Closeup of two bees on a flower

Please give us your money!

We’re busy as bees, but we need your help.

GaLTT gratefully accepts donations of money, securities, or land. The Land Trust Alliance of BC has an excellent brochure Green Legacies: A Donor’s Guide for BC that explains all the options and the benefits of different ways of giving for both the donor and the charity. The guide shows how to link client goals with advantageous gift planning options and discover the financial benefits of each kind of donation.

When donating money, you may make a one-time donation or become a GaLTT member/donor choosing to make regular payments monthly, annually, or every five years—see our “Be a Member” page. You may donate personally through our bank account at the Gabriola Branch of the Coastal Community Credit Union or through CanadaHelps!— scroll down for details or contact treasurer@galtt.ca for more information on your options.

Earmarked donations

A money donation, whether small or large, will be put to very good use and you may earmark your donation for broad areas such as general expenses, accessibility improvements, investment for sustainability, or land acquisition.

Land acquisition fund

One of our mandates is the acquisition of land for parks and conservation, so GaLTT maintains a reserve fund to enable the purchase of suitable tracts and the establishment of conservation covenants. Although GaLTT has not yet bought land to hold ourselves, we have contributed from our Acquisition Fund to the Regional District of Nanaimo’s purchase of parkland on Gabriola Island and Mudge Island. When you earmark your donation of money or securities for land acquisition, it will be deposited in GaLTT’s Acquisition Fund.

Donations of land

Your gift of land may be to ensure its conservation in the long term, or it may be for GaLTT to hold for eventual resale so that the money can be used for other conservation purposes. Speak to your financial advisor and lawyer about donating land to a charity.

Donations to general funds

GaLTT does not have permanent paid staff; most of our visible and invisible work (such as invasive plant removal and building this website) is done by volunteers. We use general funds in the following ways:

  • We buy and maintain tools and equipment for trail maintenance and invasive plant management.
  • We purchase materials for trails surfaces, signage, and boardwalks.
  • We purchase insurance to protect our volunteers and users of the trails that we map and maintain, including trails licensed for public use on private land.
  • We hire professionals, such as bookkeepers, auditors, and lawyers, as required.
  • We occasionally hire other professional help (such as for trimming dangerous trees) when volunteers cannot be used for reasons of safety or expertise.
  • We print and distribute trail maps, newsletters, self-guided walk brochures, and information pamphlets about native and invasive plants, and stewarding your land.
  • We advertise our activities and events in The Gabriola Sounder.
  • We maintain this website on the internet.

How to donate

Donate directly to GaLTT by cash or cheque

  • Directly deposit your cash or cheque donation to our account at Coastal Community Credit Union on Gabriola. Contact treasurer@galtt.ca for more information.
  • Mail a cheque to GaLTT, PO Box 56, Gabriola, BC, V0R 1X0, Canada.

GaLTT is a registered Society with charitable status, so your donations to us are tax-deductible. Our charitable number is: BN: 846205342RR0001. GaLTT issues charitable tax receipts for any donation $20 or greater.

Donate online through CanadaHelps (CH)

Click the button to be taken directly to our Canada Helps page, where you can make a donation.

CanadaHelps is a registered charity through which anyone can donate online to any registered Canadian charity. Their “one-stop-shop” online donating is simple and secure and allows you to donate anonymously if you wish. CanadaHelps has facilitated over $250 million in Canadian charitable donations through their website.

Combining your membership fee and donation in one transaction

You can make separate Canada Helps payments for your membership fee and your one-time donation, or combine them in one payment. When combining the payments, tell us in the message window how you wish it divided up. Note that since Canada Helps is a registered charity, our donation page also invites you to make a donation to Canada Helps. Make sure you are donating to the right charity before you click!

Donating securities instead of cash

If you have investments in securities (stocks and bonds) you will find it financially advantageous to donate them directly through Canada Helps rather than selling them and donating the resulting cash. This table shows you why:

Sell shares + donate $$ Donate shares
Fair market value of shares $10,000 $10,000
Adjusted base cost of shares $4,000 $4,000
Capital gain $6,000 $6000
Income inclusion for capital gain:
$6000 x 50% x 40% for tax
$1,350 0
Amount going to charity $8650 $10,000
Charitable tax receipt $8,650 $10,000
Tax credit for gift at 45% $3892.50 $4500
Tax savings after offsetting
tax on capital gain
$3892.50 – $1350 = $2542.50 $4,500