Frequently Asked Questions about Land Trust Membership

To help narrow your search, please choose from one of the following categories:

• General questions
• Member benefits
• Membership dues
• Land Trust Standards and Practices
• Accreditation
• Additional questions

If you can't find an answer to your question(s), please contact Jorge Astorga, membership services coordinator, at membership@lta.org or call 202-347-7475.

General Questions

Why is it important for our organization to be a land trust member?

Being a member of the Alliance allows your organization to be a part of a vibrant, generous and supportive nationwide community of land trusts. In addition, membership offers a multitude of benefits and direct services that are available for your board, staff and even volunteers. For more information about these benefits, please visit our membership webpage. Please also visit our webpage, "Top Ten Land Trust Alliance Achievements," to see the major policy initiatives and programs we have invested in on behalf of our members.

What are the eligibility requirements for my land trust to renew/join?*

To be eligible for land trust annual membership, your organization must:

• As all or part of its mission, work to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in the acquisition of land or conservation easements or by conducting stewardship of such land or easements.
• Be an active 501(c)(3) or 509(a)(3) organization, or a municipal/township land trust with an independent board that provides oversight of the organization.
• Adopt Land Trust Standards and Practices as its guiding principles.
•  Pay annual dues based on its annual operating expenses.

*Organizations that meet the eligibility requirements to be land trust members are not eligible to join as an affiliate.

Is membership available to groups that are not land trusts or do not hold easements?

Membership is only available for land trusts or organizations that fit our membership requirements.

If you do not meet these criteria, we invite you to join the Land Trust Alliance as an Affiliate, which is available to organizations that are nonprofits, businesses or state and local government agencies working in land conservation.

Is membership available to individuals?

The Land Trust Alliance does not offer individual membership. However, people can donate as an individual supporter to receive benefits based on your level of support.

Why does the Alliance ask for my board member’s contact information and emails?

To ensure all active board members receive the benefits of Alliance membership, including access to the Learning Center; a subscription to Field Guide, our digital newsletter just for land trust board members; and discounted registration to Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference and other training, we need to have accurate and up-to-date contact information.

Whom do I contact for more information about membership?

If you have any questions, please contact Jorge Astorga at membership@lta.org or call 202-347-7475.

Member Benefits

What are the main benefits  for land trust membership?

• Three subscriptions to our quarterly, award-winning magazine, Saving Land
• Unlimited access for board, staff and volunteers to the Learning Center
• Discount on all-access pass and individual webinar educational purchases
• Access to affordable liability insurance program
• Inclusion in the Find a Land Trust directory
• Discount registration for each staff, board member and volunteer to attend Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference
• Eligibility to access Terrafirma, a one-of-a-kind insurance program for land trusts
• Free job listings and a link to your land trust
• Free posting of requests for proposals on the Alliance’s new RFP Depot (coming soon!)
• Access to Find an Expert, the Alliance’s new online directory of conservation professionals who support land conservation and the land trust community (coming soon!)
• Eligibility for scholarships to our conferences and capacity building grants (as available)
• 20% discount on books, videos and other publications
• Support in implementing Land Trust Standards and Practices
• Access to support network and guidance provided by our distinguished staff

Can you tell me more about Saving Land magazine?

Saving Land is the Alliance’s quarterly, award-winning magazine by and for land conservationists that offers stories, tips and resources on the latest trends in land conservation. Member land trusts receive up to three complimentary subscriptions and members can decide where the subscriptions are mailed, whether to its main office and/or staff and board members. Please contact membership services at membership@lta.org regarding changes to your land trust’s subscriptions.

Can you tell me more about Find a Land Trust?

Find a Land Trust is our online national listing of land trust members. Landowners, foundations, government agencies and others use it to find land trusts and learn more about their operations. Please contact membership services at kchang@lta.org regarding changes to your land trust’s profile.

What type of resources can members find on the Learning Center?

Our premier educational resource for land trusts, the Learning Center is your source for online training, Land Trust Standards and Practices, sample documents and more. Connect with like-minded peers in the Learning Center’s online communities, including the popular Ask an Expert, stewardship and communicators forums. Draw on the wisdom of others who understand the challenges you face every day, share your successes and celebrate together. All land trust staff, board members and other volunteers have free, unlimited access to this resource.

How do I log in to the Learning Center?

Please follow these simple steps:

• If you already receive Land Trust Alliance emails, click here to enter your email address and we’ll automatically email you with your login information.
• If you’ve registered for Rally or Alliance webinars, you can use the same email and password to log into the Learning Center.
• If you’ve forgotten your password, click here to retrieve it.
• If you’re new to the land trust community, click here to create a new account.
• Still having trouble? Click on the blue circle at the bottom corner of any Learning Center page to chat with us.

