Wells Fargo is reframing the role of property in philanthropy, arguing that land often carries untapped financial value when treated as a passive asset. In a recent firm publication, a senior philanthropy executive points to a recurring pattern: donors default to cash while overlooking the tax implications of appreciated real estate.
That gap, she suggests, can materially reduce what ultimately reaches charities. The distinction comes down to how gains are handled before a gift is made, and whether the asset itself ever needs to be sold. As large amounts of land approach generational transfer, the firm is drawing attention to how ownership decisions intersect with tax treatment, timing, and charitable outcomes.
The misnomer Stephanie Buckley wants donors to drop
“There’s a misnomer in philanthropy that cash is king,” said Stephanie Buckley, head of Philanthropic Services at Wealth & Investment Management, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., in a new piece on Wells Fargo Conversations. “In reality, giving long-term appreciated assets like real estate can be a powerful way to support an organization or cause.”
Donors who sell appreciated land and then write a check pay capital gains tax on the sale before the charity ever sees a dollar. Donors who transfer property directly to a qualified public charity can deduct its fair market value and skip the gains entirely.
“DAFs are a very powerful tool for those who want the tax deduction today but also want to control the assets over time. Some of our clients involve their family in deciding where donations go. It’s a great way to teach the values of philanthropy.” said David Johnston, CFP, Partner and Wealth Management Adviser, One Point BFG Wealth Partners.
The difference shows up in dollars on any highly appreciated parcel. A $500,000 property with a $100,000 basis produces a $400,000 gain on sale. Gifted directly, Buckley’s framing says, the same parcel delivers to the charity the full market value and to the donor a deduction against that figure.
The basic rule sits in IRS Publication 526: long-term appreciated property given to a public charity is generally deductible at fair market value, capped at 30% of adjusted gross income, with a five-year carryforward for any unused portion.
Why Wells Fargo’s pitch is landing now
Roughly 43 million acres of U.S. farmland, about 5% of the national total, are set for ownership transfer within the next five years, according to the USDA’s 2024 TOTAL survey. That figure does not include land already placed in wills or trusts.
The average principal landlord is 69.2 years old, and nearly 52% have never farmed the property they own, according to the USDA survey’s demographic breakdown. The profile looks less like that of a working farmer and more like that of an heir managing inherited acres.
It helps explain why philanthropic teams at Wells Fargo and rival firms are pushing land-gift conversations harder than they did a decade ago. Donor-advised funds at the National Philanthropic Trust granted $6.61 billion to more than 48,000 charities in fiscal 2025, a 20% jump, the group reported in November.
How the Wells Fargo example worked
The Wells Fargo piece illustrates Buckley’s point with a single case. One family-owned land sat between farmland and a sensitive waterway that had long suffered from nutrient runoff and declining water quality. A straight sale would have cashed the family out, severed the connection to the land, and ended the story there.
Instead, they ran a phased sale backed by environmental grants, directed the proceeds into a donor-advised fund earmarked for ongoing conservation work, and retained a clause allowing them to reacquire the land if the restoration project failed to progress within a set time frame.
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“It was important to create a plan that honored the family’s history while providing flexibility for the future,” said Colby Winzer, senior specialty asset advisory specialist at Wealth & Investment Management, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., in the same piece.
Winzer went further in the firm’s write-up, saying land “can become a living legacy, benefiting your family, your community, and the environment for years to come” when the structure is built carefully on the front end.
What Buckley and Winzer tell clients to watch for
The Wells Fargo advisors frame the decision around three practical checks, drawn from the case Winzer describes and the broader guidance Buckley offers in the firm’s piece. Each one tracks back to a specific pressure point Buckley’s team has hit with real clients.
- Build flexibility into the structure. Winzer highlighted the reacquisition clause specifically, saying the plan had to “honor the family’s history while providing flexibility for the future.”
- Treat long-term appreciated assets as the default gift, not cash. That is the core of Buckley’s “cash is king” pushback in the Wells Fargo piece.
- Expect a qualified appraisal. The IRS requires one for any noncash gift valued above $5,000, and real estate almost always clears that threshold, Publication 561 states.
Where the Wells Fargo case stops short
Wells Fargo’s disclosure states that the bank “does not provide tax or legal advice” and directs donors to their own advisors before acting on any of the ideas Buckley raises. The firm also flags the irrevocability of donor-advised fund contributions.
Once the property transfers into a DAF, the family cannot reclaim it, which is why Buckley’s team built the reacquisition clause into the pre-transfer structure in the featured case.
NASS Administrator Joseph L. Parsons offered a related reality check in the agency’s land-transfer briefing, noting that only 23 million of the 43 million acres expected to change hands in the next five years will be sold to a non-relative.
Even within that narrower audience, the approach depends heavily on execution details that the case study addresses only briefly. Valuation disputes, environmental restrictions, and liquidity constraints can all complicate how a property is received and used by a charitable entity.
The timing of a transfer, particularly in volatile real estate markets, can also alter the financial outcome in ways not captured by a single illustrative example. The result is a framework that is directionally clear but operationally complex.
While the tax treatment of appreciated assets provides the underlying rationale, the path from ownership to charitable impact involves multiple intermediaries, legal structures, and assumptions about future land use. In practice, those variables can determine whether a transaction delivers the full value implied in Wells Fargo’s framing or settles into a more limited outcome.
Related: Wells Fargo reveals how your primary residence can impact your taxes
