Life income gifts offer donors three key benefits: a reliable income, a charitable income tax deduction, and an opportunity to make a larger gift to charity than they may have thought possible. We can provide custom gift illustrations to help you compare and contrast different giving strategies. Contact Christy Cole at giving@arlcf.org to learn more.

Charitable remainder trusts (CRT) are one of the primary gift options of interest to ACF donors. A CRT allows you to donate highly-appreciated assets to a charitable entity, retain an income stream for life or for a term of years in the form of an annuity or a percentage of trust assets, and direct what’s left at death (or after the expiration of the term) to a charity or charities of your choice, including your fund at the community foundation. You’ll be eligible for an immediate charitable deduction for the value of the remainder interest and, depending upon the assets used to fund the trust, your income from the trust may be taxed at a preferential rate.

A charitable lead trust (CLT) is often thought of as a charitable remainder trust but in reverse. A CLT can be created during life or at death, under a revocable trust or will. The lead income interest is paid to the charitable organization(s), and the remainder interest is transferred to a noncharitable beneficiary (i.e. the donor or the donor’s family). The income interest can be in the form of a “guaranteed annuity” interest or a fixed percentage of the annual valuation of the trust’s assets. CLTs are a powerful planning tool that can achieve charitable goals and facilitate a tax efficient family wealth transfer.