Giving a gift of securities to Operation Eyesight last year proved doubly rewarding to longtime donor Penny Pattison. When Penny’s father died in 2010, and left her some money, Penny made a bequest in her own will to Operation Eyesight with part of her inheritance. After consulting with her financial advisor, she invested some of that legacy. “And it performed wonderfully!” she says.
This year, Penny’s financial advisor noted that there had been significant capital gains on the investment. Penny chose to donate the investment (almost $16,000) to Operation Eyesight and receive a charitable tax receipt for the current amount, even though the initial investment had been quite a bit less. “I hadn’t tried to make a gift of securities before, but it was very easy – I just had to fill in a form,” she says. “I’m happy I was able to give the securities to Operation Eyesight, and not pay capital gains tax on them.”
Having visited the Indian state of Rajasthan 30 years ago as a volunteer, Penny chose to designate her gift to Operation Eyesight’s partner eye hospital there, Alakh Nayan Mandir Eye Institute. “I especially appreciated that I was given options of different projects to support. You made it easy for me.” she says. “I highly recommend others talk to their financial advisors about gifts of securities. It has enabled me to make a difference to the people of Rajasthan!”