Giving appreciated securities held over a year directly to a charity such as The Vegetarian Resource Group can have some advantages in claiming a federal income tax charitable deduction for the fair market value of the property, and not paying capital gains tax over first selling the securities and then donating the proceeds to the charities.
This is not tax or legal advice. For specifics for your situation, please talk to your tax or legal advisor. Note there may be several tax changes in 2018.