How to Turn Stock Into Impact
Tim and Kelly Kullick know the importance of a good strategy and a partner you can count on. Especially when paired up on the tennis court. With both skill and a love of the game, they play for fun and to win, carefully placing their shots and leveraging each other’s strengths.
The same is true for their approach to philanthropy, as they carefully direct their resources to the causes and nonprofits they most value, aiming for effective and meaningful impact. In recent years, they’ve stepped up their charitable giving game by partnering with Foundation For The Carolinas. “We were trying to give in the most tax advantageous way possible, and our wealth advisor suggested that we look at donor advised funds,” said Tim.
The Kullicks did some research, talked with friends who had donor advised funds and asked for recommendations. “All roads pointed to Foundation For The Carolinas,” said Tim.
A Game-changing Strategy
In addition to a donor advised fund, which they established at FFTC in 2019, the Kullicks were interested in utilizing another giving strategy — using appreciated stock for charitable giving. The Kullicks held shares of appreciated public stock and private equity interests in Red Ventures, where Tim spent the last chapter of his career and served as COO before retiring in 2022. This was a new approach for the couple, and as they investigated the benefits of giving business interests over cash, they found it offered significant tax advantages for their situation. “Pretty much everything that we’ve contributed to our fund has come from business interests,” said Tim. “The Foundation made it as easy as possible.
Tim and Kelly Kullick used appreciated stock for their charitable giving.
They kind of held my hand through the whole process, which was a big help.” The Foundation guided Tim and Kelly through each step of the stock transfer, including the more complex process that was involved with their gifts of private equity interests in Red Ventures. “When we work with donors on gifts of closely held business interests, we balance the need for thorough due diligence about the proposed gift with ensuring a straightforward process for donors, their advisors and the company,” said Doug Benson, Chief Administrative Officer & Chief Risk Officer, Foundation For The Carolinas. “After gathering the essential information about the company and proposed gift, we work with the donor and advisors to address questions, keeping the donor’s goals and timeline at the forefront of the process. Donors benefit from our significant experience accepting gifts from all types of closely held businesses.”
Carefully placing their shots
Beyond the strategies, charitable giving is personal for Tim and Kelly, who support nonprofits, causes and people that have made a difference in their own lives. One of those is HopeWay — a local nonprofit that provides mental and behavioral health services. “Mental wellness has been an important topic, especially near and dear to us,” said Tim. “We’ve had family and friends that have struggled with their mental health. We feel compelled to give back to HopeWay and other organizations that promote positive mental health given how they have helped our friends and family and so many others.”
Road to Hire is another nonprofit the Kullicks support through a personal connection. The local organization serves young adults from underrepresented communities, helping them achieve high-paying careers in Charlotte and beyond. It was started by Red Ventures’ founder and CEO, Ric Elias. In 2023, Road to Hire served over 1,600 students and awarded over $4 million in scholarships for deserving young adults.
Since 2016, Hopeway has provided premier mental health treatment and educational programs to thousands of people across the carolinas and beyond. Through a proven holistic approach that includes medication management, psychotherapy, group therapy and integrative therapies such as art and music, hopeway helps people struggling with their mental health find hope and healing on their path of recovery.
“I feel a lot of gratitude to Red Ventures because that’s where I spent the last 15-16 years of my career,” said Tim. “It was very good to me, and I feel getting behind this cause that Red Ventures supports is another way of giving back.” Additionally, their tennis game and friendship with tennis star Andy Roddick have led them to support the Andy Roddick Foundation, which provides after-school and summer programs for underserved youth. They provide financial support and assist with fundraising — helping out a friend and a meaningful cause.
Prior to Tim’s retirement, Kelly took the lead in their philanthropic planning and took full advantage of the benefits and tools available with their FFTC Donor Advised Fund. She values the ease of the grant recommendation process, the access to information such as GuideStar, and the ability to both learn about and recommend new organizations. Since Tim’s retirement, he’s been able to spend more time in the community and be more involved in their charitable giving. “Our donor advised fund has made it easier to have those conversations. The information is all in one place — what we’ve given and to whom,” said Kelly. “So, it helps us have conversations and decide where we want to contribute. With it we can focus on thinking more about where we want to give and the organizations that we want to help.”
Gifts of Business Interests: How it works
