Foundation Helps Small Shareholders Turn Their Stock Into Gifts for Charity
December 17, 1998 | Read Time: 1 minute
A British charity raised about $165,000 last year by collecting and selling donors’ small shareholdings and turning the proceeds over to other charities.
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The project is called Sharegift and is administered by the Orr Mackintosh Foundation, in London.
The organization solicits stock from people who own just a few shares in a company or whose stocks are so low in value that they would be more expensive to sell than to keep. The foundation then accumulates shares in those companies until it has enough to make the sale worthwhile, and gives the proceeds to charity.
The concept is the same as collection boxes in airports where travelers can drop foreign coins, which are converted to the local currency and donated to charity, says Claire Mackintosh, a former pension-fund manager in Halifax, England, and co-founder, with the stockbroker Matthew Orr, of the organization.
In 1996, the first year the charity existed, it raised $58,000. Last year it brought in about $165,000.
Sharegift operates year-round, but it draws the most attention at holiday time. Because it donates some of its proceeds to charities supported by The Daily Telegraph’s Christmas appeal, the newspaper publicizes the charity’s work.
Other businesses are starting to help Sharegift spread the word, since the charity’s work benefits them as well. Having fewer people with very small holdings means sending out fewer quarterly and annual reports, dividend checks, and other mailings. As a result, those companies are beginning to mention Sharegift in their annual reports and in letters to shareholders who have small holdings.
For additional information, contact Sharegift, the Orr Mackintosh Foundation, 24 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W ODH; (011) (44) (171) 461-4501; fax (011) (44) (171) 461-4479; World-Wide Web http://www.sharegift.co.uk
