An easy and successful way to realise your philanthropic aspirations is to establish a charitable trust.

When thinking about donating to a charity, it is important that you consider how the charity will spend your money, and how long the charity will exist for. Simply donating to a charity in your Will or by way of a gift may mean that your money is not spent the way you wish. By setting up a charitable trust you can help ensure that the payment of regular income to your chosen charity is managed according to your wishes.

   Charitable trusts have some distinctive features:

• The income of a charitable trust approved by the Inland Revenue Department is exempt from tax.
• Gifts of any amount can be made to charitable trusts approved by the Inland Revenue Department as qualifying for donee status without incurring gift duty. Gifts to regular Trusts that exceed $27,000 in one year will incur gift duty.
• Charitable trusts can continue on in perpetuity if desired, compared to other types of trusts that can only continue for a maximum of 80 years. This also means ongoing recognition for the person who established the charitable trust.
• Charitable trusts can be set up during your lifetime and then added to later by Will. The advantage of this is that you are able to see the benefits of your gift while you are still living.
• The trust deed can be structured so that it requires the trustees to grow the trust fund through investment or by compounding part of the income. This helps to ensure that your charitable purposes continue to receive income. If you simply donate to an existing charity, it may not have the expertise or desire to grow the capital or assets.
• By lending capital to the trust it is possible to preserve your options. The loan can be repaid if funds are required for another purpose.