Schwab Charitable Makes Giving Even More Convenient and Tax-Efficient for Donors With Sophisticated Needs

Donors will receive dedicated support and lower costs for contributing complex assets and granting to international charities

SAN FRANCISCO--()--Schwab Charitable, one of the nation’s largest donor-advised fund providers, announced two significant enhancements that make it easier for donors to contribute tax-efficient complex assets and support international causes. These charitable activities have traditionally been time-consuming and expensive for donors and charities, requiring them to navigate multiple legal and tax advisors and regulations. To make these processes easier, more efficient and lower cost, Schwab Charitable offers donors personalized guidance from professionals experienced in complex gift acceptance and international granting.

“Our objective is to remove barriers to charitable giving and inspire our donors to give more,” said Kim Laughton, president of Schwab Charitable. “With these enhancements, we are making both contributing complex assets and granting internationally as convenient and straightforward as possible. We hope this will enable our donors to be even more generous and maximize the impact of their generosity.”

Unlocking Complex Assets for Charitable Good

Schwab Charitable makes it easier for donors to give tax-efficient appreciated assets to their favorite charities. When donors contribute appreciated assets to a public charity (including to a donor-advised fund account), they potentially eliminate capital gains tax on the sale of those assets, allowing them to increase their giving by as much as 20%.1 More than two thirds (68%) of contributions to Schwab Charitable accounts in fiscal year 20152 were appreciated assets, including publicly traded stock and more complex assets, such as restricted stock, privately held shares (C-Corp, S-Corp, and limited partnership interests), initial public offerings, real estate, private equity and hedge fund interests.

Schwab Charitable has eliminated basic consulting and administrative fees for the most common types of complex assets donated to charity.3 An experienced complex gift acceptance team coordinates the sale of the assets, deposits the cash proceeds into the donors’ account, and provides contribution receipts for tax filing purposes in a consolidated report. Accounts with ongoing complex needs may also receive dedicated support to assist with their contributions, investing, and granting.

Comprehensive information about the benefits of donating various forms of appreciated assets to a Schwab Charitable donor-advised fund account is available online.

International Giving

Once donors have contributed to their donor-advised fund accounts, Schwab Charitable ensures their generosity is not limited by geographic borders. Account holders have three options for supporting international causes through Schwab Charitable’s Global Giving Program.

Donors may recommend grants to U.S. charities doing international work, including widely supported charities such as Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. They may also choose to support foreign charities directly.

The Global Giving Program provides hands-on support with the due diligence review of proposed foreign grant recipients and with granting either directly or through designated intermediary providers at specially negotiated rates. For grants made directly to foreign charities, Schwab Charitable works with charities and donors to meet expenditure reporting responsibilities and/or equivalency determination requirements.

More information about Schwab Charitable’s Global Giving Program is available online.

About Schwab Charitable

Schwab Charitable is a donor-advised fund established as a service for individual investors to help increase their charitable giving. Since inception, Schwab Charitable has facilitated approximately $5.5 billion in grants to more than 96,000 charities on behalf of its donors. Schwab Charitable serves a wide range of investors and has been a pioneer in enabling registered investment advisors to manage the investments of donor-advised accounts 4. Schwab Charitable also offers a private foundation conversion service for private foundations considering a donor-advised fund as a complementary or alternative charitable vehicle. For more information, visit schwabcharitable.org.

1 Appreciated asset must have been held for a year or more. Assumes that all realized gains are subject to the 20% federal long-term capital gains tax rate.

2 Schwab Charitable’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.

3 Additional fees may apply for escrow for unrelated business income tax and for direct expenses, such as legal fees, inspections, environmental assessments, and insurance. Donor may need to obtain a qualified appraisal of donated assets in accordance with IRS requirements. Additional fees and expenses may apply.

4 Professionally-managed accounts are available only through independent investment advisors working with Schwab Advisor ServicesTM, a business segment of The Charles Schwab Corporation serving independent investment advisors and including the custody, trading and support services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Although donors may recommend an advisor, Schwab Charitable Fund must approve the recommendation. Advisors must meet certain eligibility requirements and adhere to Fund fee and investment guidelines. You may request a copy of the investment guidelines by calling (800) 746-6216.

A donor's ability to claim itemized deductions may be subject to further limitations depending upon the donor's specific tax situation and donors should consult their tax advisors. Schwab Charitable does not provide specific individualized legal or tax advice. Please consult a qualified legal or tax advisor where such advice is necessary or appropriate.

Contributions of certain real estate, private equity or other illiquid assets may be accepted via a charitable intermediary, with proceeds of the donation transferred to the donor-advised account upon liquidation. This intermediary considers donations on a case-by-case basis, and assets typically must be valued at $250,000 or more.

Schwab Charitable is the name used for the combined programs and services of Schwab Charitable Fund, an independent nonprofit organization, which has entered into service agreements with certain affiliates of The Charles Schwab Corporation.

©2015 Schwab Charitable Fund. All Rights Reserved. (1115-6829)

Contacts

The Neibart Group
Davis MacMillan, 718-801-8862
dmacmillan@neibartgroup.com

Release Summary

Schwab Charitable announces two significant enhancements that make it easier for donors to contribute tax-efficient complex assets and support international causes.

Contacts

The Neibart Group
Davis MacMillan, 718-801-8862
dmacmillan@neibartgroup.com