Charitable gift annuities are a very flexible way to make charitable gifts to Greenpeace Fund, Inc.. They can be designed to provide a fixed income for life for you and/or others you choose. They are easy to create and can be funded with gifts of relatively modest amounts. See Example
Here’s how a charitable gift annuity works:
- You transfer cash or other assets to Greenpeace Fund, Inc.. This involves the completion of a simple agreement and can normally be done by mail.
- You will receive generous fixed payments annually (or more frequently, if desired). The amount of your payment is a percentage of your gift at the time your gift is funded and will not change with interest rate and investment market fluctuations.
- You will be entitled to an immediate charitable income tax deduction for a portion of the amount used to fund your gift annuity.
- A part of each payment is received tax free for a period of time.
- If you would like, you can also choose to name another person (often a spouse, parent, or sibling) to receive payments with you, instead of you, or following your lifetime for the remainder of his or her life.
- The assets used to fund your gift annuity will generally be removed from your estate for probate and tax purposes.
- You make a significant charitable gift to Greenpeace Fund, Inc. equal to a portion of the amount used to fund your gift annuity agreement.
Many persons choose to fund more than one gift annuity over time. As payment rates increase with age, each gift annuity generally features larger payments.
When property such as stock, mutual funds, or other securities that have increased in value is given for a gift annuity, the charitable deduction is typically based on the full value of the property, not just its original cost.
In addition, the part of the capital gains tax that would be due on a sale of the gift portion can be avoided at the time of the gift, and the rest of the gain can be reported over the annuitant’s life expectancy. The use of appreciated, low-yielding assets to fund a gift annuity can thus be an excellent way to completely bypass capital gains tax at the time of your gift, enjoy a current charitable income tax deduction, and gain the advantage of reporting a portion of each payment at lower, more favorable capital gain tax rates for a number of years.
Greenpeace accepts charitable gift annuities from those at or over the age of 65 years, and a minimum amount of $10,000.
- Example
- Maureen Davis, age 70, will transfer assets valued at $10,000 to Greenpeace Fund, Inc. in exchange for a charitable gift annuity, which will provide payments for life.
- The payments will be 6.3% of the gift amount annually, which is $630 per year. For the first 15.9 years, approximately $393 (about 62% of the payments) will be received income tax-free.
- The gift will result in an immediate charitable income tax deduction of $3,751. Additionally, the $10,000 given in exchange for the annuity will not be subject to estate taxes.
- At the end of the annuity period the amount of the gift, less the cost of making the life payments, will be used by Greenpeace Fund, Inc. to further its mission.
The assumed date of transfer for this example is October 10, 2024. This example has used the August 2024 IRC Section 7520 discount rate of 5.2% to optimize the charitable deduction.
NOTE: This calculation is provided for educational purposes only. The type of assets transferred, the actual date of the gift, and other factors may have a material effect on the amount or use of your deduction. You are advised to seek the advice of your tax advisors before implementing a gift of this type.
See the Gift Annuity Rate Table for examples of gift annuity rates for one or two persons at various ages.
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