Midwest Events

Increasing Membership and Engaging Your Community

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-20T22:15:12Z

Date: February 14, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm ET
Instructor: Judy Anderson
Cost: $55 before 2/13, then cost will increase to $65
Level : Beginner / Intermediate

REGISTER ONLINE >>

Land trusts are the only nonprofits that pledge to be here in perpetuity-a pledge that necessitates support over generations. But conservation has to be relevant and important on a personal level for people to support your land trust into the future. There is growing recognition that changing demographics, including an aging population of current conservation supporters, will mean that land trusts need to develop programming and projects (and ways to describe them) that resonate with new, younger, socio-economically diverse and changing communities.

In this webinar, you will learn how land trusts of various sizes and capacity are using community-based techniques to connect their mission and work with the interests and needs of new and existing supporters. We will discuss how this approach, when combined with upgraded outreach/communication techniques, has increased their membership support up to 70% over three years, broadened their conservation impact, and engaged new partners and people. The webinar will touch upon the communication upgrades that helped make this turn-around possible and encouraged longer-term support.

Strategies for Drafting Agricultural Easements

Kimberly Seese — 2012-11-09T18:35:00Z

Date: December 4, 2012
Time: 2:00 pm-3:30 pm Eastern
Price: $25 per connection for members / $35 per connection for non-members. OUR APOLOGIES! THE E-NEWS FROM 11/14 INCORRECTLY STATES THAT THIS IS FREE

REGISTER ONLINE >>

A 90-Minute Webinar on Creating Easements that Protect Working Land Values and Associated Conservation Values

A landowner offers to donate a conservation easement on a 200 acre parcel, including 75 acres of active farmland and 50 acres used for forestry . . .

What factors should your land trust consider when evaluating the project? How can you create language which allows the land to be actively farmed into the future while protecting associated conservation values? How would this be different than a natural areas project? How will climate change inform the drafting?

If you want to ensure local food and farmland is viable into the future, the easement you write today should permit sound agricultural practices as agriculture and landscapes change over time. Balancing associated natural resources with agricultural production is part of the art and science of drafting "mixed use" agricultural easements.

Program Overview

Agricultural easements need to factor in economic viability, natural resource management, housing and building envelopes, water quality, climate change, subdivision, energy development and other agricultural uses such as fertilizer application and farm stands.

To learn how to handle these issues and more, we will discuss:

Eight key clauses you need to know before writing your next agricultural easement.
How to protect working lands as part of what your land trust does.
Key differences in protecting farmland versus natural land: from crafting easements to protect the right values, to monitoring and stewarding effectively, to handling violations.
What you should consider when drafting a purely agricultural easement, and how goals and easement drafting differs when protecting natural areas within agricultural landscapes.
Addressing biological values that are important to you, such as water protection, while taking the economic needs of the landowner into consideration.
Special community relations approaches you should consider.

This training will be led by Judy Anderson and Jerry Cosgrove. As principal of Community Consultants, Judy coaches organizations and teaches courses on organizational development, community-based outreach and fundraising, conservation easement drafting and stewardship, public land design, and community-based inclusive conservation.

As associate director of the Local Economies Project of the New World Foundation, Jerry works on sustainable agriculture issues in the Hudson Valley. He worked with American Farmland Trust for almost 15 years, and has consulted on agricultural, conservation, marketing and rural development issues ranging from farmland conservation to private capital development to farm estate planning.

Preparing Your Land Trust to Manage Risk Effectively

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-03T18:30:00Z

Date: January 14, 2013
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET
Instructor: Leslie Ratley-Beach
Audience: Basic/Intermediate
Cost: Free

REGISTER ONLINE >>

Note: This webinar is another offering of the previously held webinars on risk management, so if you’ve attended a risk management webinar before, you should be all set.

Land trusts cannot avoid risk and conserve land. Practice 6I of Land Trust Standards and Practices asks land trusts to assess and manage their risks. We will discuss key concepts in risk management as they apply to land trusts and the importance of risk management in advancing a land trust’s mission and protecting its vital assets. The intersection of land trust ethics and risk management is a central theme in laying the groundwork for a successful a risk management program that identifies and evaluates risk. Participants will leave the session understanding how to develop a risk management plan that integrates sound risk management practices into land trust operations, including:

A list of key tasks

Roles and responsibilities
Timeline
Process for reviewing incidents and near-misses and identifying necessary changes in policy or practice

Note: This webinar fulfills the requirements for the Terrafirma insurance discount only if the attendee is a member of the land trust’s board of directors, senior management or departmental director.

