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No-cost disposal of odd lots to children in need

Founded in 2002, Charity Shares for Children NPC (CS4C) is a grant-making programme benefitting projects working with children in distress in South Africa. Until end-2023, Charity Shares for Children NPC was named Strate Charity Shares NPC.

Charity Shares for Children allows stock market investors to neaten up their share portfolios by getting rid of small holdings of shares (odd lots) that often are too costly to sell through a stockbroker. Sometimes, the value of these shares can be less than the costs of selling them through a broker. Disposal of the shares is thus frequently not practical, with the result that investors find their portfolios untidy and cumbersome.

The convenient CS4C model allows and encourages investors to easily contribute small or large amounts of their shares to children-linked charities at no cost to the investor. It eliminates the cost of conversion to an electronic record of ownership, which includes brokerage expenses.

The donation is also tax-deductible to the investor. Donors to CS4C are eligible for Section 18A tax certificate advantages in terms of the Income Tax Act. Certificates are issued by CS4C to donors on request. Lost share certificates and unclaimed dividends may also be donated to support charities carefully vetted by CS4C.

Thus, funds contributed to CS4C are derived from share donations by investors, usually in the form of odd-lot shares, which CS4C then aggregates and sells.