Salter Fund for the Benefit of Animals
In 1995, longtime local resident and dog lover, W. Alfred Salter established a living trust providing for the disposition of his estate as follows:
“I give all of my real property, comprising approximately 36 acres…to the Nevada County Land Trust to be used primarily as a recreational park for the benefit of dogs and other pets, and their owners, providing, for example, hiking and jogging trails for the exercise of dogs and their owners, open spaces for dog obedience classes, dog shows, and similar dog related activities, and also providing related facilities, such as relief stations and an area for vehicular parking...If it becomes impracticable to continue such uses, the Land Trust is authorized…to sell the property in which case the net proceeds from the sale shall be donated to some organization or organizations engaged in promoting the welfare of animals.”
Al Salter’s Bitney Springs Road property was transferred to the Land Trust on March 5, 2003. A number of efforts were made to turn the property into a dog park with a trail system. The property, approximately three miles beyond the city limits of Grass Valley consists of rolling hills and small meadows.
Many volunteer work parties were organized at the property to clear brush and dead trees, haul trash to the County transfer station, disassemble the old mobile home on the property piece by piece and haul the recyclable metal to the station. As these activities proceeded, it became apparent that the Land Trust was not capable of developing and managing a dog park at this site for the long term. Efforts got underway to find an organization to take the property and fulfill the wishes of Al Salter’s bequest.
The Land Trust published a Request for Proposals to local nonprofits or other agencies for the development and management of a dog park at the property. Although the proposals received in response to this request all had merit, the evaluation committee concluded the level of improvements needed for development and long-term operations of a park at Bitney Springs eliminated participation by most organizations. The best approach would be to sell the property and use the net proceeds to benefit organizations engaged in promoting the welfare of animals.
In November 7, 2007 Bear Yuba Land Trust established a grant fund in the approximate amount of six hundred thousand dollars to be used to carry out the wishes expressed by Al Salter in his will, to promote the welfare of animals.
Once a year, a committee, made up of Land Trust Board members and community representatives solicits Requests for Funding from local animal welfare organizations and other interested parties, evaluates these requests, and recommends to the BYLT Board of Directors specific grant distributions to requesters.
Requests for funding through the Al Salter Fund may be for a new or continuing program of an organization that is currently financing the work through public donations or fundraisers and would like to expand the program. These requests could include support for spay and neuter programs, supplies for staff and volunteers who perform work for animal welfare organizations, supplies for animals housed in care facilities, compensation for veterinary services, etc. Funding requests for programs in these categories would typically be in the range of $500.00 to $10,000.00.
Funding for projects above $10,000.00 would likely involve capital investments in equipment or facilities. Requests for funding for these projects should be submitted with more detail and background.
Individuals or groups who are interested in finding out more about the Request for Funding, please contact Bear Yuba Land Trust at 530-272-5994.