Gift Annuities - Much like a commercial annuity, establishing a "gift annuity" assures guaranteed payments for life. The remainder of the annuity becomes a permanent fund at the Community Foundation in the your name, for the purposes you specify.  You will receive a significant tax deduction that can be taken immediately and carried forward for up to five subsequent years, depending on yours tax situation in each of those years.  You will receive a fixed annual payment for life, and so may a surviving spouse (if so specified).  Estate taxes and/or capital gains taxes may be significantly reduced.

Click on the following links for the American Council on Gift Annuities suggested rates.  The Community Foundation has adopted the following annuity rates schedule.


Charitable Remainder Trust - The Charitable Remainder Trust is such a beneficial life income plan that financial advisors often recommend it to their clients, including those who may not have previously considered charitable contributions as part of their estate planning.

With a charitable remainder trust, you will gain an immediate income tax deduction, reduce estate taxes, increase income from assets, provide for a spouse and heirs, and possibly eliminate capital gains taxes.  All this happens while making a gift to the community that will continue in perpetuity.

Unlike Community Foundation gift annuity agreements, which must take one of a limited number of forms as required by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Washington, agreements used to establish charitable remainder trusts must be drafted by or at the direction of legal counsel.  Upon request, the Community Foundation may supply a draft charitable remainder trust agreement to assist counsel.  For more information, contact the Foundation office at 360.694.2550.

Charitable Lead Trust - For the client who wants both to leave something to children and grandchildren and to minimize the percentage taken by estate or gift taxes, setting up a Charitable Lead Trust makes sense. A part of the estate is donated to the trust immediately, and the income goes to a charitable fund in the foundation for a period of time.  When the period of the trust expires (such as when children or grandchildren reach a certain age), the trust is terminated and the assets return back to the family.

IRA’s - Often an IRA has significant value, and is more than is needed in your lifetime.  It is generally preferable to have retirement assets contributed at the time of death.  The proceeds received by the Community Foundation are not subject to income tax, and the gift also decreases exposure to the estate tax.


Pension Plan Beneficiaries - A retirement plan is one of the best types of assets to transfer to a charity because it produces taxable income. Most assets an heir inherits are free from income tax. However, an heir will pay income tax on disbursements from a decedent's retirement plan such as a profit sharing plan, Section 401(k) plan or IRA. If you are going to make a charitable bequest, it is usually better to transfer the taxable assets subject to income tax to a tax-exempt charity — such as a community foundation — and to transfer the assets not subject to income tax to heirs.

For a taxable estate over $3 million, the combination of estate and income taxes will frequently exceed 75 percent of the total amount — even more if the generation skipping transfer taxes are triggered. At a cost to your heirs of only 25 percent of the fair market value of these type of assets, you could apply 100 percent of the assets to a named charitable fund to accomplish your specific charitable objectives.