Applicants for voluntary land trust accreditation must demonstrate compliance with a set of accreditation indicator practices selected from Land Trust Standards and Practices. These practices were designated by the Land Trust Alliance and indicate a land trust’s ability to operate in an ethical, legal and technically sound manner and ensure the long-term protection of land in the public interest.
Indicator practices are chosen based on the following criteria:
- Responsible governance of the organization
- Protection of the public interest with sound and sustainable land transactions and stewardship
- Ethical operations
- Accountability to donors and the public
- Compliance with all laws, such as IRC §170(h) and §501(c)(3)
The Land Trust Accreditation Commission was established as an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance in 2006 to operate a voluntary accreditation program to verify that land trusts are meeting the indicator practices. The Alliance encourages all land trusts to follow the entire set of Land Trust Standards and Practices and to adopt them as guiding principles for their organizations.
Accreditation Pilot Program and Indicator Practices
The Commission is testing the accreditation application and review process with two rounds of pilots in 2007. The pilot applications will help the Commission modify the program to make it more efficient and effective.
Pilot program applicants offered the Commission many suggestions for how to streamline the process, including eliminating redundancy of Commission and applicant efforts. The Commission has also evaluated what information it feels is appropriate for a paper-based process as well as what is necessary to make credible and consistent decisions.
Given the information gained from the pilots, the Commission recommended to the Alliance that the number of indicator practices be reduced from 42 to 37. The Alliance board reviewed the recommendations and approved the following changes to the list of indicator practices, effective January 1, 2008.
Changes to Indicator Practices for 2008
The following practices will be removed from the list of indicator practices for 2008.
2D. Records Policy
The elimination of this practice removes duplication with 9G, Recordkeeping, and allows the Commission to review the applicant’s records policy and focus on appropriate recordkeeping.
5B. Accountability to Donors
The Commission found that partial evidence for this practice was often included under Standard 10, Tax Benefits. The balance of this practice is difficult to measure effectively in a paper-based process, without being on site and examining a land trust’s donor database.
8E. Site Inspection
While it is very important for a land trust to conduct a site inspection before accepting a project, evidence of the site inspection is seen in other practices, such as 8B, Project Selection and Criteria, and 8G, Project Planning.
9L. Transfers and Exchanges of Land
The Commission found that the steps a land trust takes with respect to transfers and exchanges of land are similar to those reviewed in other parts of the application, such as 8G, Project Planning, or 9K, Selling Land or Easements.
12E. Land Stewardship Administration
The Commission learned that this practice is difficult to evaluate without being on site. By focusing on recordkeeping in Practice 9G, the Commission can ensure that the land trust is keeping adequate records for its fee ownerships.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Can I Get More Information?
The Land Trust Alliance has detailed information on how to implement the accreditation indicator practices on its online learning center. You can access the learning center by going to http://www.landtrustalliance.org/learning/the-learning-center. More information on the land trust accreditation program is available at www.landtrustaccreditation.org.
How Will the Change Affect Pilot Applicants?
Decisions on the accreditation pilot program applications will be made in 2008. While pilot applications provided evidence pertaining to all 42 indicator practices, the final decision of the Commission will be based only on the indicator practices in place at the time of the decision. The Commission thanks the land trusts in the pilot program for helping identify these important changes to streamline the accreditation application.
Will the Application for Accreditation Change?
Yes, the Commission will adapt the application for accreditation to reflect lessons learned from the pilot program – including the elimination of questions related to the indicator practices listed above. The Commission will complete its evaluation of the pilot program in mid-February 2008 and will release the revised application by March 7, 2008.
List of 2008 Accreditation Indicator Practices
| Standard 1: Mission 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 |
Note this list refers to practices as they are numbered in Land Trust Standards and Practices.
If a practice is not one of the accreditation indicator practices, it does not appear in this list, and thus the numbering of practices in this list is not sequential.