Where can I view a listing of our staff, board member and volunteer contact information and emails?

If you’re the primary contact for your organization, when you log in, click "team" in the blue navigation bar on the left to see the names and email addresses of everyone we have linked to your organization.

Do members get access to discounted webinars?

Yes, members receive a substantial discount on webinar purchases. Members receive a $35 discount on individual webinar purchases, while nonmembers must pay full price ($100). In addition, members can purchase the All-Access Pass at a steeply discounted price. The pass allows your team to participate in over 30 webinars at no additional cost. Last year members who purchased the yearlong pass saved an average of $50 per webinar.

What types of support/advice does my land trust get?

The Alliance offers advice and support via “Ask the Expert” forums on the Learning Center.

There are 18 staff located strategically across the country in four regional offices to offer support or advice to members by phone and email. They stand ready to assist you with questions ranging from easements, board support, collaboration, etc. Our regional staff also attend local and regional events, and visit land trusts in person to offer technical assitance, coaching and advice.

Here is a breakdown of regional support contact information:

• For land trusts in the Midwest region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin), please email midwest@lta.org.
• For land trusts in the Northeast region (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia), please email northeast@lta.org.
• For land trusts in the Southeast region (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, and the U.S.Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico), please email southeast@lta.org.
• For land trusts in the West region (California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Alaska and Hawaii), please email west@lta.org.

What is Terrafirma?

Terrafirma is a special insurance program just for land trusts to help them defend their conserved lands from legal challenge. It is available only to Land Trust Alliance members who are 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations.   Not sure you qualify or want more information? Please contact help@terrafirma.org or call Lorri Barrett, conservation defense coordinator, at 802-262-6051.  

Do Alliance members have access to other types of insurance?

The Alliance works with Conserv-a-Nation to offer affordable insurance options designed specifically to meet the needs of land trusts.

Do members receive a discount to attend Rally: The National Land Conservation?

Yes, members receive discount for each staff and board member to attend our annual conference, Rally: The National Land Conservation.

Are scholarships and grants available for members to attend Rally?

Thanks to very generous donations from our supporters, we are pleased to offer scholarships to qualifying member land trusts. Awards typically range from $500 to $1,000 and are intended to help staff and board members defray the costs of attending Rally.

What other discounts are available to members?

Digital  downloads are always complimentary for land trust members, including the Land Trust Salaries and Benefits Survey Report (a $99 value). Members also receive a 20% discount on hard-copy books and brochures  published by the Land Trust Alliance.

Do members receive discounts on regional events or other training?

Registration discounts for regional events are usually available. Visit our website for more information on upcoming events.

Can members post a job listing on the Land Trust Alliance's job board?

Yes! Members and certain levels of affiliates can post open positions on the job board free of charge.View the online form for posting a job description and details about posting fees.

For questions or more information about posting a job position, please email webmaster@lta.org.

What is the RFP Depot ?

Are you looking for a consultant, appraiser, attorney or other professional? The Alliance’s RFP Depot, is a central repository where land trusts, at no charge, can upload requests for proposals and receive responses from knowledgeable professionals ready to help. In January 2019, the Alliance will launch the depot on the Learning Center and there will be a call for early proposals, so please have your RFP ready so you can have a chance to be one of the first displayed on the new site.

Membership Dues

What are the dues for membership?

Membership dues levels are on a sliding scale and calculated based on the operating budget for the land trust.

What’s included in “operating budget?”

For dues purposes, your operating budget include all those annual expenses that relate to the general function of your organization. These expenses include salaries and other compensations, plus all annual operational costs, including rent, postage, printing, regular programming expenditures, management and fundraising expenses. Not included in this tally are the costs of purchasing land, easements and equipment. Expenses funded by grants should be included if they are regular and recurring, but expenses relating to one-time grant funded projects should not be included.

For organizations whose operations include non-land trust activities, include only operating expenses that pertain to the land trust operations.

Is there a discount or payment plan available for land trust membership dues?

We do not offer discounts on land trust membership dues. All membership dues are due in full when joining or renewing. In addition, we do not have provide any payment plans. If your land trust is under dire financial circumstance, please contact the membership team at membership@lta.org.

Can land trust members pay their annual renewal dues online?

At this time, we do not offer online dues payment, but you can contact the membership department at 202-347-7475 to process a credit card payment or scan your completed renewal invoice and email it to membership@lta.org. Please mail checks (including the renewal invoice) to: Land Trust Alliance, Attn: Membership Department, 1250 H Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005. 

Can you tell me more about the three-year dues increase adjustment schedule?

