Donate to Protect Our Region

Establishing a charitable gift annuity with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy/Fallingwater allows you to donate cash, securities or real estate today and for the rest of your life, you'll receive a steady stream of income.

How it works:

1. You transfer cash, securities or other property to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy/Fallingwater.
2. We pay you, or up to two annuitants, a lifetime annuity.
3. The principal passes to Fallingwater after the lifetime of the income beneficiaries.

Benefits:

• Receive an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of your gift.
• Back your lifetime annuity with a reserve and the full assets of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
• Have your annuity payments treated as part ordinary income and part tax-free income. If the gift is funded with appreciated property, your annuity payments are also part capital gains income.
• Gain the satisfaction of making a significant gift that benefits you now and Fallingwater later.

Use our interactive Gift Illustrator to explore which gift annuity is right for you.

*Donors aged 60 or younger or those who do not need extra income right now, may want to consider a flexible or deferred gift annuity.

Charitable lead trust (CLT) gifts can provide you with the satisfaction of giving a cash donation to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy while seeing the benefits of the gift during your lifetime. In establishing a charitable lead trust, you irrevocably transfer cash or securities to the trust. The CLT then pays an income from the trust assets, usually for a term of years, to the charity of your choice: the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. At the end of the trust term, the remaining funds in the trust and any monetary growth are passed to you or your heirs at a reduced tax cost.

Two major variations of charitable lead trusts exist: the charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT) and the charitable lead unitrust (CLUT). The CLAT pays a fixed dollar amount to the designated charity for a term of years while the CLUT pays a fixed percentage of the value, reevaluated annually, to the charity also for a term of years.

A charitable lead trust is established with an outside trust administrator and the donor is responsible for the administrative fees associated with this trust vehicle. Typically, the threshold to create a charitable lead trust is $100,000 or more.

In contrast to the charitable lead trust, a charitable remainder trust (CRT) enables you to support the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and other charities of your choice later – after providing you and your named beneficiaries an income for a period of years or for life.

Through a CRT, you irrevocably transfer assets into a trust created by you and governed by a trust agreement. You and/or other beneficiaries receive payments from the trust for a period of time and the remainder of it passes to WPC and/or other named charities upon your death or at the termination of the trust. In addition, you receive a charitable deduction for the gift value in the year that you make your gift.

Two common variations of charitable remainder trusts include annuity trusts (CRATS) and unitrusts (CRUTS).

Similar to a charitable gift annuity, a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) pays a fixed rate of income for life. It differs from a CGA in that it is set up with an outside trust and can have more than one charitable beneficiary.

A charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) offers variable payout rates based on the current market value of the assets and may help create a hedge against inflation over the long- term. Like the CRAT, a CRUT must be set up with an outside trust.

Our Gift Illustrator can help you explore this giving opportunity. Please consult with your financial advisor to determine the charitable lead trust option that is right for your personal situation.