Information about Oil & Gas Mineral Donations
Crystal clear water in one our country’s National Parks. A resource that most people agree should have protection and adequate stewardship.
ERGF is proud to be a premier, non-profit steward of over 80,000 gross acres of mineral/royalty rights across 11 US States.
How the Process Works - Easy as 1, 2, 3.
Step 1: Seeking a charitable donation tax deduction?.
No? Skip to Step 2.
Yes? If your minerals have a value of $5,000 or more, an independent appraisal is required per IRS rules. We cannot provide or pay for the appraisal, but can point you in the direction of groups that do this type of work. If valued under $5,000, you can deduct the fair market value on IRS Form 8283, which we will counter-sign.
Step 2: A Deed will be prepared for you, transferring the mineral rights to ERGF. The Deed must be signed in front of a Notary.
Step 3: Mail the signed Deed to us, and we will send it on to the County to be recorded in their deed records. Once recorded, the donation is complete. We will work with the County tax office and any oil and gas companies to update their records.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have additional questions, or wish to donate an interest, please contact us at:
donate@ergf.org
(817) 717-5452.
Or send a message using the form on this page
A common oil and gas well storage tank site in West Texas. We believe the groundwater under this site, the air surrounding it, and the crops next to it also deserve protection.
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A donation may make more sense from a tax standpoint, though every situation is different.
Selling requires you to determine if your Buyer is the best buyer out there. Many buyers are just flipping minerals and will hook you with a price, but then vanish if they can’t find somebody willing to pay more.
A sale may trigger Capital Gains tax, which could potentially be avoided with a donation.
With a sale, your legacy in the minerals disappears forever. Many times, the minerals are inherited and there is some sentimental part to it. With a donation, this legacy lives on. We do not sell anything we own.
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Many non-profits own mineral interests. Typically, they only view them as an income source to fund their other programs and that’s it.
We are one of the only non-profit organizations where the donated mineral rights are directly related to our primary purpose…the stewardship of oil and gas resources to ensure their responsible development.
To us, the minerals are much more than just an income stream, and we welcome non-producing properties as well.
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Donating minerals offers the benefit of reducing administrative burdens.
Oil and Gas companies constantly trade properties. Keeping track of who should be paying, if payments are correct, etc., is time consuming.
Annual 1099 reporting and verifying accuracy of reported information.
Annual County property taxes.
Federal tax depletion allowance calculations.
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Typically, we pay the cost in preparing and recording the Deed in the county records.
Recording fees vary by County and State. If the recording fees are unusually high and there is no income to be expected, we may ask for some financial assistance to help offset the cost of recording.
But typically, as long as a property can pay back the recording fees within a few years, we consider it a win for us.
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Mineral/Royalty interests
Non-Participating Royalty Interests (NPRI)
Overriding Royalty Interests (ORRI)
Term Interests (minerals or royalty rights, but for specified number of years)
Surface interests
The primary thing we do not accept are leasehold/working interests. These are rights in an oil lease itself, which typically bear a share of costs and liability in operating an oil and gas well.
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No.
Our minerals are not for sale, nor do we respond to solicitations for purchase.
Unleased minerals may be leased for development if certain conditions are met. If other mineral owners in the tract have leased, we will lease the minerals since the oil company will drill regardless. However, our lease negotiations focus on environmental protections first, and pecuniary benefit second.
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Every non-profit would say “Yes” to this question. We can actually back it up though.
Check out our Transparency page, where you can see our tax returns, by-laws, internal policies, and governance structure.
We are also certified “Platinum Transparency” by Candid/GuideStar, one of the leading non-profit review organizations. It is the highest certification available, and on about the Top 1% of US non-profits achieve this.
We don’t have six-figure executives, third-party fundraisers, or even governmental grants. We keep a grassroots mentality about financial discipline. It’s the right thing to do.
Donated Mineral Interests help us achieve our goals.
Many non-profit organizations own mineral interests, typically given to them by Donors as a gift. However, few of these organizations are active stewards of their interests, and use whatever cash is generated to fund their other non-profit programs. ERGF feels that, however noble their programs may be, these organizations are missing a huge opportunity.
The backbone of ERGF is the ownership, and effective stewardship, of mineral and royalty interests. By owning and controlling mineral interests, we are better able to ensure that the minerals are produced responsibly, with adequate environmental protections. In fact, we currently own and oversee mineral interests in 8 states covering over 60,000 estimated gross acres.
Maybe you inherited mineral rights, and don’t feel comfortable selling them to some corporation, but you are also not quite comfortable holding them. Please consider donating to ERGF as an alternative. Our goal is not to profit, or just sit back and collect royalties to fund other programs. Our goal is to be a steward over those minerals.
Additional Information
Your gift of mineral rights may be tax deductible, as allowed by law. However, you may want to discuss it with a tax professional, as some situations are unique.
We accept the following types of interests, and all play an important part in our organization:
Mineral and/or Royalty Interests
Overriding Royalty Interest
Interests in land
Term Interests (Any of the above interests, but limited in duration to a certain term of years).
We cannot accept leasehold interests or working interests. These interests typically bear the cost of developing the minerals, and also bear the cost of any other financial or environmental liability.