There are many ways to support causes you care about. For one Minnesota couple, that meant donating real estate.

“My wife Lisa and I were the owners of a condominium that my mother-in-law was staying in, and she was ready to move to a new location,” said Jerry O’Brien, CEO of O’Brien-Staley Partners. “We were contemplating the sale of the real estate, but it had appreciated over the years, so there was going to be a capital gain.”

Donating the condo to the Foundation allowed Lisa and Jerry to minimize capital gains taxes, receive a tax advantage for their charitable contribution to their donor advised fund, and support multiple organizations and institutions they care about.

“Rather than giving all of the funds to one institution, we wound up donating funds to the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum, the University of Chicago and various Catholic charities,” he said. “I went to the University of Chicago, so we sponsor an MBA fellowship there, and Lisa went to the University of Minnesota, so we also sponsor a curatorial fellowship at the Weisman Museum.”

Their condo isn’t the only unique gift Lisa and Jerry have given. On March 25, Lisa became a Jeopardy! Champion after correctly answering a final question in the category “Literary Inspirations.” To celebrate her victory, she donated half of her after-tax winnings directly to the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, an organization she has supported for years as a volunteer and recently as a chair of its board.