WatersEdge simplifies alternate means of giving
You might say farming has always been in Brent Smith’s blood. His grandparents owned a farm near Ponca City, Oklahoma, where Smith spent summers during his childhood helping his grandpa with the harvest.
When he graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in crop science, Smith never thought he would return to Oklahoma to help his grandparents take care of their farm.
After his grandparents’ passing and receiving clear direction from the Lord, Smith chose to remain in Oklahoma to carry on the family tradition on the farm. Farming and raising cattle are hard work, but for Smith, it’s a labor of love.
“I just have always enjoyed that lifestyle and being outdoors and the things that go along with running a farm and having livestock and that sort of thing,” said Smith, 66, who retired four years ago from a company that managed the grain marketing and logistics for several cooperatives in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Tuning in to financial wisdom from the tractor seat
When Smith drove his grandpa’s tractor back in the late 80s and early 90s, he would listen to a local Christian radio station that aired several financial counseling programs. Those programs provided advice from some of the nation’s most prominent Christian financial counselors of that time.
Smith plowed right through those programs and, in the process, learned a great deal about various investment securities such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Shortly thereafter, he began investing in various securities with several brokerage firms. His financial advisor suggested he and his wife, Kelly, open a charitable gift fund as another way to donate to their local church – First Baptist Church, Ponca City. Doing so could also provide them with a tax deduction as they realized capital gains from their investment.
The couple later met with a WatersEdge representative, who recommended they open a donor advised fund, or DAF. By opening a DAF, their broker can transfer stock to their DAF and WatersEdge would then sell the stock and send the proceeds as a charitable contribution on behalf of the Smiths to FBC Ponca City or other Christian-based ministries they support.
“There is a familiarity I had with WatersEdge, and the fact that they are Christians and believers, it felt like I could trust them,” Smith said. “I want these funds for the advancement of the Gospel in some way, shape, or form. So, I had that comfort level with WatersEdge.”
David Depuy, who serves as WatersEdge chief investment officer, said not only can individual donors use WatersEdge services (at no cost) to liquidate their stocks but also churches that receive stocks as gifts from their congregants and others.
“If they’re going to make a gift [to their church] anyway and they have appreciated stock, they can give the stock without realizing the gain and still get the full benefit of the tax deduction. So, there’s a benefit for the donor as well, and this is the reason why it comes up,” Depuy said.
“Generally, it’s not the church asking for stock gifts. It’s the donor saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to make a gift anyway, but is there any way you can take this stock instead of cash?’ And then they’ll call us.”
Michael Taylor, pastor at FBC Ponca City for nearly nine years, remarked how WatersEdge has made it easier and more accessible for his church members, like the Smiths, to practice wise stewardship.
“[WatersEdge] has accomplished their mission of serving the church because they have made it more cost-effective for us to receive gifts like this. We used to have to pay transaction fees to get that stock sold and liquidated into cash and then transferred to us. We had to pay fees to third-party brokers to do that, and now we don’t have to do that anymore,” Pastor Taylor said.
Investing college funds for charitable gains
Serving as lead pastor over the past six years at Northwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, Rob Lindley and his wife, Jordan, also use WatersEdge to liquidate their stock and give to their church. The husband and wife combined what was left over in their respective college funds when they graduated from college to purchase stocks.
When they want to pass on earnings from their stocks to their church as charitable contributions, the Lindley’s simply request that WatersEdge liquidate the stock. WatersEdge then sends a check to the church on their behalf, and they can in turn receive a deduction on their taxes.
“If I were to instead donate the proceeds from my stock directly to my church as cash, I would be taxed at least 10% on that. For instance, if it’s a $10,000 gift, $1,000 of that is going to the federal government,” Lindley explained. “I’d rather have the whole thing go into the Kingdom of God. So, your dollar actually goes further if you give stock than it does giving cash.”
As the stock market has gone up over the last few years, Pastor Rob and Jordan’s heart has always been to give the most money they can.
“Through stocks, we have been able to give more than we thought we could,” Pastor Rob said. “Some of the financial advisors in our church and the finance team do this, and they’ve encouraged people in our church to do it. So, we’re able to essentially further the Kingdom as in the greatest way possible. That’s the whole goal is to be able to give more.”
Most people or churches that liquidate their stock through WatersEdge already have good working relationships with WatersEdge. Northwest Baptist Church, for example, uses the organization to manage one of its endowments and some of its accounting services. The same holds true with FBC Ponca City.
“It really doesn’t cost us anything to [liquidate stocks], except maybe a little bit of staff time. It’s just another way for us to serve,” Depuy said.
WatersEdge has worked to simplify the process of liquidating stock for the donor or their broker and made it as easy as possible for our clients. It’s just a two- or three-step process, starting with a visit to https://www.watersedge.com/stock-gifts/ and completing a brief form that will ensure the process goes smoothly and the intended ministry receives the charitable gift in a timely manner. Donors can even request their names remain anonymous to the recipients.
By Harve Allen
