Giving Appreciated Assets

Gifts of Stock
While most donations to Commonwealth Youthchoirs take the form of cash gifts, donating appreciated securities is a way of giving that benefits both donors and charities. There are two primary advantages:  Any long-held appreciated stock or mutual funds with gains (meaning they were purchased over a year ago and have a current value greater than their original cost) may be donated to a public charity and a tax deduction taken for the full fair market value of the gift—up to 30% of the donor’s adjusted gross income. Please note that a gift of securities can come from an IRA if you are age 70-1/2 or older, or from a personal account at any age. This means you avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation. The more appreciation the securities have, the greater the savings to you. Please be sure to consult an attorney or tax advisor regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

To transfer stock, directly from your account to our account, please give your broker this information for DTC transfer:  

DTC #5198
Credit to Account:  53M02767
Name of Account:  Commonwealth Youthchoirs, Inc.
Tax ID #23-3074341

Merrill Lynch
470 Norristown Road, Suite 101
Blue Bell, PA  19422

Contact: Terry McDonough
Phone:  484-530-5337

Please also call Emily Harmar, Development Director, at 215-403-7030 or email her at development@cychoirs.org to inform her of your gift intention and to ensure that your gift is properly credited and acknowledged promptly.

IRA Distribution
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 made permanent qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from individual retirement accounts. This tax law allows a donor age 70 ½ or older to make a distribution from an IRA to a charitable organization without being taxed. Please note your donation must be a direct transfer from your IRA to the charity.

Gift Planning
You can support Commonwealth Youthchoirs now and in the future through a planned gift. For instance, it is easy to include Commonwealth Youthchoirs in your will or to name CY as a beneficiary of your retirement plan. To find out more, or if you have already done this, please call Emily Harmar, Development Director, at 215-403-7030. Please also be sure to discuss your situation with legal and tax advisers to determine the most advantageous and appropriate gift according to your circumstances.  

Planned gifts may take any of the following forms:

• Bequests
• Retirement Assets (IRAs or Qualified Plans, like 401k)
• Charitable Gift Annuities
• Charitable Lead Trust
• Charitable Remainder Trust
• Gifts of Appreciated Securities
• Gifts of Real Estate