Your Guide to Donating Complex Assets

With a donor-advised fund or other charitable investment accounts, you can easily set aside gifts of cash and publicly traded securities for your immediate or long-term grantmaking. Our team at Greater Horizons is equipped to handle more complex gifts to donor-advised funds, too, which means you can consider your full financial portfolio for your philanthropy. In this short video, President and CEO Debbie Wilkerson shares how you can think outside the box when it comes to your philanthropic giving.

Whether you’re a farmer looking to sell your property, a business owner with your eyes set on retirement or an owner of a major league baseball team, we’re here to discuss any gifts you might be considering. Contact our complex asset team at 866.719.7886 or info@greaterhorizons.org.

Ready to explore more?

For business owners: Learn more about donating privately held business interests in parts two and three of this video series.

For real estate owners: Learn more about donating real estate in part four of this video series.

Greater Horizons does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This is for informational purposes only.

Video Transcription

Hi! My name is Debbie Wilkerson. I am President of Greater Horizons.

Today, we will talk about giving complex assets to charity. For many people, contributions to charity are often in the form of cash gifts or publicly traded securities. But for some people, the bulk of their wealth is in other types of assets. My goal today is to encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to your philanthropic giving.

Donating complex assets can be a smart way to reduce your tax liability and support your favorite charities.

Now, when we use the term “complex assets,” what does that mean? We simply mean assets other than cash or publicly traded stock. It could be a private business interest, a farm, or other forms of real estate. We refer to them as complex, but that doesn’t mean the gifting process is difficult.

We have been helping donors with complex gifts for decades, which has allowed us to develop a unique expertise for these interesting gifts.

Recently, we worked with a couple who had spent their whole married lives building a business. When it neared time to sell and retire, they donated part of the business to their donor-advised fund. It not only saved taxes, but it allowed them to turn part of their business asset into a charitable asset. I saw them after the sale, and they looked happy, healthy and rested. They said the best part was their donor-advised fund. They are loving their ability to give generously in retirement.

Now, the most unique complex asset gift in our history was Ewing Kauffman’s gift of the Kansas City Royals. This was truly a one-of-a-kind gift of a major league sports team. It was thoughtfully designed to ensure the Royals stayed in Mr. Kauffman’s hometown of Kansas City and that the proceeds from the sale of the Royals benefited charity. It was quite a gift.

Whether you are a farmer, a small business owner, or an owner of a major league baseball team, when it comes to your philanthropic giving, we encourage you to consider all of your assets when deciding what to give. We have decades of experience receiving complex assets, and we’re ready to help you explore any and all opportunities that will maximize your charitable contributions and make the greatest impact with the charities you care about most.

In this video series, you will hear from our complex asset team members who will provide more details about these types of gifts. We hope you check them out and as always, we are just a phone call away to discuss any gifts you might be considering.