Strate Charity Shares (SCS) is a charity donation programme run by Strate and Computershare Investor Services. SCS serves as a convenient mechanism whereby shareholders can quickly and easily donate small or large amounts of shares to charity. It does not cost the person making the donation anything and is tax-deductible. SCS is a highly effective vehicle for getting rid of small holdings of shares that are too costly to sell through a stockbroker, since shareholders incur no cost if they donate their shares to charity.
Cost of donating shares
Absolutely nothing. Once the correct documentation has been completed and returned, in the prepaid envelope to Computershare Services, Computershare Investor Services will take care of all the administration involved. Computershare Investor Services will dematerialise the shares if necessary and PSG Stockbrokers will sell them on the JSE at no cost.
How to donate shares
It is as simple as filling out the necessary form, and returning it at no cost in the prepaid envelope provided. If you have any queries regarding obtaining or completing the forms, please call the Strate Charity Shares toll free help line on 0800 202 363 or +27 11 373 0038 if you are phoning outside South Africa.
Donating different holdings at once
On the reverse of the donation form is a table that provides for a listing of up to four different lines of shares. If there are more than four, simply complete another donation form.
All donations are tax deductible
In terms of Section 18(A) of the Income Tax Act, all donations made by SCS will qualify for tax relief and a receipt for this purpose will be issued. Donated shares to the value of R1000.00 or more, will automatically receive a tax certificate. Tax certificates for donations of less than R1000.00 are available upon request.
Selling shares vs. donating shares
There are certain fixed costs of selling shares on the JSE that are not related to the size of your holdings. If shares have not yet been dematerialised, they will first need to be dematerialised through a Central Security Depository Participant (CSD Participant). Once this has been done, a stockbroker will levy brokerage fees and settlement charges. The fees differ from stockbroker to stockbroker but it is unlikely that it would cost less than R100 to sell shares, which may not even be worth R100. If the shares are donated to SCS, there will be no charges. This is because shares from various donors are bulked before they are sold, all the administration costs are minimised. Computershare Services has agreed to provide CSD Participant and custody services free of charge. PSG stockbrokers have also agreed to provide brokerage services free of charge and Strate has waived any settlement fees.
Returning the donation forms
For legal purposes the donation forms have to have an original signature. For this reason no faxed forms will be accepted where share certificates are involved, original certificates are required.
Lost paper share certificates
In the case of lost share certificates, the Computershare Services indemnity form accompanying the donation form should be completed. An insurance indemnity fee is payable, which will be deducted from the cash donation. Such a fee will be proportionate to the value of shares and shall not exceed 1%.
Shares held in a nominee account
In the event of shares held in a nominee account, simply provide the details of the company/stockbroker/nominee/CSD Participant in which the shares are held. These should be included in the section on the reverse of the donation form.