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Gifts that pay you income

Life-income gifts allow you to provide for yourself, loved ones, and Virginia Tech.

Here's how they work:

  • You transfer cash, securities, real estate, or other qualifying assets to the Virginia Tech Foundation Inc. Using appreciated assets can reduce the effective cost of your life income gift.
  • During your lifetime, you receive a predefined income stream. If desired, income can continue during a spouse's lifetime. Other individuals may be named as beneficiaries.
  • When the plan ends, the university uses the gift remainder as you have specified.

Three kinds of gifts can pay you income:

  • Charitable gift annuity
  • Charitable remainder trusts
  • Pooled income fund

These life-income gift plans are designed to generate lifetime income for you, or for someone you name, and to fund your gift to Virginia Tech when the plan ends, usually after your lifetime.

While there are various gift plans, there are basically two choices for how (fixed or variable rate) and when (now or later) you receive payments.

Receive fixed or variable payments:

Your payments may be a fixed dollar amount (often preferred by donors who wish to use the payments for a fixed expense such as a mortgage) or a variable dollar amount (often used by donors who wish to provide a hedge against inflation). Variable amounts are a stated percentage of the annual value of the account or the income (interest, dividends, and rent) earned by the gift.

Receive income beginning now, or later:

Your payments may begin immediately or you may choose to defer them, receiving either minimal or no payments until a specified future time. The future date could be a retirement date or until the sale of an illiquid asset that will fund the gift.

Learn more

If you, your attorney, or your financial advisor have questions about creating a gift that will pay you income, or if you would like a free, personalized illustration of how a life-income gift plan can work for you, email giftplanning@vt.edu, call 800-533-1144 or 540-231-2813.

Use our gift calculator to explore gift options and the income you could receive.

More information on the three types of gifts that pay you income is below.

 

Charitable gift annuity

  • A charitable gift annuity is a contract between you and the Virginia Tech Foundation that provides you (and/or others you name) an income stream for life. Payments are backed by the foundation's assets.
  • Your income stream can begin as soon as the gift is completed. However, if you don't currently need the income, or if you want a larger income tax deduction, you may elect to defer the income until a future date. At the end of the designated lifetimes, the remainder will be used by the university according to your wishes.
  • Because the payments are fixed, charitable gift annuities are appropriate for donors who want to make a significant gift to Virginia Tech but are concerned with maintaining a life income stream that they can count on. Charitable gift annuities can be funded with gifts beginning at $10,000.

 

Charitable remainder trusts

  • In a charitable remainder trust (CRT), you make an irrevocable transfer to a certain kind of trust. In exchange, the trust will pay you and/or other designees (beneficiaries) an income stream for life. (Or you may establish a CRT with payout for a period of time not to exceed 20 years.) At the end of the trust, the remainder will be used by the university according to your wishes. You can establish a CRT-administered by the Virginia Tech Foundation with a minimum gift of $100,000.
  • Payments from CRTs can be made to you in several ways. Charitable remainder annuity trusts (CRATS) pay fixed amounts and are appropriate for those planning to use payments for specific obligations. Charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTS) pay a stated percentage of the trust's annual value, which will vary. This option is appropriate for those looking for the chance for payments to grow over time.

 

Pooled income fund

  • The Virginia Tech Foundation Pooled Income Fund can be viewed as a community charitable remainder trust. Instead of establishing their own separate trusts, pooled income fund donors give a minimum of $10,000 to a common trust that pays them their share of the interest and dividends earned by the trust for the rest of their lives.
  • These payments can continue for the life of a spouse or other loved ones. At the end of the gift, the portion of the pooled income fund attributable to the donor's contribution is then used to support the university in the manner specified by the donor. Learn more about the tax benefits of life income gifts.