Ecological gifts: eligible recipients

Landowners may donate ecologically sensitive land to registered environmental charities and governmental organizations.

The following groups are automatically eligible to receive ecological gifts:

• federal, provincial and territorial governments
• Canadian municipalities
• municipal or public bodies performing a function of government

Charities must apply to the Ecological Gifts Program (EGP) to become eligible to receive ecological gifts.

Eligible charities, municipalities and municipal or public bodies performing a function of government must also be approved in order to receive a specific ecological gift donation.

How a charity becomes eligible

In order to be eligible to receive an ecological gift, a charity must:

• have registered charity status with the Canada Revenue Agency and maintain this status from year to year
• have as one of its primary purposes “the conservation and protection of Canada’s environmental heritage” or some similar statement of purpose
• apply to the EGP by completing the application package and send it to the National Secretariat, Ecological Gifts Program

Application package

The application package must include:

• full contact details
• the mission of the organization and some examples of the types of projects it undertakes
• the organization’s Charitable Registration Number
• a certified copy of the organization’s Letters Patent, incorporation papers or other governing documents that include the full statement of objects or purpose
• an expression of the organization’s willingness and demonstration of its financial and human resource capacity to receive and manage ecological gifts
• evidence that the organization has adopted, or has committed to adopt, national or provincial guidelines to direct its land acquisition and management practices
• a dissolution or winding-up clause specifying that, in the case of ecological gifts, the assets shall be transferred to one or more eligible Ecological Gifts Program recipients (or eligible registered charities)

The National Secretariat will respond within 6 weeks. Once approved, we will add the organization to the list of environmental charities eligible to receive ecological gifts.

Recipient responsibilities

Recipients of ecological gifts are responsible for maintaining the biodiversity and environmental heritage values of the property forever. They may also help in other ways, such as:

• providing an initial assessment of the property's ecological sensitivity
• arranging for an appraisal of the ecological gift’s fair market value
• coordinating necessary applications

Contact us

National Secretariat, Ecological Gifts Program
Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment and Climate Change Canada
351 St. Joseph Blvd.
Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3

Telephone: (800) 668-6767
Email: pde-egp (at sign) ec.gc.ca

For more information

Please refer to the Ecological Gifts Program Handbook for more information about the program.

List of eligible environmental charities