Your nonprofit received a stock donation… but you have no idea who it came from.

It shows up quietly.

No email. No note. No name attached.

Just a notification from your brokerage: shares received.

At first, it feels like a win, and it is! Nonprofits receiving stock donations (in addition to cash) can increase their fundraising contributions by 55% over those organizations still only asking for cash donations. 

Stock gifts are one of the most powerful ways donors can give, often allowing them to give more by avoiding capital gains taxes and maximizing the value of their contribution.

But then reality sets in.

Who gave this gift? And how do you thank them?

It’s a moment every nonprofit dreads and is entirely too common.

You check with your finance team. Nothing. You ask your development lead. Still nothing. You search your CRM, hoping for a clue, but there’s no match.

This isn’t unusual. In fact, if you just have the details for stock gifts in a .pdf or listed on your website, it can be exactly why it happens.

When donors transfer stock directly from their brokerage, nonprofits often receive the gift with little to no identifying information unless the donor goes out of their way to notify the organization separately.

So now you’re left with a meaningful gift, and no way to thank the person behind it.

You can’t acknowledge their generosity, connect the gift to impact, or build a relationship. What should feel like a breakthrough moment instead becomes a frustrating dead end.
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Why stock gifts can be complex

The traditional stock donation process wasn’t designed with fundraising in mind. It was built for financial transactions.

However, with advances in financial technology and the recent tax code changes, wealthy donors are taking advantage of the tax benefits of gifting appreciated securities such as stocks and other asset gifts.  

Your savvy donors (or their financial advisors) start by initiating a transfer through their brokerage account. The shares arrive in your nonprofit brokerage account. Your team receives a notification… sometimes. And from there, you’re left trying to piece together who made the gift and why.

There’s no built-in donor experience. No form capturing intent. No simple way to connect the transaction to a human being. It’s efficient from a financial standpoint, but disconnected from the relationship-building that fundraising depends on.
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The hidden cost of anonymous stock gifts

When you can’t identify the donor, you lose far more than the opportunity to send a thank-you note.

You lose the chance to build trust and deepen the relationship. You lose insight into what motivated the gift. You lose future opportunities for engagement, whether that’s another major gift, a planned gift, or even an introduction to other high-capacity supporters.
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This is why modern nonprofits use a non-cash donation page

Instead of relying on outdated, manual processes, more nonprofits are shifting to structured, donor-friendly giving experiences.

With Infinite Giving, the stock donation process becomes both intentional and frictionless. Donors initiate their gift through a branded donation page where their information is captured upfront.

Your “giving partners” (donors or financial advisors) are guided through exactly how to complete the transfer, and your team is notified when a stock gift has been pledged.

The result is simple but powerful. You know who your donor is. You can respond quickly. And you can treat the gift not as a transaction, but as the beginning of a relationship.

And the best part: Infinite Giving helps to automate the entire stock donation process, including:

• Stock liquidation to cash
• Automatic donation receipts
• Reporting for accounting

Replay our recent webinar on how to unlock wealth giving with our CEO and Founder, Karen Houghton, and Sari McConnell of Donor Boom.
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From an anonymous stock gift to a meaningful relationship

Imagine receiving a stock gift, but this time, you know exactly who it came from.

You have technology to automatically send a thoughtful “thank you” note. You connect their generosity directly to your mission. You open the door to a deeper conversation.

That’s the difference between processing a donation and building a giving partnership.

The bigger shift: from fundraising to funding

Stock gifts are no longer a niche strategy, as they're a core part of how modern donors choose to give. And yet, many nonprofits still aren’t equipped to receive them in a way that matches the opportunity.

You’ve already earned the trust of someone willing to give from their assets. The last thing you want is for that experience to break down at the point of receipt.

Because the real opportunity isn’t just receiving the gift — it’s knowing who gave it and building what comes next, together.
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