Making a Gift of Securities
Please follow these instructions when making a gift of stock or securities to the University of Minnesota Foundation.
Notify us of your plans
Contact the University of Minnesota Foundation (612-624-3333 or 800-775-2187) before you transfer stock or securities. Tell us the specific property you plan to contribute, including the number of shares and the name of the issuing company or mutual fund.
Please note: According to IRS guidelines, the date and value of your gift are determined by the date on which the foundation takes control of the securities.
Transferring securities to UMF
Publicly traded securities held in a brokerage account
Send your broker a letter of authorization, specifying the securities to be transferred and purpose of your gift, e.g., “for medical student scholarships.” Send a copy of this letter to your contact person at the foundation. (A blank Letter of Authorization for Broker (PDF) is available for your use.) If you have no contact person at the foundation, please send the copy to the attention of the “Finance Department.”
If possible, please have the securities transferred electronically, directly to the foundation’s account with RBC Wealth Management, as listed below. This minimizes sales and administrative costs to the foundation, so that more of your gift can be put to its intended use.
- RBC’s DTC number: 0235
- Minnesota Medical Foundation account number is: 30706096
If your broker has questions or cannot transfer the stock electronically, call us and we will be happy to assist you in completing your gift.
If you plan to contribute securities to establish a gift annuity or a charitable trust, please contact the Office of Gift Planning. UMF contracts with Kaspick & Co. to manage its gift annuities and trusts.
Publicly traded stock held in certificate form
If you wish to contribute all shares represented by a certificate registered in your name, simply mail the unsigned stock certificate to the foundation by certified mail, along with a Letter of Instructions(.pdf, 10 KB, opens in new window) identifying the securities you are contributing as well as the purpose of your gift, e.g., “for the Medical Research Fund.” If mailing the unsigned stock certificate, please also mail a signed stock power form (PDF) in a separate envelope. If you are delivering the certificate in person, we will have you execute the certificate once at the foundation’s office in order to complete the transfer.
If you plan to contribute only a portion of the shares represented by your stock certificate, you will need to have a new certificate issued in the University of Minnesota Foundation’s name by the transfer agent or the issuing corporation. Or, you can take the stock certificate to your broker with a signed Letter of Authorization (PDF) specifying the number of shares to be transferred and the intended use at the foundation, e.g., “to fund a charitable gift annuity.” Once the certificate has been executed, your broker can put the securities into your account and transfer the desired number of shares to UMF. (See instructions for transferring “publicly traded stock held in a brokerage account,” above.)
Mutual funds
To make a gift of mutual funds, your shares must be transferred to a “shell” (also called omnibus) account at your mutual fund company that has been established by UMF’s broker, RBC Wealth Management. Once these shares have been transferred, RBC is able to retrieve and hold them in UMF’s regular account there. In order to make this transfer, you must send your mutual fund company a letter of instruction (PDF) which typically includes the following information:
- The name of your mutual fund and its cusip number
- The amount you would like transferred (in number of shares or dollar amount)
- Your account number
- RBC’s shell account number and fund code
- Your signature and social security number
Different mutual fund companies impose different requirements for making such transfers. Please call Jill Schwimmer at 612-626-2981 to discuss the transfer of your mutual funds to UMF.
If you are contributing the funds to establish a gift annuity or charitable trust, you should ask the fund company to determine your cost basis before you transfer the shares to the Foundation.
