What’s planned giving?
Planned giving is planning when, how and to whom you give for maximum personal, family and community impact.
Establishing a charitable trust during your life or through your will is one way to plan your giving. It gives you control and flexibility to give in a way that suits you and importantly, the ability to generate a sustainable income to the community. It also allows you to get your family or business involved or leave a legacy in your name.
How a charitable trust works
When you set up a charitable trust, your initial and any ongoing donations into the trust are generally tax-deductible. These are invested and the income earned is distributed to charitable causes of your choice. Even if you decide not to make ongoing contributions, your capital has the chance to keep growing and produce income. This means that the trust can keep giving independently of you and long after you are gone.
If you want to provide a sustainable community gift, but don’t need a high level of involvement, setting up a sub-account within a larger charitable trust (a public foundation) is also an option. The table below compares two types of planned giving to making a one-off donation.
| Type of gift | Outcome | Your involvement |
|---|---|---|
| One-off donation | ||
| Make a one-off donation to a charity or non-profit organisation (Any amount) |
The organisation uses your tax-deductible donation to fund a project or to meet ongoing organisational needs. |
|
| Planned giving | ||
| Set up a sub-account within a public foundation ($20,000 +) |
Your initial and any ongoing tax-deductible donations are invested by the foundation. The income earned is distributed to causes – that the foundation supports – in perpetuity. |
|
| Set up a charitable trust to support one or a number of causes ($500,000 +) |
Your initial and any ongoing tax-deductible donations in the trust are invested and the income earned is distributed to support causes of your choice The income earned year after year will continue to provide funding to the community in perpetuity. |
|
What’s next?
- Learn more about the types of charitable trusts available.
- Contact Perpetual Private Clients, a specilaist in philanthropy and estate planning, about creating a charitable legacy.
Perpetual or Perpetual Group means Perpetual Limited, ABN 86 000 431 827, and its subsidiaries. Perpetual Private Clients advice and services are provided by Perpetual Trustee Company Limited (PTCo), ABN 42 000 001 007, AFSL 236643. This information has been prepared by Perpetual and contains information contributed by third parties. It contains general information and is not intended to provide you with advice or take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the information is suitable for your circumstances and we recommend that you seek professional financial, tax and/or legal advice. The information is believed to be accurate at the time of compilation and is provided by Perpetual in good faith. However, the statements including assumptions and conclusions are not intended to be a comprehensive statement of relevant practice or law that is often complex and can change. To the extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information.
