Benefits of gifts of stocks and bonds

• Avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of appreciated stock
• Receive a charitable income tax deduction
• Further our mission today

How to make a gift of stocks and bonds
By electronic transfer – Please find instructions on how you can transfer stock or bonds from your brokerage or investment account to the Institute for Humane Studies here, or contact us directly.

By certified mail – If you hold securities in certificate form, you will need to mail two envelopes separately to complete your gift. In the first envelope, place the unsigned stock certificate(s). In the other envelope, include a signed stock power for each certificate. You may obtain this power from your broker or bank. Please remember to use certified mail.

There are special rules for valuing a gift of stock. The value of a charitable gift of stock is determined by taking the mean between the high and low stock price on the date of the gift. Mutual fund shares are valued using the closing price for the fund on the date of the gift.

Stock Gift Instructions
Brokerage: Merrill Lynch
11951 Freedom Drive
Freedom Square, 17th Floor
Reston, VA 20190
Account #: 86Q-04013
ABA #: 044-000-804
DTC #: 8862
The Institute for Humane Studies
Federal Tax ID: 94-1623852

One of the simplest and most meaningful ways to support the Institute for Humane Studies is through a charitable bequest.

We recommend working with your attorney or financial advisor to include IHS in your estate plans.

Benefits of a bequest

• Receive an estate tax charitable deduction
• Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
• Leave a lasting legacy to charity

How a bequest works
A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an attorney, you can include language in the will or trust specifying a gift to be made to family, friends, or the Institute for Humane Studies as part of your estate plan, or you can make a bequest using a beneficiary designation form.

Ways to leave a bequest to the Institute for Humane Studies

• Include a bequest to the Institute for Humane Studies in your will or revocable trust
• Designate the Institute for Humane Studies as a full, partial or contingent beneficiary of your retirement account (IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or pension)
• Name the Institute for Humane Studies as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy

A bequest may be made in several ways

• Percentage bequest: make a gift of a percentage of your estate
• Specific bequest: make a gift of a specific dollar amount or a specific asset
• Residual bequest: make a gift from the balance or residue of your estate

The method used to make the bequest will depend on the kind of gift you choose to leave to the Institute for Humane Studies.

Bequests of real estate, personal property, business interests, and cash are typically made by way of a will, revocable trust, or even a simple codicil to your current estate plan. Your estate-planning attorney can assist you in preparing the necessary papers for you to complete the bequest.

Other bequests, such as those involving retirement assets, insurance policies, bank accounts, and stocks and bonds, are typically made by completing the appropriate beneficiary designation form. Simply contact your retirement plan administrator, life insurance company, bank, or investment broker and ask them to send you the appropriate "beneficiary designation" or "payable on death" form. To complete your bequest, you will need to complete and sign the form and then send it back to the person who originally sent the form to you.

The last step in leaving any bequest involves the transfer to charity. When you pass away, the bequest property will be transferred to the Institute for Humane Studies. The full value of this gift will be transferred tax-free and your estate will receive an estate tax charitable deduction.