Charitable Lead Trust

Protect Your Assets

You can benefit from the tax savings that result from supporting Natural Resources Defense Council without giving up the assets that you'd like your family to receive someday with a donation in the form of a charitable lead trust.

There are two ways that charitable lead trusts make payments to NRDC:

A charitable lead annuity trust pays a fixed amount each year to NRDC and is more attractive when interest rates are low.

A charitable lead unitrust pays a variable amount each year based on the value of the assets in the trust. With a unitrust, if the trust's assets go up in value, for example, the payments to NRDC go up as well.

Younger than 65?

Your payments depend on your age at the time of the donation. If you are younger than 60, we recommend that you learn more about your options and download this FREE guide, Plan for Retirement With a Deferred Gift Annuity.

How It Works

Read an Example

Father smiling with children George would like to support NRDC and receive tax benefits. George received a windfall amount of income and needs a large income tax deduction to offset the income. Following his adviser's recommendation, George funds a grantor charitable lead annuity trust with assets valued at $1,000,000. George’s trust pays $60,000 (6% of the initial fair market value) to NRDC each year for 15 years, which will total $900,000. After that, the balance in the trust reverts back to George. He receives an income tax charitable deduction of $614,445. Assuming the trust earns an average 8% annual rate of return, George receives approximately $1,600,286 at the end of the trust term.

*Based on a 5.2% charitable midterm federal rate. Deductions and calculations will vary depending on your personal circumstances.

Prepare for the Future

Create a secure future for you and your loved ones with our FREE Personal Estate Planning Kit.

Get My Kit

Calculate Your Benefits

Submit a few details and see how a charitable lead trust can benefit you.

See My Benefits

Next Steps

  1. Contact Michelle Mulia-Howell at 212.727.4421 or giftplanning@nrdc.org to talk about supporting NRDC by setting up a charitable lead trust.
  2. Seek the advice of your financial or legal adviser.
  3. If you include NRDC in your plans, please use our legal name and federal tax ID.

Legal Information
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011
Federal Tax ID Number: 13-2654926