The Alliance offers excellent value to members, including policy, advocacy, education, insurance and regional support. Many of these offerings are provided below cost or are highly subsidized. While national associations commonly receive an average of 30 percent of their revenue from dues, the Alliance currently secures only 8 percent of our revenue from dues. Moreover, past dues adjustments did not keep pace with the Alliance’s growing annual costs of doing business. Thus, in order to continue to provide you with these important benefits changes to the Alliance’s dues structure are necessary and appropriate. Thus, the Alliance has determined to phase in its dues increase adjustments over a three-year period, which started on October 1.

The Alliance recognizes that for some members, this dues adjustment represents a challenge, but if we are to grow as a community and achieve the goals we have set for ourselves, we must grow together.

The Alliance is exploring and expanding all alternative sources of revenue to support the myriad programs and services we provide to land trusts.

In addition, land trust members that are operating nationwide are assessed dues on a case-by-case basis that appropriately reflect the size of their operations so they can make significant contributions beyond the scheduled dues.

Does the Alliance intend to raise dues again after the three-year dues adjustment?

After this period, the Alliance’s expectation is that any future dues increases will only reflect adjustments for inflation.

Where can I go to learn more about the three-year dues adjustment schedule?

To learn more about the schedule and review the dues, please visit our “dues schedule” section on our membership webpage.

Land Trust Standards and Practices

What are Land Trust Standards and Practices?

Together, land trusts and the Land Trust Alliance have established a set of guidelines for how to run a land trust responsibly: Land Trust Standards and Practices (the Standards). These guidelines describe how to operate a land trust legally, ethically and in the public interest, with a sound program of land transactions and land stewardship. They help land trusts to deliver on their promise of perpetuity, and they help ensure that donors, public officials and supporters can place confidence in land trusts and their work.

Is my land trust required to adopt the Land Trust Standards and Practices?

Yes. All Alliance member land trusts must adopt the Standards — meaning that they affirm these guidelines in principle and commit to steady progress toward putting them into effect.

Where can I find support materials for Land Trust Standards and Practices?

A sample step-by-step implementation guide is on our website.The Alliance provides guidance, online courses, sample documents and other resources to help land trusts implement the Standards. Please log onto the Learning Center and search the Land Trust Standards and Practices section for more information.

Does the Alliance check to see if my land trust is correctly implementing the Standards?  

The Alliance is not an enforcement body, and it does not monitor or check land trusts to ensure they are following the Standards.

Accreditation

What is accreditation?

Land trust accreditation is an independent verification that a land trust meets high standards for land conservation, stewardship and nonprofit management as articulated in Land Trust Standards and Practices. Land trust accreditation is a mark of distinction, showing that a land trust meets high standards for land conservation. It sends a message to landowners and supporters: “Invest in us. We are a strong, effective organization you can trust to conserve your land trust forever.”

For more information about accreditation, please visit the Land Trust Accreditation Commission's website or contact the help desk at info@landtrustaccreditation.org. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, is a nonprofit based in Saratoga, New York, evaluates applicants’ implementation of the Standards based on specific indicator practices.

Is accreditation the same thing as membership?

No.  Accreditation is a separate, voluntary verification process that land trusts apply for. Land trusts need not to be a member of the Alliance to become accredited.

How does the accreditation process work?

Applicants must provide appropriate documentation to demonstrate the organization is implementing a subset of practices from Land Trust Standards and Practices. For more information on the process, the Alliance developed an online course,“Introduction to Accreditation and the Requirements Manual,” available on the Learning Center. Please visit the website or contact their Help Desk at info@landtrustaccreditation.org.

How do you renew your accreditation?

Accreditation is awarded for a five-year term. The Commission will begin working with land trusts at least one year in advance of renewal to ensure process goes smoothly. Visit the Commission’s website to learn about the renewal process.

Additional Questions

How can I request a W-9 Form?

Periodically, our members will request the Land Trust Alliance’s W-9 form in order to process their membership payment. Please contact membership services at membership@lta.org to request a copy.

Does the Alliance offer health insurance to members?

The Alliance does not provide health insurance to its members.

Does the Alliance plan to offer health insurance in the near future?

Due to the myriad state insurance regulations, existing healthcare laws and current political climate, developing a health insurance network at the state, regional or national level is a complicated and expensive undertaking beyond our current capacity. The Alliance does not currently have plans to offer health insurance.

Where can land trusts go to find health insurance?

The Alliance recommends that you reach out to the following agencies that can help you find access to a health exchange trust or provider:

• Local and State Chambers of Commerce
• State association for nonprofits
• State association for land trusts
• Healthcare.gov
• Health insurance providers (Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, etc.)