Free Tour: The Learning Center

Kimberly Seese — 2013-01-11T23:55:00Z

Date: January 15, 2013

Time: 1:00 PM ET

Land conservation is a process- filled with many twists and turns. And we’re here to help you steer! Whether you have a quick question for our knowledgeable forum experts or need to dig deeper for sample documents and articles, the Learning Center will quickly become your land trust’s most valuable learning and information tool to get the information you need.

Don’t know where to start? Take a free online tour of the Learning Center in our monthly webinar, offered every third Tuesday at 1:00 PM ET. Email tlc@lta.org to register.

Free Tour: Pathways to Accreditation

Kimberly Seese — 2013-01-12T00:10:00Z

Date: January 16, 2013

Time: 1:00 PM ET

Pathways to Accreditation is a private online meeting space where staff, volunteers, and board members can collaborate to complete an organizational assessment and develop policies to build a stronger organization. For land trusts on the accreditation path, the interactive Web site walks you through a series of activities and tasks designed to help you collect, prepare and coordinate the materials required for registration, the pre-application, and the application questionnaire.

Join us for a free online tour of Pathways to Accreditation in our monthly webinar, offered every third Wednesday at 1:00 PM ET. Email tlc@lta.org to register.

Easement Monitoring Done Right

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-03T18:31:13Z

Date: January 29, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm Eastern
Instructor: Jane Ellen Hamilton
Cost: $55 before 1/28, then cost will increase to $65
Level: Beginner / Intermediate

REGISTER ONLINE >>

Monitoring conservation easements will help ensure the land you saved yesterday remains protected tomorrow and beyond. This online workshop provides the nuts and bolts of monitoring from pre-monitoring preparation to post-monitoring work. This course will provide staff and volunteers with an overview of how to conduct a visit and an understanding of what monitoring is and its importance to land conservation.

You will learn how to:

Prepare for a safe and effective visit
Conduct a thorough monitoring visit
Complete post-monitoring work
Address possible violations

The workshop is based on the Standards and Practices Curriculum course “Conservation Easement Stewardship” (electronic copy available here )

How to Be a Great Board Member, Part I: Fundraising Success

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-17T18:45:00Z

Date: January 30, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm ET
Instructor: Marc Smiley
Cost: $55 before 1/29, then cost will increase to $65
Level: Beginner / Intermediate

REGISTER ONLINE >>

We all believe in the value of fundraising, and may even understand the process of fundraising. But board involvement in fundraising is always a challenge, and wishing won’t make it so.

Board members play a vital role in supporting an effective fundraising program. That role too often is unclear and underdeveloped. Land trusts need specific strategies to clarify the best role for board members, and for getting them to step up and fill that role successfully.

Participants will learn: the best ways to engage board members in their designated roles; to create mechanisms for accountability and follow-through; to identify other ways community leaders can be part of your fundraising team, and how to keep them motivated to help you raise money.

This webinar is the first of a three-part series on how to be a great board member. Parts II and III will cover governance and resolving disagreements to advance your mission. Look for those webinars in March.

Key Things to Remember When Drafting Easements

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-03T18:33:27Z

Date: January 31, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm ET
Instructor: Jane Ellen Hamilton
Cost: $55 before 1/30, then cost will increase to $65
Level: Beginner / Intermediate

REGISTER ONLINE >>

Drafting conservation easements that are enforceable, achieve their conservation purpose and satisfy legal requirements for federal tax benefits is a challenging task to undertake. Choosing from among the many possible easement clauses can be confusing and knowing which ones are right for your land trust can be difficult. This webinar will help land trust personnel who negotiate and draft conservation easements address several key points in crafting an easement that will last in perpetuity, including:

Recitals clauses
A Purpose clause that supports perpetuity
Essential clauses for tax-deductible easements
Tips on crafting easement restrictions

This webinar will help participants distill key information about conservation easement drafting to enable them to craft documents that achieve their intended conservation goals.

Practices Covered: 9E Easement Drafting

Partnering with Trout Unlimited for Conservation and Restoration

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-06T23:20:00Z

Date: February 5, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm ET
Instructors: Chris Herrman, Damon Hearne, Kevin Anderson
Cost: FREE
Level: Beginner / Intermediate

REGISTER ONLINE >>

The webinar will explore Trout Unlimited’s “Protect, Restore, Reconnect and Sustain” strategy of watershed sustainability. Driven by the organization’s Conservation Success Index, TU is working on watershed-based approaches that engage a variety of partners including land trusts. Particular attention will be given to efforts to increase species resilience in a changing climate by insuring in-stream flows and protected riparian habitat. Presenters will also provide an overview of the Coldwater Land Conservancy Fund, which provides grants to land trusts and state agencies to permanently protect priority streams and watersheds throughout North America.

