Nonprofit organizations across the nation, including land trusts, are increasingly asked to demonstrate their accountability to the public. The Commission recognizes the need for public accountability for accredited land trusts and the need to rely on multiple data sources when making accreditation decisions, and we have designed the role of the public in the accreditation process accordingly. For more information on the role of the public in accreditation see the Applicant Handbook.

Public Comments on Applicants for Accreditation
The Commission will accept public comments on applicants for accreditation and will regularly update this page with the names of organizations that have applications pending. There are several guidelines for the public comment process.

• Only written comments will be accepted.
• All comments must be attributed. 
• Comments must relate to the applicant's compliance with national quality standards from Land Trust Standards and Practices, listed below. Accreditation applicants are evaluated against specific indicator practices within these standards that address the ethical and technical operation of a land trust.

     Standard 1: Mission
     Standard 2: Compliance with Laws
     Standard 3: Board Accountability
     Standard 4: Conflicts of Interest
     Standard 5: Fundraising
     Standard 6: Financial and Asset Management
     Standard 7: Volunteers, Staff and Consultants
     Standard 8: Evaluating and Selecting Conservation Projects
     Standard 9: Ensuring Sound Transactions
     Standard 10: Tax Benefits
     Standard 11: Conservation Easement Stewardship
     Standard 12: Fee Land Stewardship

More specific comments relating to how an applicant is carrying out the accreditation indicator practices may also be submitted. Click here for the full list of indicator practices.

Applicants will have an opportunity to see and respond to comments.

While all comments will be shared with the applicant, the name of the commenter may be withheld from the applicant at the Commission's discretion if releasing the name would have adverse consequences for the person making the comment.

Commission staff will acknowledge when a comment has been received but will not provide any additional data to the commenter other than that which is publicly available as described in the Applicant Handbook.

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