May 16, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
Gift Annuities: How They Work and Why Donors Like Them, by Frank Minton, aims to better explain how annuities work, through case studies, anecdotes, tables, and even cartoons. Mr. Minton, vice chair of the American Council on Gift Annuities and president of Planned Giving Services, in Seattle, describes the procedure for completing a gift annuity—which allows people to donate cash or other assets in exchange for fixed payments. Typically, charities designated by a donor receive what is left after the donor’s death. The booklet lists factors that affect the size of the payments to donors, explains the taxation of annuity payments, discusses the risks involved with such contracts, and includes a schedule of suggested gift-annuity rates.
