Looking for a Last Minute Graduation Gift? How about Stock?

I know what you’re thinking. What teenager graduating from high school or 20-something leaving college wants stock as a graduation gift?  It’s the last thing on their minds.  They just want to party and live it up.

However, it’s the only gift I remember when I graduated high school back in 2002. Then, I worked for Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA.  I spent my summers as food cart guy, or as they misleadingly named the division – Culinary Operations.  I don’t know what else to call it, but we were not exactly dishing out French cuisine.

But, I digress.

Sesame Place is a children’s water and amusement park owned by Anheuser Busch. So, my parents purchased one share of stock with the ticker symbol: BUD.  The certificate of stock was very “official looking” and came in a frame with my name and graduation date at the bottom.  It still hangs in my childhood room to this day.

As I said, it was one of the more memorable gifts I ever received. My parents actually repeated the process with my brother, Jim, who got stock in MTV.  He was always a big music buff and loved playing the guitar in various garage bands.

With the giving spirit in mind, I want to introduce you to Stockpile. They were kind enough to reach out to me because they want to get their product in front of as many people as possible.  After checking them out and having a conversation with them, I agreed to share them with all of you.

So, here we go.

Stockpile was born out of wanting to give gifts of value.

Similar to how my parents wanted to give us great gifts that we would treasure, Stockpile was conceived with that idea in mind. As the story goes, co-founder and CEO Avi Lele wanted to give his nieces and nephews stock in their favorite companies at Christmas time.  But, the process was a pain in the you know what and he went the easier route with toys.

However, like any good entrepreneur and idea guy, he couldn’t let it go. He knew there had to be a way.  And through that desire to find a solution, Stockpile was born.

That’s what amazes me about entrepreneurship. You believe something is possible and work hard to achieve it.  Simple, but not easy.

With Stockpile, it’s an entrepreneur giving you the gift of investing in other entrepreneurs. Pretty cool.

Give a graduation gift that inspires.

What do we love about our favorite companies? Maybe it’s how they make you feel.  Maybe you like the causes they support.  Or it could just be that you think a new pair of Nikes are the key to happiness.  As a Brooks fan, I can relate!

Well, with Stockpile, you give a piece of Starbucks or Nike to your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, or any other graduate in your life. It’s something that could spark an interest in finance or a related subject.  Heck, if it’s a high school graduate who’s receiving it, you could help inspire them to major in the industry of the company whose stock you buy.  Who knows?

Give a graduation gift that educates.

As I was saying above, when you give a graduation gift like Stockpile, you’re really doing the recipient a great service. Stockpile has a solid resource for beginner investors, covering everything from stock market lingo to fractional shares.  Hmm, maybe I have something to learn too!

Like they say: “We believe the stock market is for everyone. We’ll help you learn the basics of stock market investing and financial literacy, to help you – whether you’re 8 or 80 – invest with confidence.”

OK, so you’re convinced that if you’re going to give a graduation gift, Stockpile is a great choice. But, how does it work?  I’m glad you asked.

Rather than beat around the bush, I’ll let the awesome folks at Stockpile explain it to you:

With Stockpile, you can buy fractional shares of stock in publicly-traded companies. Rather than buying an entire share of stock, you can get just the amount you want in your favorite companies stock.

You can pick from more than a thousand stocks including Amazon, Tesla, Apple, Nike and Disney. Stockpile also offers ETFs for Gold, NASDAQ, S&P500 and more.

They also have a tutorial video that explains the process:

What’s more is that the fine people at Stockpile make giving stock as a gift so unbelievably easy. You have two options that can fit how you want to give it as a graduation gift:

• It’s easy to give e-gift cards — pick a stock and dollar amount, enter the recipient’s email address, and pay with plastic.
• You can also give physical gift cards in $25, $50, or $100 amounts.

Not a bad deal and very customer-friendly!

Conclusion: give a graduation gift that graduates will want.

Receiving stock as a graduation gift from my parents all those years ago certainly piqued my interest. I’m not sure if it lead me to enjoy personal finance or major in accounting in college, but it made me aware of a big world out there that I barely knew.

I think that’s what we all want for our kids and graduates. Give them an opportunity to excel by introducing them to as many things as possible.  I know my son is a little young now, but I would definitely give him a gift like Stockpile down the road.

It truly is a gift that keeps on giving and one that you can be proud to give to the graduates in your life.

What do you think of Stockpile? Have you ever received or given stock as a gift?  Please share your thoughts and experiences below.