Loud, proud and accredited

Your land trust has earned accreditation, you've run around the office high-fiving everyone, and it's time to take a breather after all the hard work. But wait, how will you market your new status?

"We sent a media release when we were renewed. We make sure our accredited status is noted in all our public speeches. We put it into our 'roadshow' PowerPoint presentation and use it at our monthly Lunch & Learns,” says Christine Johnson, president of the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast in Osprey, Florida. "It is a lot of work to be accredited," she says. "The organization invests a lot in being accredited: time, money and resources. Why would you not want to boast about it? Honestly, it matters, so why not tell your donors, volunteers, constituents, stakeholders, the whole world?"

One of the easiest things your land trust can do to let your members, landowners, donors and partners know that your organization is accredited is to add the seal to your printed materials.

• Display it proudly on your organization's brochures.
• Send out a press release.
• Add it to your entire suite of office stationery: letterhead, envelopes and business cards.
• Make it a part of your newsletter's masthead.
• Add it to your fundraising appeals.

Electronic communications are an integral part of how organizations communicate with members and the public.

• Add the seal to your website. Consider making it part of the masthead or main banner. Be sure to include a link from the seal to more information on what the seal stands for, pointing your audiences to www.landtrustaccreditation.org/about/about-the-seal.
• Add the seal or the approved seal language to your email signature file included at the bottom of all email correspondence.

Also, here are some examples of ways to use the seal on the ground.

• Add the seal to your preserve signs and boundary markers.
• Use the seal as part of signs and banner created for special fundraising events and press conferences.

"Our major donors have pride in their support of our mission. The community holds us in high regard. It gives peace of mind to our supporters that they are giving to an organization that is well run, for the long run," says Johnson. "I receive positive comments in conversations with major donors and the public when I speak about it."

Learn more about promoting your accredited status and find the Seal Style Guide at www.landtrustaccreditation.org/promoting-your-accreditation.

Christina Soto is senior editor and content manager at the Land Trust Alliance.