Charity share giving

What is share giving?

Share giving is where you donate any unused or unwanted shares that you have to a charity. The charity will then sell these shares and use the proceeds to fund their work. It’s a great way to help fund the RNLI’s lifesaving work while passing on your unwanted shares, and there are also additional tax breaks you can benefit from too.

Why should I donate my unwanted shares to the RNLI?

When you make a donation of shares to charity, they are a valuable source of income for us. We turn them into funds to power our lifesaving work. They help us train, equip and kit our volunteer lifeboat crews and lifeguards.

Your support can save lives at sea

What other benefits are there of donating shares to charity?

You can also benefit from gifting your shares to charity! Not only will you have the knowledge that your share gift has helped to save lives, you may also be entitled to relief from income tax and capital gains tax on the value of your donation.  

For a gift of £1,000 worth of shares, the tax relief is calculated as the following:

• Basic-rate UK taxpayer (20%) - £250.00 of tax relief
• Higher-rate UK taxpayer (40%) - £666.66 of tax relief
• Additional-rate UK taxpayer (45%) - £818.18 of tax relief
• Non UK-taxpayer - No tax relief 

The RNLI receives the full £1,000 value of your gifted share donation. 

To receive the tax relief you need to complete a tax return, also known as a self-assessment form. For further information, contact your financial adviser or tax office.

How can I give a share gift? 

Share giving can be done in two ways, depending on the value of the shares. 

If your shares are worth more than £500, you can donate them to us to sell through our stockbrokers. Simply complete and submit the contact form. 

If your shares are worth less than £500, it might not be cost-effective for us to sell them ourselves. We work with a share donation charity, ShareGift, to handle small holdings on our behalf. They specialise in dealing with shares that would cost more to sell than they are worth, meaning you can donate them to charity without incurring any costs yourself.

Visit the ShareGift website for more information. 

What will the RNLI do with my share gift?

Share gifts are a valuable source of income for the RNLI. If you do decide to give a gift of shares, it is our policy to make sure they are sold as soon as possible. If we hold onto your shares, their value might change, and we believed that we shouldn’t speculate with gifts entrusted to us.

We can accept share gifts that are:

• In UK-listed companies
• ordinary shares
• gilts
• unit trusts and bonds
• in the donor's name (please do not transfer shares into the RNLI's name as this causes administration problems)
• held in nominee accounts (just indicate that they are held in a nominee account when you fill out the contact form).

Once you have filled in the contact form, your enquiry will be directed to our stockbrokers. They will contact you soon afterwards to make arrangements for the transfer and sale of your shares.

The money raised will help fund the RNLI’s lifesaving work. So your unwanted shares could help launch lifeboats to reach those most in need of rescue.

What type of shares do the RNLI accept?

The RNLI can accept shares in UK-listed companies and foreign companies. In some cases, and at the RNLI’s discretion, we may refuse to accept shares in companies for reputational reasons. We will advise you of any issues such as this during the share giving process.