A donor calls and says they would like to give stock.
That sounds simple enough until someone asks the next question: “How do we actually receive it?”
For large organizations that handle non-cash gifts regularly, the answer may be routine. For many nonprofits, it is not. A brokerage account can be opened, policies can be written, and internal procedures can be created. But if an organization receives one or two appreciated stock gifts every few years, maintaining another account and another set of procedures may not be the best use of limited staff time.
And stock is one of the easier examples.
What happens when a donor offers real estate, an interest in a privately held company, artwork, or another asset that is unfamiliar to the organization? The first instinct is often gratitude, and rightly so. But gratitude should be followed by a thoughtful review before anyone says yes.
Before accepting an unfamiliar asset, a nonprofit should pause for a moment and ask a few basic questions:
What exactly is being offered, and can it be readily sold?
Are there restrictions, liabilities, or ongoing costs attached to it?
Will an appraisal or other professional review be needed?
Does the gift fit the organization’s policies, mission, and capacity?
Who should be involved before the organization makes a decision?
Those questions do not require every nonprofit leader or board member to become an expert in complex charitable assets. They do require the organization to know where to turn when something unfamiliar arrives.
That is one reason a relationship with a community foundation can be valuable.
Community foundations regularly work with donors, nonprofits, attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors. In some cases, we may be able to help facilitate a gift of appreciated stock or another non-cash asset. In others, the most useful thing we can do is help an organization identify the questions that need to be answered and the professionals who should be involved before it proceeds.
That does not make a community foundation the legal, tax, or investment authority on every unusual gift. It does make us a useful place to begin the conversation.
At Pinellas Community Foundation, nonprofits sometimes call us after a donor has already proposed something unusual. The answer may be straightforward. The gift may require additional review. In some circumstances, the right answer may be yes; in others, it may be no or “not in this form.”
The important point is that the organization does not have to start from zero.
Having relationships in place before the gift arrives can make those conversations much easier. It can also open doors. A nonprofit that is comfortable talking about ways to give beyond cash may discover opportunities with longtime supporters that otherwise would never have surfaced. One donor may own highly appreciated stock. Another may be thinking about a gift through an estate plan. Another may have retirement assets or a more complicated asset they would like to use for charity.
A nonprofit does not need to have every answer ready when those conversations begin. It needs to be prepared enough to keep them moving. For many organizations, that means having a basic gift-acceptance policy, knowing who has authority to approve non-cash gifts, and building relationships with trusted legal, financial, and philanthropic partners.
Readiness does not require building an entire planned-giving department. It may simply mean knowing who to call when the opportunity arises. That can make the difference between a gift that feels too complicated to pursue and one that becomes a meaningful opportunity for both the donor and the organization.
