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IT MAY BE BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE, but when it comes to donating to charity, it's becoming increasingly popular to give and receive. Sure, if you want to make a donation of $100 or so to your favorite charity, simply writing a check is fine. (For five other clever ways to give directly to charity and get a tax break for 1995, see Your Taxes on page 165.) But if you're prepared to make a gift of $1,000 or more or want to turn highly appreciated assets such as a home or stock into a lifetime income and a charitable donation, "planned giving" can be the way to go.

These programs, offered by many big charities, let you give cash or transfer assets to the group or to a trust, which then sells them and invests the money. You get an up-front deduction, avoid paying a capital-gains tax on any sale that occurs and get the investment income. Upon your death, the charity keeps whatever money is left. "Because of the tax benefits and the income you'll get in return, planned giving can help you make a larger gift than you otherwise could have afforded," says James Potter, a consultant to charities in Falls Church, Va.

It also makes giving slightly more tricky, since you'll want to know how much of your dollars will reach the beneficiaries plus how much will come back to you as income. To check out the efficiency of the U.S. charities that raise the most from the public in seven categories, see the table above. Computer users can check out the 100 biggest charities on Money's World Wide Web site (http://pathfinder.com/money). Below, three of the most common planned giving techniques and how to figure out which is best for you:

Gift annuities. At least 2,000 charities and universities offer gift annuities--some for as little as $1,000--which provide you with a fixed payout for life. Your annual return will likely be between 5% and 11%, depending on your age. The charity gets a portion of your gift, typically half; you can deduct that amount up front.

Pooled-income funds. These are ideal for donors who want to give as little as $5,000 to a charity. Pooled-income funds resemble mutual funds, since your donation gets mingled with gifts from other donors. You get lifetime income based on the fund's performance; when you die, your pro rata portion of the fund goes to the charity. Pooled-income funds now pay donors 5.5% to 7.5% annually.

The value of your tax deduction is based on your life expectancy and the fund's best payout in the previous three years. The older you are, the greater your deduction. For example, a $10,000 contribution to the American Red Cross pooled-income fund, which generally pays 6% to 7% annually, would entitle a 65-year-old with an average life expectancy of 20 more years to a $4,261 deduction for 1995. A 55-year-old could write off $2,803.

Instead of investing directly through your favorite charity, you might consider the pooled-income fund offered by the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund (800-682-4438), a nonprofit that funnels donations to the charity or charities of your choice. The fund, which requires a minimum initial investment of $25,000, recently yielded 6.5%. The chief advantages: You can name multiple beneficiaries and change them at any time.

Charitable remainder trusts. If you want to convert your stocks, real estate or other appreciated property worth more than $250,000 into an income-producing asset, a charitable remainder trust (CRT) could do the trick. CRTs usually don't make sense for smaller donations because of their fees--$1,500 to $3,000 up front on average--plus annual expenses of as much as 1% of assets.

Here's how a CRT works: You transfer the asset into a tax-exempt trust that benefits a charity of your choice. The trust then sells the asset and reinvests the proceeds to ensure an annual income of either a fixed dollar amount or a percent of the assets--which by law must be at least 5% a year. "Since the trust sells the asset," says Cincinnati financial planner Barbara Culver, "you avoid capital-gains taxes." Your immediate write-off depends on the amount of your gift, your age and how much income you receive. For example, a 50-year-old setting up a $250,000 trust with a 6% payout could get a $61,499 tax deduction for 1995.

For help finding an expert to assist you in arranging a CRT, call the National Alliance of Renaissance Associates (800-843-0050), a group of 210 financial planners, lawyers and accountants. Starting in January, they will refer you to a member in your area.