Own stocks? You can securely donate shares of appreciated stock to your favorite GCA mission projects through Overflow.

FAQ’s

Who is Overflow?

Overflow is a digital solution for donating non-cash assets, enabling donors to give in a tax-efficient way. Donors can experience the ease of giving via stock or crypto in less than five minutes from their mobile device. Overflow also provides givers access to a private Donor Profile which enables visibility into transaction history, transaction statuses, and the ability to update connected financial accounts.

Why should I donate stock or crypto?

Donating appreciated stock that you've held for over a year could allow you to save up to 20%* in capital gains taxes and potentially up to 37%** in federal income taxes on the charitable donation value of your gift based on your tax bracket when itemizing deductions. To understand the full tax benefits of giving appreciated stock, including potential state tax savings, please consult with your tax professional for information about your personal tax implications. Read more here.

How do I donate via Overflow?

Access the Overflow platform via a 501c3 organization giving page. Click "Stock", "Crypto", or "ACH/Debit/Credit" depending on the asset type you would like to donate. You will then be taken to the Overflow platform where you can follow the steps to complete the donation. Learn more about donating through Overflow here.

What can I expect after I submit my donation?

Immediately after submitting your donation, you will receive an email confirmation of your gift. Stock transactions take 2-14 days to reach our account depending on the sending and receiving brokerages that are involved in the process. Once the 501c3 organization receives your gift, they will send you an IRS-compliant acknowledgment letter that you can use to itemize the charitable deduction on your taxes. Learn more about what to expect after submitting a donation.

Is it safe to connect my brokerage and/or bank account to Overflow?

Overflow's Information Security Program is SOC 2 compliant, a widely respected information security auditing procedure. Overflow does not have access to nor stores any brokerage account usernames or passwords. They use Yodlee, a third-party provider, that handles the brokerage login process. Over 600 companies including PayPal, Mint, and Amazon use Yodlee to connect their clients’ accounts. For more information about Overflow's security practices, please see this article.

What types of shares can I donate?

You can give any shares that are publicly traded on the U.S. stock market through Overflow. By donating assets that have appreciated in value for more than one year, you are more likely to maximize the potential tax benefits. Learn more about the types of stock you can donate in this article.

Can I donate international gifts?

Each asset class, stock, crypto, and cash, has its own unique requirements and restrictions when it comes to international gifts. Read this article for more details about giving internationally from each asset class.

Can I give through my 401K or IRA?

Overflow can process all whole shares of publicly traded stock, including 401Ks and IRAs. However, because donors often incur penalties for withdrawing these assets before a certain date, we highly recommend consulting your tax professional before donating these types of assets. Donating 401Ks or IRAs could result in major tax penalties or even fewer tax benefits than donating cash.

Can I give company stock outside the trading window?

If you received company-distributed stock as an employee and the trading window is not open, your brokerage will likely reject the transfer request. We highly advise you to ask your company for the trading windows and give them during those time periods, which typically are open quarterly for 3 to 4 weeks at a time.

Does Overflow support gifts from my brokerage account?

Overflow currently supports over 10 brokerages via its self-guided platform including the most popular brokers such as Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and E*Trade. If Overflow doesn't have a direct connection to your brokerage account, your gift can still be fulfilled through their off-platform concierge service. (Learn more about this concierge service here). If you are donating through Overflow's donor experience and your brokerage account is not one of the 10+ currently supported with a direct connection, you'll be automatically connected with Overflow's Donor Operations team. You can also choose to opt into Overflow's fully-guided concierge service by emailing stockgifts@overflow.co.

*This assumes all realized gains are subject to the maximum federal long-term capital gains tax rate of 20%, and that the donor originally planned to sell the stock and contribute the net proceeds (less the capital gains tax) to charity. This does not take into account state or local taxes, if any.

**This assumes the top individual federal income tax bracket for a taxpayer that is itemizing tax deductions and does take into account Adjusted Gross Income limitations on charitable contributions. This does not take into account state or local taxes, if any.

Overflow does not provide tax, legal, compliance, or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, compliance, or accounting advice. Your organization should consult its own tax, legal, compliance, and accounting advisors before sending or concluding any transaction, communication, or otherwise.