One Property, Multiple Charities

Occasionally, an individual owns property that he or she would like to divide and give to several different charities. For example, the owner of a rental property may wish to divide all income from the building between a hospital and a college for 20 years, with the remainder to the owner’s house of worship.

Because the donor is giving away all interests and retaining nothing, the gift would give rise to a deductible contribution equal in amount to the current fair market value of the building. This kind of arrangement provides considerable flexibility to a person with charitable intentions. The interests can be divided however the donor wishes and can be given to as many different charities as desired. The only requirement for deductibility is that all the donor’s interests be contributed to or for the use of charity.

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