Appreciated Securities

A form of giving that may offer tax advantages.

Gifts of appreciated securities held by either your bank or brokerage or held by you offer significant tax advantages for alumni, parents, and friends and are easy to make.

Stock Table

If your shares are held in an account:

Step 1: Transfer Shares

Ask your broker to make an electronic transfer of the shares to Christian Union's account.

A sample letter might read:

I wish to make an irrevocable gift to Christian Union of "x" shares of "XYZ" Corporation. Please transfer the stock to Christian Union via DTC as follows:

     • Merrill Lynch
     • FBO (for the benefit of) Christian Union, Inc.
     • Christian Union's account number: 2X7-02131
     • DTC routing number: 8862

Once the stock is received and transferred into Christian Union's account, the ministry will receive notification of the transfer. For the ministry to provide you a receipt you will need to inform Christian Union of the details of your stock gift (see step 2).

Step 2: Notify Christian Union

To avoid unidentified gifts, please send a copy of your correspondence with your brokerage to Christian Union. If you would like to specify a designation for your gift (i.e. Columbia, Harvard, Princeton), please include that in your correspondence with the ministry:

Mail to:
Christian Union
19 Vandeventer Avenue
Princeton, NJ 08542

Email: giving@christianunion.org

Phone: (609) 688-1700 Option 2

Fax: (609) 688-1795

For each gift, please include:

Your name
Name of stock
Number of shares
Brokerage

If you hold the certificate for your shares:

If you hold the actual stock certificates, you will need to sign a stock power form for each certificate you contribute. You may obtain a stock power from any broker or financial institution. When you sign the power, be sure to sign your name precisely as it appears on the certificate. For example, if you are listed as John A. Johnson on the certificate, sign it John A. Johnson. Leave the rest of the form blank.

When mailing the certificates, use two envelopes.

In the first envelope, place the unendorsed certificates. If you would like to designate your gift to a specific ministry (i.e. Brown, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania), include a letter indicating your intentions.
In the second envelope, place the completed stock power(s).

Send the envelopes to Christian Union on the same day by certified mail. Christian Union's address is:

Christian Union
19 Vandeventer Avenue
Princeton, NJ 08542

Determining the Gift Date

The date of the gift is determined by the act of relinquishing the stock.

Electronic transfer: the date the shares are received in Christian Union's account.

Mail: If mailed through a private mail service (FedEx, etc.) the gift is complete on the date Christian Union receives the mail containing the stock certificates and signed powers documents. If mailed through USPS, the gift is complete on the date of the postmark of the last envelope to arrive at Christian Union (in case they do not arrive at the same time).

Hand delivery: the date of delivery.

Receipting of Stock Gifts

Receipts to donors indicate the number and types of shares. The donor of publicly traded stock will be credited with the fair market value which is determined by averaging high and low trading prices on the date of the gift (see above paragraphs to determine the date of a gift).

Liquidation of Stock

Stocks are liquidated as soon as Christian Union receives them, or upon notification by the ministry's broker that the shares have been transferred to one of Christian Union's accounts.