Donating stocks directly to a charity is one of the most tax-smart ways to give, yet it is not often understood or used wisely.

Maybe your stocks have appreciated greatly since you purchased them. Maybe a surge in value of one of your holdings has thrown your portfolio off balance. Maybe you just want to refocus on other investment categories. If you also give to charity, these scenarios should encourage you to review your investment portfolio with a donation strategy in mind.

Why? Because donating stock directly to charity is one of the most tax-smart ways to give. Yet, it is often not well understood or widely used. According to a 2016 study by Fidelity Charitable, 80 percent of donors own appreciated assets, such as stocks, mutual funds or bonds, but only 21 percent of those donors have contributed these types of assets to charity.

Here are four reasons you should give stock donation a try:

https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/articles/4-reasons-to-donate-stock-to-charity.html#:~:text=By%20donating%20stock%20that%20has,percent%20on%20long%2Dterm%20holdings.