There are several benefits to donating stock, whether from a public or private company, instead of cash. When you donate stock that you have held for more than one year, you can qualify for an immediate income tax deduction at the current fair market value of shares held for more than one year.

When you donate long-term appreciated stock, you also avoid paying capital gains taxes on the appreciation. This is especially beneficial if your stock has significantly increased in value, potentially increasing the amount you have available to donate to charities. Since charities are tax-exempt, they receive the full value of your private stock once liquidated because they don’t pay capital gains taxes.

Unlike stock from public companies, private stock is typically illiquid, meaning that it is difficult or prohibitive to sell your shares. But when you donate private stock, the tax savings can help lessen or even eliminate an expense that would have been paid in cash, preserving your cash or other investments. In addition, if the private stock appreciates significantly in the donor-advised fund before it is sold, you can end up with more money tax-free to recommend as donations to charities you support.

The vast majority of charities don’t accept private or publicly traded stock directly. With Daffy, you can contribute these assets easily and once liquid, donate to nearly any charity, school, or religious institution in the U.S., from one place.

Even if private shares aren’t liquid yet, you can still donate them through a donor-advised fund (DAF) like Daffy. When you donate private stock to Daffy, the shares are not sold. Instead, the ownership of the shares is transferred to Daffy Charitable Fund.

Through Daffy’s Private Stock Donation Program, Daffy will hold your shares until they can be sold or a future liquidity event occurs. Once the shares are sold, the proceeds will be invested in the portfolio assigned to your account and you can begin making donation recommendations. In the meantime, you can add other assets to your fund—cash, stock, or crypto—and start giving immediately.

The Daffy Private Stock Donation Program can be run anytime as a one-time opportunity or as an ongoing program. It is particularly valuable to run after a tender offer or other forms of structured secondary where employees may have an additional tax liability. The Daffy team will work with your company’s finance and benefits teams to manage the process through five simple steps:

1. Establish terms and timing with the company.
2. Obtain board approval.
3. Gather donation interest from employees.
4. Transfer the private stock to Daffy.
5. Assign the stock to the appropriate member accounts.

Daffy for Work offers participating employees access to a modern donor-advised fund with several benefits:

• Simplified & Strategic Giving: Manage all charitable donations in one place, set annual goals, and automate your giving.
• Tax Advantages: Receive an immediate tax deduction for your contributions, even if you distribute the funds to charities later. Donations of appreciated assets like stocks or crypto may also help you avoid capital gains taxes.
• Investment Growth: Funds in the DAF can grow tax-free, potentially increasing the amount you can donate over time. Learn more.

Daffy for Work also offers employers several benefits including:

• Attract and retain top talent: 75% of Millennial employees say it’s important for employers to match employees' charitable contributions. This is why 65% of Fortune 500 companies already offer a corporate giving program. With Daffy, you can effortlessly attract and retain talent by providing them access to a modern giving account.
• Increase employee engagement: Over $4 billion earmarked for employer-giving programs goes unclaimed each year due to the outdated and cumbersome nature of existing programs. Daffy eliminates the need for employees to upload donation receipts and any discomfort with sharing the specific charities they support with their employer.
• Showcase your company’s values: Demonstrate your culture of giving back and avoid alienating employees with centralized giving programs or one-off fundraisers by empowering your employees to give to the organizations that matter most to them.