The Charitable Gift Annuity is a contract (not a trust), under which the National Geographic Society, in return for a transfer of cash, marketable securities, or other assets, agrees to pay a fixed amount of money to you and/or a loved one for your lifetime. In the year you establish a CGA, you receive a one-time charitable income tax deduction. If your gift is made using long-term appreciated securities, you can eliminate up-front capital gains tax.

A Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust is an independently invested and managed charitable trust in which you transfer cash, securities, or other property in exchange for a fixed annuity for life or for a term of up to 20 years. The remaining balance passes to the Society when the contract ends or at the end of the beneficiary’s life. Because you cannot add to the principal once the trust is established, your annuity will never change.

Like the CRAT, the Charitable Remainder Unitrust is an independently invested and managed charitable trust in which you transfer cash, securities, or other property in exchange for a variable annuity for life or for a term of up to 20 years. The annuity is variable because it is set as a percentage of the value of the trust as determined annually. Since you can add to the trust throughout its term, your annuity may increase or decrease as the trust value changes from year to year. When the trust terminates, the remainder passes to the Society to be used as you have directed.