You can support the BC Naturalists’ Foundation in many ways:

1. Donate online at CanadaHelps. You will receive a tax receipt immediately.
2. E-transfer: Please include your name in the memo portion of the e-transfer – e-transfer email:
3. Mail a cheque to the BC Nature office at 1620 Mount Seymour Road, North Vancouver, BC V7G 2R9 A tax receipt will be mailed to you.
4. Bequest in Your Will: A gift made to the BC Naturalists’ Foundation through a will can be in the form of a “bequest”, meaning a specific gift of cash, stocks or bonds, real property or other items of value. A bequest reduces income taxes payable by your estate.
5. Gifts in Kind: Company shares, mutual funds, bonds, real property and other assets can be gifted to the Foundation during your lifetime. When the Foundation receives such a gift, it issues a tax receipt in an amount equal to the fair market value of the gift at time of transfer.
6. RRSPs and RRIFs: The Foundation can be named as the beneficiary of a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). The RRSP or RRIF will still be taxable in your estate but the tax receipt issued by the Foundation would reduce and might even eliminate any income tax owing.
7. Life Insurance: There are several ways to make a gift of life insurance proceeds to the Foundation:
   • Naming the Foundation as a beneficiary of a policy. The Foundation would receive the insurance proceeds in the future and would issue a receipt to your estate in that amount;
   • Making the Foundation both the owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy in respect of which premiums will continue to be paid. When this is done, you will receive a tax receipt at the end of each year for the premiums paid on account of the policy; and
   • Donating a paid-up policy by transferring ownership of it to the Foundation. You will immediately receive a tax receipt for the full cash surrender value of the policy.
8. Gift Annuity: A charitable gift annuity should be considered if you wish to invest in an annuity so as to provide income during your lifetime but contribute the remaining capital to the Foundation in the future.

Green Legacies

The publication Green Legacies — A Donor’s Guide for BC is helpful. It describes the types of charitable gifts, both current gifts (such as cash, securities, shares, personal property, commemorative gifts) and deferred gifts (such as life insurance, annuity, bequests, remainder trusts, retirement funds). The booklet explains the tax implications of such gifts, the benefits to the donor and the benefits to the charity. The booklet also describes gifts of land or covenants and Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program. Green Legacies is a joint project of the Land Trust alliance of British Columbia and Give Green Canada.

We are happy to send information to you or your accountant that will assist you in understanding possible options of gifting.

For more information on ways to make a gift to the Foundation, please contact the Foundation President: call the BC Nature office at 604-985-3057 or email