So as a non profit, we want to upgrade things on property such as power to the bow shop, water for camp etc.... but such things are going to add value to the land. How are such things handled? What can we invest non profit money into and not?
You could lease a portion of the land to the non-profit for 99 years at a dollar a year. The lease agreement could state in the case of the non-profit disincorporating or failing to pay the yearly lease, the lease is void and improvements revert to the landowner if they are not dismantled or removed within a reasonable amount of time (and you WILL specify what a reasonable amount of time).
Gosh, how do I know about a lease arrangement like this? (Cuz I just signed one!)
You can keep all the improvements to the smallest possible piece of acreage to minimize the tax burden to the landowner, but they are improvements nonetheless. This will also, in all likelihood change the tax base of the land as well. Our leased 20+ acres are now no longer taxed as ag, but now as industrial/business. We went from the lowest possible tax base to the highest possible. Again, by containing it on the smallest possible envelope of land, you minimize the negative effects for the landowner. You can go to the county tax assessor for help with this. You may also end up having to get a surveyor in to mark boundaries for legal descriptions.
Yeah, it adds complications, but they are not impossible to achieve.
