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Charitable Gift Annuities

A gift annuity is a simple contract between you and the Brooklyn College Foundation (BCF) in which the foundation agrees to pay lifetime income to you (or jointly to you and your spouse or partner) in exchange for your current gift of cash or appreciated stocks. After your lifetime (or the life of the survivor of you and your spouse), the remaining principal will become available to Brooklyn College to support its programs. You may apply your gift to the BCF's general purposes, to scholarship or to another activity in which you have a special interest.

Charitable gift annuities are an attractive option for donors for many reasons:

  • Gift annuities are safe. The amount of your payments will be written into your contract and will be protected by state law. Your payments will not change with market conditions or prevailing interest rates. Your payments will be based on your age at your closest birthday at the time that you complete your gift.
  • Gift annuities save taxes. When you enter into an annuity agreement, you will be entitled to an income tax charitable deduction for part of the donated amount. Part of your annuity payments will be tax-free, and part will be taxed as ordinary income. If you donate appreciated stocks, you will avoid some capital gains taxes.
  • Gift annuities can supplement your qualified retirement plan. If you have fully funded your qualified retirement plan, you may wish to consider a "flexible gift annuity," which allows you to make a current gift, receive a current income tax deduction, and defer the start of your annuity payments until retirement. Flexible gift annuities offer higher payments and increased tax savings than immediate payment annuities.

To see how a gift annuity would work for you, see our gift calculator. For more detailed information, please call the foundation office, 718.951.5074, and ask for Beth Farryn Levine or Michael Iadarola. Beth or Michael will be happy to answer your questions and to prepare a detailed proposal showing the amount of the income and tax savings you would receive in connection with the gift that you are considering.

Note: Annuitants must be at least 60 years of age at the time of their first annuity payment.