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Celebrate with Us & Help Protect the Next 5,000 Acres!
Invest in your community’s future: Become a Land Trust Member Join securely online - choose your level of support:
Need to write a check? Print out a membership form or e-mail us to request a member packet. Your membership protects our cherished forests, wetlands, rivers, and open spaces, allowing them to flourish forever. As a member, you will enjoy many benefits:
Ours is a region of spectacular, graceful beauty. Together, we can make sure it stays that way, forever. What if the Land Trust earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it’s powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results. Just go to www.goodsearch.com, or click on the banner on this page, and be sure to enter the Central Savannah River Land Trust as the charity you want to support. Just 500 of us searching four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime! An easy way to get involved with the CSRLT is to donate a special, one-time gift. 100% of your donation will go to conservation efforts. You can even earmark your donation for use on a special project of your choice.  There are plenty of volunteer opportunities with the Central Savannah River Land Trust. In fact, as our volunteer network grows, so do the number and type of opportunities to volunteer. Currently we are working on restoring a part of the Butler Creek watershed, cleaning up and building trails along Rocky Creek, doing baseline assessments of our current properties, and maintaining our Canal properties (link each to their spot on the current projects page). We will also be beginning public outreach projects in the near future, for which we will also need significant volunteer help. If you would like to volunteer, e-mail our Program Manager: hazel@csrlt.org or call our offices 706-312-5263. Internship Opportunities - job description (pdf 108kb)
 Our staff is available to assist you in managing your land assets and develop a long-range management plan. Preserving a portion of your land with a conservation easement can result in significant income tax savings, potentially lower property taxes while helping to keep your land in your family. There are many options to conserving your land, some of which allow you to continue your current land practices for the remainder of your lifetime, or even your children's lifetimes. Below are a few of the types of plans with which we can assist you. For a complete list or a personal consultation, please contact us: 706-312-5263 or info@csrlt.org. Land Donation - Donating your land to the CSRLT is the simplest option for conserving your land. Donating land relieves you from all future property taxes, eliminates capital gain taxes, and in addition provides a large tax refund for your charitable donation. Conservation Easement - Placing a conservation easement on your land allows you to retain ownership while protecting your land's special characteristics for generations to come. Simply put, conservation easements restrict certain uses of the land (i.e. development) whese restrictions, determined by you and our staff, remain in effect forever, regardless of future ownership. In addition to protecting the land's conservation values, donating conservation easements often provide a landowner with an income tax deduction and can sometimes translate into lower property taxes. For more information about conservation easements, click here to be connected to our publications website. Bargain Sale - If you do wish to transfer the title of your land, but cannot consider a full donation, you can chose to sell your land to the Land Trust for less than market value. The difference, then, between the sale price and the fair market value of the land you can often be claimed as a charitable deduction for income tax purposes. This deduction can help offset any capital gains taxes incurred by the sale of the property. Fair Market Value Sale - Another option if you wish to transfer the title is to sell your land to the Land Trust for a fair market value price. This option is relatively straightforward. However, if the land has appreciated in value since the date you acquired it, you will be responsible for all capital gains taxes on the property. Many land owners who wish to sell their land do not choose this option, but rather sell their land at a bargain price, therefore lowering their capital gains taxes while offsetting the remainder by claiming a charitable donation deduction. If you sell your land to the Land Trust for fair market value, you are not eligible for any tax deductions. Retained Life Estate - If you do not wish to transfer the title of your property for the remainder of your or your children's lifetimes, but do wish the Land Trust to have full control at a later date, you can establish a Retained Life Estate. A Retained Life Estate allows you stipulate a length of time for you or your family's continued use of the land, after which time the land will be donated to the Land Trust and permanently protected under conservation easement. With this option, the landowner remains responsible for all upkeep and property taxes until the land is turned over to the Land Trust. At that point, the land becomes a donation and is eligible for a tax deduction for the property owner's heirs. This option helps offset the cost of estate taxes to the heirs of the property owner's estate. Gifts by Will - Another option if you desire to retain the title and use of your land for the remainder of your lifetime is to stipulate a conservation easement on your land with the Land Trust in your will. By leaving a portion of your property to the CSRLT in your will, you relieve your heirs from the associated estate taxes and ensure the continued protection of your land for perpetuity. Central
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