Detailed Information for Companies
Please click on the links below for more detailed information on how ShareGift can be deployed by your company. We would appreciate seeing in advance any text you propose to publish about ShareGift so that we can ensure that you are giving your shareholders the most current and accurate information. For a PDF version of ShareGift's
Notes for Companies, please click here
Please click on the links below for further information on:
Company Annual Reports/Websites
Via the Registrars
Share Sale/Purchase Schemes
Dissenting Shareholders
Special Mailings
Residual Cash Amounts and Fractional Entitlements
Takeovers
Our Share Sale Policy
ShareGift and Corporate Social Responsibility
Costs
Company Annual Reports/ Websites
Many companies now include ShareGift information in their Annual Reports and/or on their Websites. Should you wish to include a copy of the ShareGift Transfer Form on your website, please contact us. Sample wording for how you can incorporate ShareGift into your Company Annual Report is as follows:-
If you have only a small number of shares which would cost more for you to sell than they are worth, you may wish to consider donating them to the charity ShareGift (Registered Charity 1052686) which specialises in accepting such shares as donations. The relevant stock transfer form may be obtained from [your Registrars] / [your Shareholder helpline]/ [your website link]. There are no implications for Capital Gains Tax purposes (no gain or loss) on gifts of shares to charity and it is also possible to obtain income tax relief. Further information about ShareGift may be obtained on 020 7930 3737 or from www.ShareGift.org
back to menu
Via the Registrars
ShareGift is already working with the main registrar groups, both generally and with individual relationship managers. We have prepared a template stock transfer form for your registrars, which permits the details of your own shares to be entered, and which incorporates the tax relief available on gifts of shares, information about ShareGift, and our donations to charities. The transfer form contains features such as a built-in indemnity up to a certain value of shares, and an option for previously uncashed dividends to be donated, for inclusion if you wish. Please click here for a template transfer form.
In addition to our information leaflet, ShareGift can provide a script for your registrars or shareholder helpline. This can incorporate the tax relief available on shares, information about ShareGift, and how we give to charities. We are always happy to work with you to deploy existing solutions or to create one which is tailor-made for you. Please contact us for further details.
back to menu
Share Sale/Purchase Schemes
In subsidised Share Sale/Purchase Schemes, donating small holdings to ShareGift, either as cash proceeds of a sale or as shares, is now frequently given as a third option alongside “Buy” and “Sell”. Information about tax-efficient giving can be included as an additional incentive to shareholders; when this has been done feedback has been positive. Please contact us for examples.
Dissenting Shareholders
When companies run specific programmes for dissenting shareholders from past acquisitions, ShareGift can be incorporated as a tax-efficient way of giving shares or cash proceeds. In any case, ShareGift’s high public profile invariably leads to a considerable number of such shareholders ‘reappearing’ as ShareGift donors after seeing press articles or charity literature about us, or shareholder communications from other companies.
Special Mailings
A number of companies have sent specific ShareGift mailings to selected groups of shareholders from their register, in order to meet their own corporate objectives. In these cases, the details of the mechanism for including ShareGift can be tailored to suit the company and its registrars. Please ask us for examples.
Residual Cash Amounts and Fractional Entitlements
Some companies also now choose to donate to ShareGift residual cash amounts from Share Sale/Purchase Schemes, Dividend Reinvestment Plans, Share Save Schemes, Employee Share Schemes or unclaimed dividend monies. There are also ways in which other small cash sums such as fractional entitlements from share consolidations can be donated, and we are happy to discuss these options with you.
Takeovers
ShareGift has also been included as a charitable option for shareholders when accepting the terms of a cash offer. This is particularly relevant where a large register of smaller shareholders may lead to a significant number of individuals on the dissenting list.
Our Share Sale Policy
Our policy is to sell donated and aggregated shares as soon as practicable, although larger holdings of shares are sold without delay. We do not carry out instructions on when to sell and we do not take an investment view on our holdings.
ShareGift and Corporate Social Responsibility
ShareGift can support any UK registered charity – national and local, small or large. We are cause-neutral and do not take a view on the merits of any charity when making a donation. Our donation policy includes surveying the charitable interests of the people who help us to create the pool of funds we have to distribute. This means we are able to reflect suggestions of charities from individual shareholders, the companies who help us reach their shareholders, and other organisations that help ShareGift to operate.
At the conclusion of share dealing programmes, ShareGift distributes aggregated proceeds from shareholders’ donations to a range of charities, taking into account any suggestions of charities received from shareholders and the company. Some companies indicate that there are particular charities that they wish to benefit exclusively from their shareholders’ donations; we are pleased to discuss with you the pros and cons of this route. We have considerable experience of how shareholders react to charity donation options and we are happy to offer our advice to your Community Affairs or Corporate Social Responsibility departments if that would be helpful.
Costs
ShareGift is an independent, philanthropic organisation and does not charge the company, its shareholders or any charity for its work. Depending on what a company chooses to do with ShareGift, some related costs may need to be agreed between a company and its registrars, for example if a special mailing is undertaken. ShareGift itself is always willing to discuss contributing to exceptional administrative costs incurred in specific cases.
Like all charities, ShareGift has to meet its staff and other running costs from the income that we receive. We endeavour to keep our costs to a minimum so that we can pass on as much of our income as possible to charitable causes. We are extremely fortunate in that we already benefit from many donated facilities including free broking, nominee services and other essential services thanks to the generous support of Killik & Co, TD Waterhouse Corporate Services and others. Companies which have benefited as a result of ShareGift’s work may choose to make a donation to assist us with our ongoing costs or to help us in other ways – for example The Vodafone UK Foundation, which has generously supported the costs of a staff member.