Corporations | Further Information for Corporations

ShareGift USA works with corporations to encourage shareholders who receive or hold minor, unwanted or dormant holdings to donate them. ShareGift USA aggregates these shares into round lots and sells them, thereby reducing the costs of shareholder communications by simplifying the share register. Importantly, corporations offering ShareGift USA donation programs can channel significant sums to charity at no cost to themselves.

ShareGift USA is delighted to announce that its share donation program has been included in the $40bb Merck-Schering-Plough merger and in the $10bb Fidelity National Information Services-Metavante Technologies, Inc. merger. Please see Further Information for Corporations to obtain the relevant information.

ShareGift USA has also undertaken share donation programs with numerous corporations including Comcast Corporation, The AXA Group, Morgan Stanley, Gannett Co., Inc., Reynolds American, Inc., PepsiAmericas, Inc. and Viad Corp. In each case, shareholders were given the option to participate in odd lot round-up programs by donating their oddlot shares to charity through ShareGift USA, in addition to being given the customary options of selling their unwanted holdings or purchasing enough additional shares to obtain round lots.

Reducing the cost of shareholder communication
Corporations spend significant sums per individual per year communicating with each shareholder. Therefore, the cost savings in rationalizing the register of small shareholders could be significant. A recent survey showed that, on average, 48% of a corporation’s shareholders owned odd lots of shares, but these shareholders accounted for only .05% of the shares voted at annual meetings. While all shareholders are valuable, it may be in the interests of corporations and shareholders alike to reduce the number of odd lot shareholdings.

Simplifying the share register
ShareGift USA’s aim is to work directly and proactively with US corporations to develop programs to encourage odd lot shareholders to donate their small holdings to charity. Such programs are immediately applicable to existing odd lot holdings and can also be initiated at the time of mergers, acquisitions or spin-offs to address odd lot shareholdings at the time they are created. By including information about the ShareGift USA option in annual reports, proxy documents and other shareholder communications, corporations can create a viable solution for dealing with small shareholdings which would otherwise lie dormant and prove costly to maintain. ShareGift USA works with corporations at the initiation of mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs which generate odd lot shares, in order to encourage share donation at that time.

Based on the experience of ShareGift, the successful share donation charity in the UK, corporations undertaking share sale or purchase programs for odd lot stockholders should find a greater participation rate when the option to donate to charity is included, than when such programs are undertaken without it. ShareGift USA believes that giving shareholders the option of doing something charitable with their small shareholdings will incentivize them to participate in the programs.

Being good corporate citizens
Importantly, corporations who participate in donation programs with ShareGift USA can help channel significant sums to charity at no cost to themselves.

Corporations, their law firms or their advisors should contact us at info@sharegiftusa.org or 212 813 9677 for more information about incorporating ShareGift USA’s share donation capability into their shareholder communications.

Corporations | Further Information for Corporations