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Charitable Gift Annuities

You can take care of yourself and take care of Stanford with a charitable gift annuity. This life income gift provides you or others with income and leaves a gift for charity in the future.

Notice of rate increase

Effective January 1, 2024, the maximum charitable gift annuity rates for single and joint life charitable gift annuities offered by Stanford increased by as much as 0.4%, depending on the age of the annuitant(s).

In exchange for an outright gift, Stanford agrees by contract to pay a fixed amount each year to you and/or another beneficiary (the annuitants) for life. The gift to Stanford can be for a specific purpose. The amount of the annuity payment will depend on the ages of the annuitants and the value of the assets donated. Stanford offers the rates that are suggested by the American Council on Gift Annuities, a national organization. Upon establishing a charitable gift annuity, you are entitled to a current income tax deduction for a portion of the value of the assets given to fund the charitable gift annuity.

For current charitable gift annuity rates and more information, please contact the Office of Planned Giving. Please note that Stanford is unable to offer gift annuities to residents in certain states. If the prospective annuitant lives outside of California, please contact the Office of Planned Giving for additional information.

Diagram of Charitable Gift Annuity. If you need help reading this diagram call 650-725-4358

Benefits

  • Receive fixed annual payments for life

  • Possibly receive tax-free income

  • Diversify some of your portfolio to produce a fixed income for you, backed by Stanford’s assets

  • Federal, and possible state, income tax charitable deduction

  • Reduce or eliminate estate taxes

  • Make a gift to Stanford

This might interest you if...

You want to make a gift to Stanford and you:

  • Want to receive a fixed income annually for life

  • Have assets that you are able to give away. Assets that work especially well include:

    • Cash or funds earning low interest rates

    • Appreciated securities

  • Have a large part of your portfolio in one company and want to diversify your investments

  • Want to reduce your current income taxes with an income tax charitable deduction

Assets used and minimum gift amounts

A gift annuity is usually created using cash or securities. Stanford has a minimum gift of $20,000 to establish a charitable gift annuity.

The option of a deferred charitable gift annuity

You may also create a deferred charitable gift annuity, taking a tax deduction in the year of the gift but delaying the first annuity payment for one or more years. This approach can offer dependable retirement income beginning at a future date. The annuity rates for a deferred charitable gift annuity will depend on several factors, including the length of the deferral period.

Founding Grant Society

Creating a charitable gift annuity will qualify you for membership in Stanford’s Founding Grant Society, which recognizes those who have made planned gifts to Stanford.

New Tax Law (Secure Act 2.0) Effective January 1, 2023

IRA qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) may be used to create a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust (depending on the charities’ minimums for these types of gifts).

  • Must be 70 ½ or older at the time of transfer.

  • May elect to distribute up to $53,000 of a QCD to create a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust. This new type of QCD is only available once in an IRA owner’s lifetime.

  • Only the IRA owner and the owner’s spouse may receive the annual payments from a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust funded with a QCD.

  • This QCD can satisfy all or part of the required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year in which the election is made.

  • As a reminder, any type of QCD is not entitled to a charitable income tax deduction; however, the amount of the QCD does not count as income to the IRA owner.  

  • This type of gift comes with additional special rules, so please contact the Office of Planned Giving to learn more. 

  • Those considering a gift of this type should consult with their tax advisors.

Contact us

If you are interested in learning more about creating a Stanford gift annuity, please contact us. We would be happy to provide you with information about how a charitable gift annuity would work for you based on your circumstances.

Those considering a planned gift should consult their own legal and tax advisors. The staff in the Office of Planned Giving are happy to speak with advisors as well.

Disclaimer

California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association.

This is not legal advice. Those considering a planned gift should consult their own legal and tax advisors. The staff in the Office of Planned Giving are happy to speak with advisors as well.

Example

Charitable gift annuity*

Jane Brown, age 75, makes a cash gift of $100,000 to Stanford this year in exchange for a charitable gift annuity.

Based on Jane’s age, she qualifies for a 7.0% payout rate and will receive annual payments of $7,000 from Stanford for the rest of her life. She may be eligible to claim a charitable income tax deduction of about $43,625.* Assuming Jane is in the 35 percent federal income tax bracket for ordinary income and can use up the entire deduction, she will save around $15,269 in federal income taxes. Of the $7,000 she receives each year, about $2,457 will be taxed at ordinary income rates, and around $4,543 per year will be tax-free for a little more than 12 years.**

*Based on the IRS discount rate of 5.8 percent for December of 2023. IRS discount rates are subject to change, so please contact our office to clarify the current discount rate being applied.

**The taxation of payments would change in this scenario if the CGA was funded with appreciated securities, resulting in less tax-free income replaced by long-term capital gain income. In either scenario, the entire payment would be taxed as ordinary income after the actuarial life expectancy of the annuitant(s) has been reached.