Founded in 1967, Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) is a membership-based charity working to conserve the Niagara Escarpment area. The Niagara Escarpment is recognized as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, meaning its residents work to balance the conservation of natural sites with sustainable land development. The Escarpment contains the Bruce Trail, Canada’s oldest and longest footpath. The charity has nine regional Bruce Trail Clubs that are each responsible for maintaining a section of the trail.

In F2020, Bruce Trail Conservancy spent 85% of program costs on Land Acquisition and Management and 15% on all other programs. It does not provide a breakdown of spending for its other programs, which include Bruce Trail Clubs and Memberships, Bruce Trail Enterprises, Landowner Relations, and Trail Development and Maintenance.

BTC’s conservation work occurs mainly through its Land Acquisition and Management program. BTC acquires land in one of five main ways. The charity solicits full land donations from owners of properties along the Bruce Trail. BTC also accepts partial donations, whereby owners donate at least 20% of the value of their land and receive cash for the rest. In some cases, Bruce Trail Conservancy uses its cash donations to purchase land at fair market value, as determined by a third-party appraisal. Finally, BTC accepts both trail easements and life interest agreements that allow landowners to retain ownership or continue to live on their property. In return, landowners set aside the land for conservation and grant BTC permission to maintain and care for it.

The Bruce Trail currently includes 909 km of main trails and 444 km of side trails. BTC’s staff and volunteers help to monitor the quality of all 1,353 km of the Bruce Trail, but the charity only considers sections of the trail to be “permanently protected” once it legally acquires the land for conservation. In F2020, BTC added 11 new protected areas, containing 545 acres of land and 6.5 km of the Bruce Trail. It now manages 11,998 acres of land along the Niagara Escarpment, protecting more than 600 km of the Bruce Trail and its Optimum Route. The Optimum Route refers to paths through scenic areas that explore the best of the Escarpment.

Other Programs account for 15% or less of BTC’s program costs each year. These include various benefits for BTC members and landowners. Members of Bruce Trail Clubs receive benefits such as guided hikes, online webinars, access to special events, and quarterly Bruce Trail Magazines. The charity reported 10,157 members in F2020, of which 953 attended online BTC webinars during the year. BTC also funds initiatives to develop and improve the Bruce Trail for visitors and hikers. In F2020, it helped to create or reroute 30 km of the Bruce Trail, including seven new side trails.

Bruce Trail Conservancy received $9.1m in donations in F2020. It also received $227k in government funding and $98k in donated land and easements during the year. Administrative costs are 8% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 6% of cash and land donations. This results in total overhead spending of 14%. For every dollar donated, 86 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

BTC has $4.8m in net funding reserves. This means the charity can cover 66% or nearly eight months of annual program costs with its existing reserves.

In F2019, BTC entered a new agreement with Parks Canada to contribute $1.9m toward acquiring the Driftwood Cove area by 2021. Ci records donations restricted for the Driftwood Cove land acquisition as revenue. Ci records contributions to Parks Canada Agency for the acquisition as expenses in the year they were incurred. BTC reports in its financial statements that it gave out $500k in F2019 and $1.4m in F2020.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to Bruce Trail Conservancy for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 30, 2021 by Eric Zhao.