Staff at The Land Conservancy are being asked to defer part of their salaries to help with the organization's financial woes.

Most of the four dozen staff, some of whom have not been paid full salaries during the previous three pay periods, have agreed to put part of their wages into an account with a mortgage company set up by the TLC, said executive director Bill Turner.

"We came up with this voluntary arrangement to allow people to defer their wages from mid-February until the end of March," he said. "We now have a number of people there working as volunteers or deferring their wages completely. Others were able to defer by five per cent, 10 per cent or 25 per cent and the average is 20 per cent across the board."

Financial statements for the year ending April 2010 show that salaries, wages and benefits amounted to $2,003,000.

Turner said he is now working as a volunteer. "When you do something that's important it's not that hard," he said.

To ensure people's benefits are maintained, employees are paid their normal wages and then lend the money to the internal mortgage company that holds a collateral mortgage on Ayum Cottage, on Sooke Road, a rental property, Turner said.

"That's the security for it and that mortgage company then lends the money to us, which in effect covers their wages," he said. The new mortgage on Ayum Cottage will save TLC about $50,000 over the deferral period, he said.

At the end of March, when donations and revenues are expected to pick up, the program will stop and the loan will be repaid to the mortgage company, which will pay back the wages to employees at an interest rate of five per cent.

Figures from April last year show Ayum Cottage with a mortgage of $64,623, with the cottage also securing the Qualicum Bat House mortgage. The 2010 assessed value is $359,000 and the cottage is shown as available for sale.

"The staff loans are secured by this mortgage so, in the worst case, one would sell the rental property and pay off the loans. There's always that capacity there," Turner said.

The wage deferral is a good news story, he said. "What it really does is demonstrate that the staff here are tremendously dedicated and working as a team," he said.

One member of staff in Victoria and one in Vancouver have been let go and other positions are vacant through attrition, Turner said.

This time of year is always tough for donations and TLC donations suffered from negative media stories last fall, Turner said. However, donations will pick up because people care about the wild spaces protected by TLC, he added.

The current Wild Hills and Beaches campaign, in conjunction with the Capital Regional District, is going well and $700,000 has to be raised before the next deadline of Aug. 12, Turner said. The aim is to buy 2,348 hectares of former Western Forest Products Land around Jordan River, Sandcut Beach and the Sooke Hills.

TLC board treasurer Gary Holman said TLC is struggling to deal with financial difficulties in the same way as many other non-profit organizations in the current economy.

"It is a seasonal problem. After New Year or Christmas it has historically been a lower time for donations," he said.

"We are continuing to manage our debt and to meet our financial obligations. Yes, it's a struggle and we are taking the measures that we feel are appropriate," he said. That means efficiencies, cost reductions and staff adjustments "just like the dissidents suggested that we should," he said.

In 2009, the TLC board resigned after a bitter battle with Turner and his supporters over finances. A pro-Turner board was then elected, but three members of the new board then resigned. The newest board took office last September.

TLC is fundraising with members and potential large donors, Holman said. But publicity over financial challenges will make the situation worse, he said.

"We are an organization based on public goodwill and donations, and for you to be fearmongering about our financial status only makes it worse," Holman said.

Carol Pickup, who resigned from the TLC board last year, primarily over financial concerns, said she is worried about staff and the future of the TLC.

"The bottom line is the same bottom line as we talked about last year," she said.

Asking staff to defer salaries is not an acceptable way to deal with financial problems, Pickup said.

"Some very good people have worked their butts off for the TLC. Most of them have done double-duty and for them to be treated this way is just not acceptable," she said.

jlavoie@timescolonist.com