Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg Donates $31 Million in Facebook Stock to Charity

Looks like the Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer is following Mark Zuckerberg’s step in kind. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has donated USD 31 million in Facebook stock to charity, just days after her boss Mark Zuckerberg pledged to give away 99 percent of his company shares.

In Securities and Exchange Commission document filed on Thursday, Sandberg, 46, donated 290,000 shares of Facebook stock at “a market value of roughly USD 31 million” to various charities.

The shares are now in the Sheryl Sandberg Philanthropy Fund, a donor-advised fund. Much of the money will go to causes that Sandberg has supported in the past. She has also given to women’s empowerment groups, such as Lean In,to help support women in the workplace, SiliconValley.com reported today.

Sandberg also plans to give to anti-poverty efforts and educational groups. She is the co-chair of the Stand Up for Kids Campaign for Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara & San Mateo Counties.

In 2014, Sandberg signed The Giving Pledge, the commitment by wealthy people to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropy in their lifetime, the report said.

Sandberg should enjoy some tax benefits, too. Donors who transfer shares to a donor-advised fund are not subject to capital gains taxes on those shares, and they receive an income tax break, too.