The charity-go-round comes to Wall St.; the gift of giving may offer you a surprise return.

Donating to your favorite charity may bring more of a return than just a good feeling of brotherly love. If done right, it may come packed with a mid-range dividend too.

Investing in one of the income-producing charitable investment instruments by pooling your money into funds, trusts, or annuities will pare your taxes, increase your refund and even accumulate some long-term income.

Here's how these instruments work. With an initial minimum investment of $10,000, a portion of the principal can be slated as a donation to one or more designated Internal Revenue Service approved charities. The balance is invested in a selected portfolio of securities that may include mutual funds. In one shot you have contributed to a deserving charity, spread risk among a diversified portfolio of investments and begun to earn cash with a growth-oriented vehicle.

The rewards vary according to the type of investment plan you select. The three most popular growth income vehicles are the Charitable Remainder Trust, Pooled Income Fund, and Charitable Gift Annuities.

The Charitable Remainder Trust allows you to open up a trust account with a charity of your choice named as a recipient. If appreciated securities are used to establish the account, those assets will be sold and reinvested as non-taxable income. Payouts are received by you, the donor, periodically. But analysts agree, to receive the maximum tax benefits, those dividends should be automatically reinvested. The remainder--principal and interest--goes to the recipient, the person the donor originally specified in the trust. All money earned from the trust can be taxed, but you do receive an immediate tax deduction based on the full market value of the trust.

An alternative plan is the Pooled Income Fund. This fund allows you to pool your donations or investments with other growth-oriented investors. The income fund is designed essentially the same as the Remainder Trust, except that the annual payout is determined by the fund's rate of return rather than by a fixed rate.

According to the UJA-Federation of New York's Charitable Gift Annuity Plan (212-836-1811), if you are 65 years old and have an initial investment of $10,000, you will receive $840 (8.4% annual rate) for the rest of your life.

This is a popular option among older investors because it allows them to purchase an annuity (similar to a life insurance annuity) from a charity and receive a fixed growth annuity income for the rest of their life-time. For participants age 65 or older, the annuity starts immediately. For younger donors, the annuity will begin at age 65 and payout is deferred--as in a retirement fund. You will also receive an immediate income tax charitable deduction based partly on the portion of the purchase price that represents the charitable gifts.

One note of caution is that all investors are responsible for capital gains tax on income received from these charitable investments.

Also, no matter what charitable investment plan you choose, it won't give you a 100% deduction on your taxes overnight. But over a period of time, the right vehicle will increase your annual income and may also satisfy your social conscience.

Similar plans are available through Fidelity Investments--Charitable Gift Fund (800-682-4438) and Dreyfus Investments (800-922-7744). You may also contact your financial adviser, lawyer and/or accountant about these.