Our Lives Are Like the Mississippi River
I’m not actually going to tell that story in this article—it’s too long and perhaps too personal. But I wanted to get your attention: this month’s topic is charitable gift annuities, a boring title but an exciting subject!

The following is based on an actual occurrence: Many years ago, my parents exchanged shares of a stock they owned for a charitable gift annuity contract. They received many items of note from this action:
• The rate of the annuity was based on their ages as a joint life annuity.
• They received a current charitable deduction.
• They began to receive a monthly deposit to their checking account for the rest of their lives. A portion of the income was taxable as ordinary income. A portion of the income was taxable as capital gain income. A portion of that monthly income was tax-free.
• They received a tax statement at the end of the year to reflect this income.

For several years, month-in and month-out, the annuity payment was deposited in their checking account. After Mom passed, the annuity payments kept coming until the day Dad died. The remainder (residual) of the annuity stayed with the charity and added to the charity’s growing endowment fund. Each year the fund pays out a scholarship for a nursing student in honor of my Mom, a nurse.

You too can enjoy the benefits of a charitable gift annuity! The annuity contract is with the ELCA Foundation, and the payments are backed by the foundation’s assets, with Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Foundation as the remainder beneficiary.

I hope my little story interests you enough to contact me and discuss further! Contact me, Jon Oien, joien@sio.midco.net, and I’ll tell you more about charitable gift annuities—and maybe how our lives are like the Mississippi River!