A few months before the [company sold], I transferred the ownership of CD Baby and HostBaby, all the intellectual property like trademarks and software, into the trust. It was irreversibly and irrevokably gone. It was no longer mine. It all belonged to the charitable trust. Then, when Disc Makers bought it, they bought it not from me but from the trust, turning it into $22 million cash to benefit music education. So instead of me selling the company - (getting taxed on the income, and giving what's left to charity) - that move of giving away the company to charity then having the charity sell it saved about $5 million in taxes. (That means $5 million more going to music education.)
The Derek Sivers Exit Model: Derek Sivers on selling his company.. Why I gave away my company to charity | Derek Sivers