WHAT IT IS: Landowners voluntarily agree to transfer land to a qualified public agency or nonprofit organization as a charitable gift.

HOW IT WORKS: Donations of land for conservation purposes can be achieved in several ways. Four types are: an immediate donation, a donation with a charitable remainder trust, a donation with a reserved life estate and a donation by bequest. An immediate donation, a donation of a charitable remainder trust, and a donation with a reserved life estate take effect during the landowner's lifetime. A donation by bequest is written into the landowner's will and occurs after the landowner, or the last survivor of the estate, dies.

The least restrictive type of donation is an immediate donation. A landowner agrees to convey property to a qualified public agency or nonprofit organization. After the donation is made, the landowner is not responsible for costs, maintenance and uses associated with the property.

In situations where a landowner may not be able to afford to make an outright donation, a charitable remainder unitrust may be used. The basic transaction requires the property be subjected to a conservation easement, donated to a charitable trust, and then sold by the trustee. The proceeds from the sale are then invested by the trustee and income is paid back to the donor. Upon death of the donor, the principal of the trust is distributed to a qualified public agency or nonprofit organization. The transaction is very complex and should only be done with the assistance of tax counsel.

A donation with a reserved life estate occurs when a landowner agrees to convey property to a qualified public agency or nonprofit organization, but reserves use of the property until he or she dies. The donor is fully responsible for taxes, insurance, maintenance, leasing, etc. When the last legally entitled survivor dies, the agency or organization takes ownership. The agency or organization can keep the property or sell it, sometimes subject to a conservation easement, depending on the agreement worked out in advance with the donor of the property.

A donation by bequest occurs when a landowner agrees to convey property to a qualified public agency or organization upon his or her death. It is customary to discuss such arrangements before the original landowner's will is finalized, or at least to notify the recipient organization of its inclusion in the will. Sometimes, property owners may choose to bequeath land or a conservation easement on the land to a conservation organization, while in the meantime exploring other tools for retaining the land's resource values.

ADVANTAGES: Landowners who make any of the types of donations discussed above are eligible for an income tax deduction. The amount of the deduction varies depending on the type of donation.

Also, donations reduce heirs' federal estate taxes. Estate taxes, which are paid on the value of an individual's assets at death, are usually higher than expected. Because of soaring land prices in many areas of Florida, the value of a parcel when the landowner dies is often considerably higher than the value of that land when it was purchased. As of 1995, estate taxes were required for people with total assets worth $600,000 or more for individuals and $1.2 million for married couples.

Other benefits are that donations made to nonprofit organizations may be sold to generate funds for purchase of other properties in need of protection.

DISADVANTAGES: Even with the effect of income and estate tax benefits, the owner will never realize as much financial benefit through a donation as he or she would through an outright sale.

CONTACTS

(See Appendix A for addresses and phone numbers)

LOCAL AND NATIONAL LAND TRUSTS THAT MAY ACCEPT DONATIONS:

Alachua Conservation Trust

Allen Broussard Conservancy

American Farmland Trust

Apalachee Land Conservancy

Barrier Island Trust

Calusa Land Trust and Nature Preserve of Pine Island

The Conservancy

The Conservation Fund

CREW Trust

Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust

Green Horizon Land Trust

Gulf Coast Conservancy

The Humane Society of the United States

Indian River Land Trust

Land Preservation Trust of Palm Beach County

Land Trust of Dade County

Lemon Bay Conservancy

Manasota-88

Monroe County Land Authority

The Nature Conservancy

Orange-Seminole Land Trust

Osceola Land Trust

Red Hills Conservation Association

Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation

Scrub Land Trust

Southwest Florida Land Preservation Trust

SWAMP

The Trust for Public Land