What You Need to Know About Amendments

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-03T18:35:00Z

Date: February 12, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm Eastern
Instructor: Jane Ellen Hamilton
Cost: $55 before 2/11, then cost will increase to $65
Level: Beginner / Intermediate

REGISTER ONLINE >>

When a land trust accepts a conservation easement, it promises the original easement grantor, its land trust members, its funders and the public it serves that it will uphold the conservation easement forever. How, then, is it possible to amend “perpetual” easements? What does forever mean in the context of conservation easements? This webinar will provide land trusts with guidance in answering key questions when considering amendments:

What criteria should be considered when evaluating an amendment request?
How do state and federal laws affect land trust decisions on amendments
How can an amendment policy help land trusts determine if an amendment is sound?
What alternatives to amendments exist?

This webinar will help prepare participants to manage change with integrity and appropriately respond to unanticipated needs and events, always making sure to keep the public benefits in mind.

Practices Covered: 11I: Amendments

Advanced Appraisal Issues

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-18T01:33:21Z

Date: February 13, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm ET
Instructors: Bill Silberstein, Mark Weston
Cost: $55 before 2/12, then cost will increase to $65
Level: Intermediate / Advanced

REGISTER ONLINE >>

Qualified appraisals are the lynchpin of the process that allows landowners to benefit from federal income, estate and state tax incentives flowing from the donation of a conservation easement. A poorly supported appraisal, whether fraudulent or merely sloppy, damages the integrity of a conservation easement transaction regardless of the conservation values involved. It also damages the reputation of the land trust involved in the transaction, risks violating the public trust, and may reduce support for conservation in general.

This webinar will provide an overview of the requirements for appraisal of real estate and conservation easements used to seek charitable deductions outlined in §1.170A(13)(c) and §1.170A(14) of the Treasury Regulations. Participants will learn:

Recent appraisal-related case law
Strategies for selecting an appraiser
Common mistakes made in valuing easements
Tips for communicating with donors.

Free Tour: Pathways to Accreditation

Kimberly Seese — 2013-01-12T00:10:00Z

Date: February 20, 2013

Time: 1:00 PM ET

Free Tour: The Learning Center

Kimberly Seese — 2013-01-11T23:55:00Z

Date: February 27, 2013

Time: 1:00 PM ET

Rescheduled from third Tuesday to Wednesday, February 27 due to scheduling conflict.

Improve Your Chances for Success with FRPP Funding

Kimberly Seese — 2013-02-06T01:44:07Z

Date: February 28, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 PM ET
Instructor: Jane Ellen Hamilton
Level: Beginner / Intermediate -- Participants should have a basic understanding of the FRPP Program.
Cost: FREE

REGISTER ONLINE >>

Applicants for federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program funding must comply with the requirements of the FRPP Manual. This webinar will help you understand how adopting and implementing Land Trust Standards and Practices that relate directly to FRPP Manual contents can help your organization improve its chances for securing funding to protect locally important farms and ranches. You will receive guidance on several important conservation easement transactional practices, including:

1. Evaluating and selecting projects

2. Completing strong transactions in a timely manner

3. Drafting conservation easements that meet FRPP standards

4. Adopting easement stewardship practices that ensure the perpetuity of FRPP-funded projects

This webinar is applicable to both governmental entities and land trusts and will help participants distill key information about how developing best practices can help your organization achieve its farmland protection goals.

Standards Covered: 8 (Evaluating and Selecting Conservation Projects), 9 (Ensuring Sound Transactions), and 11 (Conservation Easement Stewardship)

How to Be a Great Board Member, Part II: Governance Essentials for All-Volunteer Land Trusts

Kimberly Seese — 2013-01-23T01:42:48Z

Date: March 5, 2013
Time: 1:00-2:30 PM ET
Instructor: Connie Manes
Cost: $55 before 3/4, then cost will increase to $65
Level: Beginner / Intermediate

REGISTER ONLINE >>

Navigating one’s role on a nonprofit board can be challenging. Unlike most other volunteer work, members of the board are directly responsible for the organization, from its mission to its finances and its ultimate programmatic success.

This webinar will explain the legal and fiduciary duties of care, obedience and loyalty. Participants will understand the roles of the board President, Treasurer and Secretary, and explore ideas for additional officers. We will discuss exemplary land trust committee structures and how they integrate. We’ll investigate how to evaluate your board’s performance as well as your individual performance in order to improve organizational functioning and increase your satisfaction. Finally, we’ll look at strategies for troubleshooting common obstacles, to take your board from good to great.