The land trust community is committed to excellence in our work.
We’re committed to upholding the public’s trust. And we support
each other in that commitment. Together, land trusts have established
a set of guidelines for how to run a land trust responsibly: the Land
Trust Standards and Practices. These guidelines describe how to
operate a land trust legally, ethically, in the public interest, with
a sound program of land transactions and land stewardship. Land trusts
developed the first Standards and Practices in 1989 and revised them
most recently in 2004. Hundreds of conservation leaders contributed to
the 2004 revisions, so these guidelines represent the experience of
diverse land trusts from across the country. Over 1,000 land trusts
have adopted the Standards and Practices. A Shared Commitment Alliance
member land trusts must adopt the Standards and Practices — meaning
that they affirm these guidelines in principle and commit to steady
progress in putting them into effect. To earn accreditation, a land
trust must demonstrate that it has implemented the Standards and
Practices, through rigorous verification of 26 indicator practices.
Land trusts share a commitment to these best practices because we know
that for land conservation to succeed over the long term, we need to
secure the public’s confidence and support. All land trusts must
demonstrate effectiveness and credibility—otherwise, the ones that
fall short could undermine the whole conservation movement. Learn more
about adopting and implementing Standards and Practices. Twelve
Guiding Principles The Standards and Practices set 12 broad
principles, or standards. These standards are broken down into 88
practices, which describe the essential actions needed to fulfill the
standards. Here are the twelve standards that land trusts commit to
uphold: The land trust has a clear mission that serves a public
interest, and all programs support that mission. The land trust
fulfills its legal requirements as a nonprofit tax-exempt organization
and complies with all laws. The land trust board acts ethically in
conducting the affairs of the organization and carries out the
board’s legal and financial responsibilities as required by law. The
land trust has policies and procedures to avoid or manage real or
perceived conflicts of interest. The land trust conducts fundraising
activities in an ethical and responsible manner. The land trust
manages its finances and assets in a responsible and accountable way.
The land trust has volunteers, staff and/or consultants with
appropriate skills and in sufficient numbers to carry out its
programs. The land trust carefully evaluates and selects its
conservation projects. The land trust works diligently to see that
every land and easement transaction is legally, ethically and
technically sound. The land trust works diligently to see that
every charitable gift of land or easements meets federal and state tax
law requirements. The land trust has a program of responsible
stewardship for its easements. The land trust has a program of
responsible stewardship for the land it holds in fee for conservation
purposes.
