Land Donations

Donating your ecologically or culturally significant land to the Islands Trust Fund ensures that your land will be protected forever. It is a gift that will continue to benefit your island community for generations to come.

The Island Trust Fund is a respected land trust. By the end of 2005 the Islands Trust Fund was caring for 15 properties that had been donated by caring individuals. Lands have been donated on Bowen Island, Denman Island, Gabriola Island, Galiano Island, Gambier Island, Lasqueti Island, Mayne Island, North Pender Island, and Salt Spring Island.

Donating Significant Lands

The Islands Trust Fund's mandate is to preserve and protect unique ecological or cultural properties in the Islands Trust Area. The Islands Trust Fund's vision is to create a legacy of special places in the Islands Trust Area, protecting both natural and cultural features in perpetuity. By 2010 we hope to have a network of protected lands on all thirteen of the main islands in the Islands Trust Area.

The Islands Trust Fund, as a conservation land trust and local government agency, is in a unique position to help private owners and developers in the Islands Trust Area quickly and easily subdivide their land for donation as a nature reserve. By using Section 99 of the Land Title Act of British Columbia, the Islands Trust Fund can help donors subdivide and donate their land without going through the usual subdivision approval processes. Donors can decide exactly what part of their land they want to donate without any minimum size restrictions on the lot they donate. Also, Section 99 subdivisions only need a reference plan instead of a full survey. Donors can save time, money, and effort and will have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their special sanctuary will be protected and cared for in perpetuity by one of British Columbia’s leading land trusts.

For more information see our article “It’s Easy to Subdivide for Nature Conservation”.

Receipts for tax purposes are issued for all donations, including donations of land. If you are donating ecologically significant lands, there are additional programs to provide increased tax benefits. More information is available from Ecological Gifts Program through Environment Canada.

The Islands Trust Fund recommends that landowners considering a land donation seek advice from a tax specialist regarding the possible tax implications based on their personal circumstances.

Additional information is available through the Green Legacies: A Donor's Guide for British Columbia.

Donating Other Land

The Islands Trust Fund also welcomes donations of lands and residences that do not have ecological or cultural significance provided they can be sold to raise funds to protect special places within the Islands Trust Area.

Donations of non-ecologically significant land are also eligible for donation receipts for tax purposes. Islands Trust Fund recommends that landowners considering a land donation seek advice from a tax specialist regarding the possible tax implications based on their personal circumstances.

Additional information is available through the Green Legacies: A Donor's Guide for British Columbia.

I'm Interested: What Now?

Contact the Islands Trust Fund and let us know of your interest. We will provide you with further information on the process and timeline. Our staff will meet with you, discuss your wishes for the land, and associated costs.

If you want to proceed with a donation, and this property is not involved in a development application or subdivision, please submit a voluntary conservation proposal to the Islands Trust Fund Board.

If you want to proceed with a donation, and this property is involved in a development application or subdivision, please submit a conservation proposal related to a development application to the Islands Trust Fund Board.

If you would like more information please contact:

Ecosystem Protection Specialist
(250) 405-5176