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Getting over Cash: A Guide to Noncash Charitable Donations

December 15, 2025

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By Kamée Payton

Charitable donations are integral to sustaining and expanding nonprofits, arts organizations, and cultural heritage institutions. With government funding decreasing and operational costs increasing, philanthropic giving is essential, now more than ever.^{^[1]} Since the current administration took office, one-third of museums nationwide have lost government grants and contracts.^{^[2]} These losses have set off a domino effect of difficult decisions, including laying off staff, cancelling public programming, and delaying maintenance and repairs.^{^[3]}Many art museums are also still recovering from financial losses incurred during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

According to Elizabeth Merritt writing for the American Alliance of Museums, on average, 30% of museums’ incomes comes from charitable gifts, with 67% of gifts being from individual donors and 33% from foundations.^{^[4]} Many institutions already rely on philanthropic gifts for one-third of their funding and now must absorb the losses of government funding. Accordingly, these institutions are looking for new ways to encourage giving. Noncash (and non-art) donations may be the solution.

Noncash Donations

Cold Hard Cash Or Not Center for Art Law 12 15 25

When considering how to support a nonprofit, donors typically think of cash contributions such as bills (banknotes) placed in a donation box, a check or a bequest in a will or trust. However, donations do not have to be cash. The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recognizes the giving of assets such as art, intellectual property, cryptocurrency, or stock as “noncash charitable contributions.”^{^[5]} While noncash donations may seem untraditional, they are becoming increasingly common, and many major arts organizations now offer such options. The Metropolitan Museum of Art accepts donations of cryptocurrency, the Museum of Modern Art New York City accepts appreciated securities, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art accepts donations of real estate. All three, along with others like the Guggenheim, accept donations of stocks.

Mutual Benefits

There are significant tax benefits to donating appreciated securities and stocks, making these gifts particularly advantageous, not only to the donee (the receiver of the gift), but also to the donor (the one giving). Donors who gift appreciated property may benefit from an income tax deduction. These gifts may qualify as an itemized deduction, based on the donor’s adjusted taxable income, or may qualify for a deduction equal to the fair market value (FMV) of the asset. According to the IRS the FMV is, “the price a willing, knowledgeable buyer would pay a willing, knowledgeable seller when neither has to buy or sell.”^{^[6]}

Donors of appreciated stocks also avoid long-term federal capital gains tax (a tax that arises upon the disposal of an asset that has increased in value) which can be as high as 20%.^{^[7]} For example, if an investor wishes to sell their shares in a certain stock and donate the money to an art museum, and over several years the original investment of $5,000 has grown to $5,800, then the investor would be subject to capital gains tax once the shares were sold. However, if the shares were instead transferred to the museum, the capital gains tax would be eliminated.^{^[8]}

Ultimately, both parties benefit through noncash charitable donations. The donor receives significant tax relief, including a deduction of the FMV and the avoidance of capital gains tax. The donee receives the full value of the appreciated asset, which is greater than what the donor might have given in cash.^{^[9]}

Considerations when Giving

For those thinking of making a donation, there are several considerations to keep in mind when planning to make a charitable gift. First, a donation to qualify as a charitable contribution eligible for an income tax deduction, the donee must be a “qualifying organization”. These include certain, “nonprofit groups that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific, or literary in purpose, or that work to prevent cruelty to children or animals”^{^[10]} which have 501(c)3 status.^{^[11]}

Second, many institutions have development teams that work directly with donors and can guide them through the process of making either a traditional or noncash gift. For higher value, complex, noncash gifts it is recommended to consult a tax professional specifically trained in estate planning. Trained professionals will be familiar with which types of taxes are due, at the federal, state and local levels, and what types of gifts qualify for certain deductions.

Third, when planning to donate, it is noteworthy that contributions do not need to be made by check. Exploring noncash donation options may be advantageous for both the donor and the receiving institution.

Going Forward

These alternative ways (noncash) of giving have the potential to boost charitable donations and provide much needed support to nonprofits, arts organizations, and cultural heritage institutions. For nonprofits, the tax advantages of noncash donations broaden the pool of potential donors and may encourage greater philanthropic engagement. As museums and cultural organizations continue to navigate financial uncertainty, noncash donations present a promising and sustainable avenue for strengthening the institutions that play a vital role in the community. A prediction for 2026: noncash donations will be on the rise, donors willing.

About the Author

Kamée Payton is the Judith Bresler Fellow at the Center for Art Law where she coordinates the Visual Artists’ Legal Clinics, including Estate Planning for Artists, and the accompanying programming. She earned her Master of Laws in Art law from the University of York, where she was an editor for the York Law Review and completed a legal dissertation comparing tax law in the United States and United Kingdom. Kamée has a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Utah Valley University and has worked in various roles in the arts since 2020.

Select References

Julia Halperian, The hangover after the museum party: institutions in the US are facing a funding crisis, The Art Newspaper January 4th 2024. ↑
American Alliance of Museums, Annual National Snapshots of United States Museums, (2025). ↑
Id. ↑
Elizabeth Merrit, EO Impacts and the Next Era of Museum Funding Part 3: Charitable Contributions and Investment Income, American Alliance of Museums (2025). ↑
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Form No. 8283, Noncash Charitable Donations, (2024). ↑
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Form No. 8283, Noncash Charitable Donations, (2024). ↑
Gifts of Appreciated Securities, Philadelphia Museum of Art, (December 15th 2025 at 10 am EST), https://plannedgiving.philamuseum.org/appreciated-securities ↑
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Form No. 8283, Noncash Charitable Donations, (2024). ↑
Office of Philanthropy, Giving Stock instead of Cash, University of Maryland Baltimore, (December 15th 2025 at 11 am EST), https://www.umaryland.edu/philanthropy/ways-to-give/giving-stock-instead-of-cash/ ↑
Id. ↑
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Publication No. 526, Charitable Contributions, (2025). ↑

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not meant to provide legal advice. Readers should not construe or rely on any comment or statement in this article as legal advice. For legal advice, readers should seek a consultation with an attorney.