Ed Chapline, '43, Gives Stock Instead of Cash to Help Wentworth "at a Discount"

Ed Chapline,’ 43, has quietly been one of Wentworth's top living lifetime supporters, amassing gifts of nearly a half million dollars over more than a quarter century of giving. Most of his giving, though, has taken advantage of a smart strategy allowing him to accomplish more by transferring stock instead of giving cash. ”Wentworth helped make me who I am, and I want to pay something back. The fact that I have found a way to avoid capital gains tax just lets me do more, because I feel like I’m giving at a discount," Chapline says.

While you should consult with your financial advisors to see how stock gifts might benefit your particular financial circumstances, the essential point is that if you give appreciated stock, you get to deduct the full market value of the stock when you give it, and you do not need to pay capital gains or the Medicare surtax on the amount of appreciation.

”Now that the market is up, a lot more people are sitting on stock which has appreciated, but they don’t think about the tax advantages of giving that stock to Wentworth instead of giving cash,” Chapline observed. "It’s just as easy to call your broker and get it done as it is to transfer cash from some kind of savings account, And you save some money to boot. If you think the stock might still go up, you can buy new shares with the cash you were going to give, and you get an increased basis. It's a win, win, win, if you ask me.”

Dan Ryan, Wentworth's Vice President for Advancement, appreciates Mr. Chapline's smart approach to giving. ”Clearly, Mr.Chapline gives because he appreciates what Wentworth did for him, and he wants to see his money support the young men and women following in his footsteps today. The fact that he gets a larger deduction by giving us stock rather than cashing it out and giving us the cash just makes his generosity accomplish even more."

The process is very simple, and your current brokerage is almost certainly capable of handling the whole transaction without much expense or paperwork. If you want to discuss making a stock gift to Wentworth, please e-mail Dan Ryan at dryan@wma.edu, or call him at on his cell phone at 816-225-4570. You may also give that contact information to your brokerage and Dan will work to complete the transaction seamlessly..