Please be aware that the date of the gift is critical for year-end contributions. Gifts must be irrevocably transferred to the College on or before Dec. 31 to be treated as a contribution for the year just ending. The gift value of publicly traded stocks, in accordance with IRS regulations, is the average of the market high and low on the date of transfer. The gift value of mutual funds is normally the net asset value (not the sales price) on the date of transfer.

Mutual Funds:
Check with your mutual fund broker about how to give shares to the College, and how long it may take. Many mutual funds take four to six weeks. The market value may change dramatically during that time. Gifts ordered near year-end may miss the deadline to qualify for a current year contribution.

General Rules:
First, contact your development officer at Manchester College. S/he can help you set up a direct transfer of your security to a Manchester College account. We will ask you the name of the security, amount or number of shares to be transferred, anticipated date of transfer, and how you would like your gift to be used. We will give you further instructions on how to proceed.

A. If the security is held in your brokerage account, ask your broker to use the DTC system to send the security to a Manchester College account. Please contact our Treasurer’s Office, 260-691-5213, for specific routing instructions.

Please also send a signed letter of donation or e-mail to Manchester College, describing your gift (e.g., "25 shares of Berkshire Hathaway preferred stock"), stating that you are donating it to Manchester College, and giving the date of transfer. Please include how you would like your gift to be used (Manchester Fund, pledge payment for Science Center, scholarship endowment, etc.)

The transfer is effective when it is credited to the College’s account, not when the order is given to the broker. Normally, the College’s account will be credited the same day or the next day, but it sometimes can take three days for processing.

B. If the security (especially bonds) is held as a certificate in your name and you want to transfer the entire position, follow these steps. 

1. Mail or hand-deliver the certificate and a letter of donation to the treasurer of Manchester College. The certificate should not be signed. (A signed stock or bond is negotiable; that is, it is equivalent to a signed blank check.) Use registered, insured mail.
2. In a separate envelope, mail or hand-deliver a signed stock or bond power to the same address. The signature must be guaranteed as shown in fine print on the form, and must match the name(s) exactly as shown on the stock certificate. Stock and bond powers are available from the Office of College Advancement and the Treasurer’s Office. The forms are also available from many banks and brokerage firms.

For transactions completed by mail, the date of gift is the postmark date of the last document. (Registered or certified mail provides proof of the mailing date.) If hand-delivered, it is the date of delivery.

C. If the stock is held as a certificate in your name, and you want to transfer some, but not all, of the shares, Manchester can easily accommodate this request. Provide MC with the following information:

In the letter of donation, indicate the number of shares being given to Manchester College. Indicate whose name and the address you want on the replacement certificate for the remaining shares. The new owner’s Social Security number also must be provided. For example, explain in the letter if you want to transfer 20 shares, but the certificate is for 100. You will receive a replacement certificate for 80 shares, and the Colleges needs to know whose name should be on the replacement certificate. All other steps are the same as above.

For transactions completed by mail, the date of gift is the postmark date of the last document.

Restriction/Purpose of Gift:
For all gifts, be sure to record any donor-imposed restrictions or purposes to the gift, such as The Manchester Fund, an endowment fund, etc. This is best done in a dated letter or note signed by the donor.