{"id":37669,"date":"2023-04-26T19:15:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T23:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=37669"},"modified":"2023-06-02T18:10:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T22:10:41","slug":"sustainable-land-trust-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/sustainable-land-trust-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Land Trust Management"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to May 2023 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n

\"JackLand Trust Funding \u2013 Sustainable Investment Management for Parks and Protected Areas<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Do you Love Your Local Land Trust?<\/h2>\n

If the answer is \u201cYes, I go hiking on the local trails,\u201d you are not alone. There are currently more than 1,700 Land Trusts including 467 accredited Land Trusts1<\/sup> in the United States. Chances are good that right now, thousands of nature lovers are out enjoying land trust trails. But have you ever wondered how they are financed? When you are called on to make a donation to support your land trust, or to join the staff or Board, this will help give you some insight into the current and rapidly changing landscape of finance for community protected areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a prior GreenMoney article<\/strong><\/a>2<\/sup>, we described how national parks and protected areas in remote parts of the world have attracted permanent financing using endowments. This helps provide income \u2013 and sustainable conservation financing for national parks in areas that do not have adequate financial resources. Major donors including governments and conservation organizations have collaborated to fund the \u201ccrown jewels of nature\u201d, which helps make sure we can still have jaguars in the forests of Suriname, dolphins in the Caribbean, red pandas in Bhutan and mountain gorillas in the Virunga mountains of Uganda.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the United States, the Land Trust movement has grown organically. It sprang from the passion and commitment of individuals and communities who decided that some fields and forests, lakes and streams are too precious to risk development. Through a combination of land donation and acquisition, Land Trusts have been used to set aside land for the public and for nature, forever. There are now over 61 million acres under conservation, more land conserved than in all the national parks of the United States combined.3<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

The most common financial needs for land trusts are generally in three categories:<\/b><\/p>\n

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  1. Cash flows are needed every year to maintain properties held in trust<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The land trust organization operating costs, including outreach, staffing and facilities<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Acquisition of new properties<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Sustainable<\/span><\/p>\n

    The normal fundraising activities of most Land Trusts have historically placed a major focus on the second and third needs. Annual member dues and an annual fund drive often finance the organization\u2019s outreach and staff. Capital campaigns are the big fundraisers we see intermittently when a property becomes available. The Land Trust and its donors scramble to pay the purchase price for a property. Often these are time-limited opportunities, as a high-value property may be available for purchase before development occurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

    To meet these needs, operating cash flows are normally raised and placed in highly liquid checking and short-term bond accounts. For land acquisition, any investments held until purchase are usually invested in safe bonds and Certificates of Deposit (CDs) timed to mature just before money is needed to close the transaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

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