mail the certificate(s)
in one envelope and the signed stock powers with
the signature guarantee in a separate envelope. Please
mail the two envelopes to:
C&O Canal Trust
Attn: Gifts of Stock
1850 Dual Highway, Suite 100
Hagerstown, MD 21740
NOTE: To ensure the arrival of your gift, we
recommend that the stock certificate be sent by
certified mail with return receipt.
Stock held through your broker
To have your broker transfer shares to the Trust
electronically, most brokerage firms will require
a letter of intent from you to request the transfer.
When doing so you can provide the following account
information to them or simply have them call us at
301-714-2233 for the information.
To make an outright
gift to the C&O Canal
Trust by wire:
Account Information:
DTC ID # 0418
Account # 632-45655-11-116
Account Name: C&O Canal Trust
Tax ID # 30-0401642
Please ask your broker to contact us at 301-714-2233
before transferring any securities. This will ensure
that our broker is aware of your gift and is actively
looking for it.
Mutual Funds
To donate mutual funds, it may be necessary for
the Trust to set up a new account with your mutual
fund company and have the shares transferred into
that new account. Once received, we liquidate the
shares. We can handle setting up the account ourselves;
simply provide us with the name and phone number
of your contact. Most brokerage firms require a letter
of intent from you or a Transfer of Ownership form
to request the transfer. We can help you coordinate
this, just contact us at 301-714-2233.
Important Note!
In order to retain the tax benefits for yourself,
in all three options, it is very important that you
do not sell the shares! If you sell the shares, the
IRS will consider any subsequent gift made to the
Trust to be a cash gift and will tax you on all the
capital gains. But, if the shares you are donating
have decreased in value from your original cost,
you should consider selling the stock and donating
the cash to the Trust. This way you can take a capital
loss deduction on your income tax and a charitable
deduction for the full amount of the donation.
We thank you for your interest in supporting the
C&O Canal Trust. If you have any questions regarding
gifts of stock, please call us at 301-714-2233.
