Estate and Planned Giving

Establishing a charitable gift annuity accomplishes two goals: it provides a fixed life time income for you or one or two annuitants you name and it makes a gift for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in support of our mission, that the future may learn from the past.

A charitable gift annuity (CGA) is a simple contract between you and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. In exchange for your irrevocable gift of cash or securities, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation agrees to pay one or two annuitants you name a fixed sum each year for life. In most cases, part of each annuity payment is tax-free, increasing each payment's after-tax value.

The Foundation’s minimum amount to establish a gift annuity is $10,000, and the minimum age for an annuitant to begin receiving annuity payments is 60. CGA payments can begin immediately or can be deferred for a minimum of one year. You qualify for a charitable income tax deduction in the year that you make your gift, whether you begin payments immediately or if you defer them.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and most other charities follow the gift annuity rates recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities. The older the designated annuitants are at the time of the gift, the higher the gift annuity rate and the greater the fixed annuity payment will be.

Payments may be made annually, semiannually, or quarterly.

The CWF Pooled Income Fund is a gift plan defined by federal tax law that allows you to provide payments to yourself or others for life while making a generous gift to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

When you make a donation to the CWF Pooled Income Fund, your irrevocable gift of cash or securities is invested together with the gifts of all other Fund donors. Your proportional share of the Fund's income is distributed quarterly for life to one or more beneficiaries named by you. The distribution amount varies with the Fund's earnings. After the final life income distribution is made, the principle attributable to your gift is removed from the Fund and given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, to be used for the purpose you designate.

The Foundation’s minimum age to participate in the Fund is 40 and the minimum initial gift amount is $5,000; you can make additional gifts to the Fund of as little as $1,000. You qualify for a charitable income tax deduction in the year that you make your gift.

A charitable remainder trust is a gift plan defined by federal tax law that allows you to provide payments to yourself or others while making a generous gift to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The payments may continue for the lifetimes of the beneficiaries you name, a fixed term of not more than 20 years, or a combination of the two.

Another benefit of charitable remainder trusts is the fact that no tax is payable by the trust at the time investment gains are realized, either when funding the trust or after, making it possible to enjoy increased income over time based on tax-free growth within the trust.

A charitable remainder trust can be in the form or either a charitable remainder unitrust or a charitable remainder annuity trust.

What is a Charitable Remainder Unitrust:
As a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) donor, you irrevocably make a gift of assets, usually cash, securities, or real estate, to a trustee of your choice, for example, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

During the unitrust's term, the trustee invests the unitrust's assets. Each year, the trustee distributes a fixed percentage of the unitrust's current value, as revalued annually, to your beneficiaries. If the unitrust's value goes up from one year to the next, its payout increases proportionately. Likewise, if the unitrust's value goes down, the amount it distributes also goes down. For this reason, it may be to your advantage to choose a relatively low payout percentage (typically 5% or 6%) so that the unitrust assets can grow, which in turn will allow the unitrust's yearly payments to grow.

Payments are made out of the trust’s income, or trust principal if income is not adequate at the payout rate you choose at the creation of the trust. Payments may be made annually, semiannually, or quarterly.

When the unitrust term ends, the unitrust's principal passes to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, to be used for the purpose you designate. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's current minimum for such a gift is $100,000 and you may add funds to your unitrust whenever you like.

What is a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust:
As a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) donor, you irrevocably make a gift of assets, usually cash or securities, to a trustee of your choice, for example The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

During the annuity trust's term, the trustee invests the trust's assets. Each year, the trustee distributes a fixed dollar amount to you or other beneficiaries you name. At the rate selected by you at creation of the trust, a fixed payment of typically 5% or 6% of the trust's initial value is paid out of trust income, or trust principal if income is not adequate. Payments continue until the trust term ends or until the highly unlikely event that the trust distributes all its assets. Payments may be made annually, semiannually, or quarterly.

When the annuity trust term ends, the trust's principal passes to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, to be used for the purpose you designate. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's current minimum for such a gift is $100,000.