Become a Land Trust Member
Watch this recent video of our president, Andrew Bowman, providing an overview of the Land Trust Alliance’s work on behalf of land trusts.
In 1982, the land trust community established the Land Trust Alliance to strengthen conservation across America. The community realized no land trust works alone. Together, we can protect more land and preserve it forever.
The Alliance is here for our 1,000 land trust members:
- We invest in our members so you can take your career and your organization to the next level.
- We advocate for federal policies for our members so you can conserve more land.
- We offer conservation defense tools to help our members ensure that protected land stays protected — and so you can sleep at night.
- We connect our members to each other, to experts and to potential partners so you never feel alone.
- We provide our members with standards, training and expertise so you have what you need to run and grow your organization.
- We are champions of our members’ reputation so you have the support of your community and the public.
- We keep our members abreast of the latest developments, trends and opportunities so you feel confident, informed and inspired.
- Our events and platforms help you pay it forward, sharing your success stories and lessons learned with the land trust community.
Join Today
Is your land trust ready to become a member of the Alliance and join a vibrant and nationwide community of land trusts? Learn more about the eligibility for membership or submit your online membership application to join today.
Please note: If you are already a land trust member and it is time to renew, call 202-347-7475 or email membership@lta.org to receive your renewal materials.
Eligibility for Land Trust Annual Membership
To be eligible for land trust annual membership, your organization must meet the following criteria:
- As all or part of your mission, your organization works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in the acquisition of land or conservation easements or by conducting stewardship of such land or easements.
- Your organization is an active 501(c)(3) or 509(a)(3) organization, or a municipal/township land trust with an independent board overseeing the organization’s acquisition and stewardship.
If you do not meet these criteria, we invite you to join the Land Trust Alliance as a Government Affiliate, Nonprofit Affiliate or Professional Affiliate.
In addition, land trust membership in the Alliance is contingent on the following:
- The land trust must provide a Board Adoption Resolution form as a commitment to adopting the Land Trust Standards and Practices as your organization’s guiding principles.
- The land trust must pay annual dues based on your annual operating expenses.
Benefits for Land Trusts
Membership in the Alliance is an investment in your land trust, as our benefits will save you time and money — and advance your mission. In addition to the benefits of all of our programs and services, every land trust member receives:
- Three subscriptions to our quarterly, award-winning magazine, Saving Land.
- Unlimited access to the Learning Center, our searchable online resource containing publications, sample documents, online courses and other materials of use to land trusts.
- Discount on individual webinars and a year-long, all-access pass to webinars (as available).
- 20% discount on books, on-demand webinars, videos and other publications. Publications include downloadable resources that are free for members only.
- Access to affordable liability insurance (general and directors and officers) specifically designed for land trusts.
- Affiliate membership benefits from the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, including webinars, phone support and assessment tools all related to risk management.
- Eligibility to access Terrafirma, a one-of-a-kind insurance program for land trusts to offset the costs of legal action to defend the public liability for land owned by a land trust and conservation easements.
- Registration discount for each staff, board member and volunteer to attend Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference.
- Registration discount for regional events (as available).
- Inclusion in our Find a Land Trust directory.
- Free job listings and a link to your land trust on the Alliance’s job board.
- Free posting of requests for proposals on the Alliance’s new RFP Depot (coming soon!)
- Eligibility for scholarships to our conferences and capacity building grants (as available).
- Support in adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices.
- Access to support network and guidance provided by our distinguished regional staff for members throughout the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and West.
Land Trust Member Dues
Annual dues are based on a sliding scale depending on your organization’s operating expenses from the previous year (see the dues schedule below).
How do I calculate my land trust member dues? For dues purposes, your operating expenses include all those annual expenses that relate to the general function of your organization. These expenses include all personnel salaries and 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. Please contact Membership Services Coordinator Jorge Astorga at jastorga@lta.org or 202-347-7475 if you have any questions related to your dues.
Dues Schedule through September 30, 2020
| Operating Expenses | Dues |
|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | $300 |
| $10,001 to $30,000 | $425 |
| $30,001 to $50,000 | $725 |
| $50,001 to $75,000 | $1,000 |
| $75,001 to $100,000 | $1,250 |
| $100,001 to $150,000 | $1,750 |
| $150,001 to $250,000 | $2,000 |
| $250,001 to $500,000 | $2,500 |
| $500,001 to $750,000 | $3,000 |
| $750,001 to $1,000,000 | $3,400 |
| $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 | $4,100 |
| $2,000,001 to $3,000,000 | $5,400 |
| $3,000,001 to $6,000,000 | $6,600 |
| $6,000,001 and above | $7,800 |
Land Trust Standards and Practices Adoption
All Alliance member land trusts must adopt the 2017 edition of Land Trust Standards and Practices (the Standards) — the ethical and technical guidelines for how to operate a land trust. The land trust community’s shared commitment to these guidelines is essential to maintaining public trust in land conservation. Please note that these guidelines prohibit a land trust from knowingly participating in abusive tax shelter transactions as described in the Alliance’s Tax Shelter Advisory.
The Alliance reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or revoke membership of any land trust that engages in any conduct that may bring the Alliance or the land trust community into disrepute, including, but not limited to, willful disregard of the Standards.
View here the Land Trust Alliance’s policy on suspending or terminating a land trust’s membership.
Questions
Do you have questions about membership? Call 202-347-7475 or email membership@lta.org.
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