Main Navigation

Gifts that Give Back

More about...
Ways to Give

Charitable Gift Annuity

A gift annuity is an agreement between you and Perkins. In return for a gift of cash or other assets, Perkins agrees to pay a fixed payment for life to you or a friend or family member of your choosing.

Rates are based on age and currently range from 5.0% for age 60, the minimum age, to 9.5% for ages 90 and above. Rates are subject to change. Please contact us at the number below to find your rate. If you are not yet 60 years old, you may want to consider the Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity, which also offers very attractive rates of return.

You can claim a charitable tax deduction. If you fund a gift annuity with long-term capital gain property, you will only have to report some of the gain, and may be able to report it in installments over many years.

Income from a gift annuity can be deferred for a period of years. Deferred gift annuities are often set up by donors to supplement retirement income.

Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity

A deferred gift annuity is a contract between you and Perkins School for the Blind. You contribute cash or securities to Perkins, and in exchange, Perkins agrees to pay you, or an annuitant, a fixed sum for life. But with a deferred gift annuity, you can specify the date upon which you or your annuitant begins to receive payments, thus giving you the opportunity to generate supplemental income for yourself or your annuitant upon retirement. Deferring income over time generates an annual payment that is often considerably higher than it would be for an immediate- payment gift annuity.

While a deferred charitable gift annuity allows you to defer your annuity payment until needed, you can still enjoy the tax benefits associated with a charitable gift annuity in the year of your gift. Both the tax deduction and the level of annuity payment increase with the length of the deferral.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

Charitable Remainder Trusts are flexible vehicles that allow you to make a charitable gift but retain an income stream (for yourself and/or others) for life or a fixed number of years. At the end of the term of the trust, the remaining trust assets pass to a permanent named fund at Perkins. These trusts are particularly well suited for gifts of cash and appreciated securities or other assets such as real estate or securities producing little or no income. Because the trust is tax-exempt, it can sell the asset without incurring capital gains tax and reinvest for higher yield. This flexible gift planning strategy is best suited for gifts of $100,000 or more and can be established during life or by will.

Charitable Lead Trusts

Often considered the reverse of a remainder trust, the charitable lead trust makes annual payments of income to a charity like Perkins School for the Blind. These payments are generally made for a fixed term of years, usually 10 –25. When the trust terminates, the trust principal plus any appreciation is transferred to your children, grandchildren, or other loved ones.

You receive a federal estate tax deduction equal to the estimated value of the annual trust payments to Perkins. Cash or appreciating assets are ideally suited to fund a charitable lead trust because any appreciation in the assets during the term of the trust is not subject to additional estate tax. As a result, you are often able to give your heirs a larger estate after tax than otherwise would be possible.