Gifts that pay you: Charitable Gift Annuities
The oldest and best known of charitable gifts that pay donors income for life is the charitable gift annuity described here.  Charitable remainder trusts also pay donors income for life, give them an immediate income tax deduction and relief from capital gains tax.  The charitable pooled income fund is a convenient way for a donor to have the benefits of a charitable remainder trust without the larger gift required.  But the charitable gift annuity is also guaranteed by the issuing charity.  The payments are fixed and so completely predictable.  The charitable gift annuity allows you to make a gift to a good cause while giving you a current income tax deduction and payments for life.  In this way, some donors discover they can make a far more generous future gift to ACR than they thought possible. This is not to say that charitable gift annuities are superior to pooled income funds or charitable remainder trusts.  Everything depends on what the donor whishes to accomplish.

A gift annuity is simple to create.  You fund your annuity with a gift of cash or stock.  You are then paid a guaranteed fixed amount monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually for life.  You must be at least 65 when the payments begin and your annuity must be created with gifts having a total value of at least $5,000.

Your gift annuity can provide payments for one or two lives.  Both plans generate an immediate charitable tax deduction and partially bypass capital gains tax.  In addition, part of your payment will be tax-free and all of your gift will pass to ACR free of estate tax.