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| Philanthropy |
A Charitable Address
Lani Luciano
04/01/2004
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No matter how unique and
valuable a property, only groups with significant endowments, such as the Nature
Conservancy, the Trust for Public Lands, the American Farmland Trust, the
Conservation Fund and the Land Trust Alliance, can afford to manage and maintain
real estate even for a few years, much less forever. Nash adds that even
well-funded conservation groups might simply disagree with a donor on a
property’s conservation-
worthiness. Without a shared vision, an offer of
land for preservation might not find a taker.
If all parties can agree that
the property has environmental, historic or other conservation value, it is
possible to make a charitable real estate donation without giving up ownership
at all. Putting a restrictive easement on the deed to stipulate that the
property cannot be altered permanently reduces its market value, and the
resulting loss can be taken as a tax deduction. Donna Ciuffo, tax partner with
Clarfeld Financial Advisors in Tarrytown, N.Y., notes that conservation
easements are mainly used for financial purposes. “It’s a terrific way to soften
the tax bite in a peak earning year,” she says, adding that the move still has
major philanthropic value. “The property can be sold or passed along, but it can
never be exploited or degraded.”
Doing Good and Well
Betsy and Alan Carpenter, both 73, are longtime
members of the Nature Conservancy and were looking for a way to support its
work. “We are strong believers in responsible stewardship of the Earth,” says
Betsy. “We gave our kids and grandkids lifetime memberships in the Conservancy
because we want to pass along that specific value. Unfortunately, some of them
ride dirt bikes, which just tears up the land. But we’re still hoping.”
In
2001, they found their opportunity to support the Conservancy, not by giving
land, but by giving through a charitable remainder trust (CRT). In this
approach, ownership is not transferred to the charity but to an irrevocable
trust, which then sells the property to finance a tax-advantaged income stream
payable to anyone the trustee designates.
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