Summary: This guide explains how to add the stock giving link to your website and provides a detailed overview of the four-step life cycle of a stock donation, from "Promised" to "Paid."
Before You Begin
- You must have an active Engiven account.
- You must have administrator access to edit your church's website to add your unique stock giving link.
- Stock vs. Crypto: Unlike instant crypto gifts, stock donations are a multi-step process that can take days or weeks. The process (called a DTC transfer) has not changed in over 40 years.
- Support: Please direct all donor or financial advisor support questions about specific brokerage transfer processes to
tithely.support@engiven.com.
The Life Cycle of a Stock Gift (The Four States)
This process is not a single action but a journey with four distinct states. Engiven provides real-time visibility into each state.
State 1: Promised
This is when the donor initiates the pledge.
- A donor (or their financial advisor) navigates to your Stock Giving Widget.
- Selects a Fund and fills out the form with their pledge details (e.g., 111 shares of Apple, their name, and email).
- The donor receives an email with your organization's DTC transfer instructions.
- Simultaneously, you (the church) receive an email notification. The gift appears in your Engiven dashboard as "Promised."
State 2: Asset Received
This happens when the stock arrives in Engiven's brokerage account.
- The donor uses the DTC instructions to complete the transfer with their brokerage (this can happen days or weeks after the pledge).
- When the stock lands, the gift status updates to "Asset Received."
- The donor receives their final, IRS-compliant receipt ("Letter of Acknowledgment"). Their part of the process is now complete.
- You receive a second notification. You can now log in and see the actual number of shares received (which may differ slightly from the pledge).
State 3: Asset Liquidated
This is when the stock is sold for cash.
- Within one market day, Engiven sells the asset at the current market price.
- The gift status updates to "Asset Liquidated."
- You receive a third notification. You can now log in to see the gross and net (less the <4% fee) USD proceeds from the sale.
State 4: Paid
This is when the cash is sent to your bank.
- Engiven sends the net cash proceeds (the net amount from State 3) to your church's bank account.
- Disbursements are made every Wednesday for all gifts that were liquidated in the prior week.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
- Why isn't a stock donation instant like a crypto one? Stock transfers rely on a 40-year-old system called the "DTC transfer system," which is how brokerages move assets between each other. It is not an instant blockchain transaction and requires manual steps from the donor and their brokerage.
- What's the difference between the "I'm a donor" and "I'm a financial advisor" paths? This simply changes who receives the DTC transfer instructions. Wealthy donors often have their financial advisors make the gift on their behalf. This option sends the instructions directly to the advisor to complete the process.
- A donor is asking how to complete the transfer from their E-Trade account. What do I do? Every brokerage (like E-Trade, Merrill Lynch, etc.) has its own unique process for initiating a DTC transfer. Please do not try to troubleshoot this yourself. Direct the donor or their advisor to contact
tithely.support@engiven.com, and the Engiven team will assist them. - How are the funds disbursed to our church? Disbursements are made every Wednesday and will contain the net cash proceeds from all gifts that were "Asset Liquidated" during the previous week. This one-to-one disbursement model makes reconciliation easy.
Have Questions? For any questions about your Engiven account, please contact their dedicated support team at tithely.support@engiven.com.