Giving & Investing

You transfer assets into a trust, and the trust pays you or a beneficiary you designate regular income payments. Upon the beneficiary’s death or after a defined period of years, the remaining assets in the trust transfer to the community foundation.

You may choose to receive a fixed income or one that changes with market conditions — income from the Charitable Remainder Trust you establish may add up to more than interest and dividends you earned from holding the assets. You can use it to supplement your own lifestyle or that of someone other than yourself: a sibling, a dependent parent, a friend, or a former employee.

You can pick one of these options for your Charitable Remainder Trust:
  • Annuity trust pays you a fixed dollar amount.
  • Standard unitrust pays you an amount equal to a fixed percentage of the net fair market of the trust and is recalculated annually.
  • Net income unitrust pays you the lesser of the fixed percentage specified by the trust agreement or actual trust income; some net income unitrusts allow you to make up deficiencies in past years.
  • Flip unitrust is a net income unitrust that converts to a standard unitrust upon a triggering event, such as the sale of an asset used to fund the trust.