Membership Benefits
Watch this recent video of our president, Andrew Bowman, providing an overview of the Land Trust Alliance’s work on behalf of land trusts.
To help narrow your search, please choose from one of the following categories:
- What We Do for Our Members
- Benefits for Land Trusts
- Land Trust Member Dues
- Three-Year Dues Adjustment Schedule
- Ready to Renew
- Land Trust Standards and Practices Adoption
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.
What We Do for Our Members
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 nearly 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.
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:
Resources
- 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.
- Access to Ask an Expert, conservation defense and other discussion forums on the Learning Center.
- Access to the Land Trust Salaries and Benefits Survey.
- 20% discount on books, on-demand webinars, videos and other publications. Publications include downloadable resources that are free for members only.
- Starting in 2022, Alliance members receive a 60% discount on accreditation application fees.
Professional Development
- Registration discount for each staff, board member and volunteer to attend Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference.
- Discount on All-Access Pass webinar purchase.
- Discount on individual webinar purchases.
- Registration discount for regional events (as available).
Insurance and Conservation Defense
- 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.
Community
- 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.
- Access to the Find an Expert directory.
- Eligibility for scholarships to our conferences and capacity building grants (as available).
- Support in implementing 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.
Three-Year Dues Adjustment Schedule
As the land conservation community has grown, the Alliance has expanded the support, training and leadership we provide land trusts. To ensure these important resources continue to be available for all of our 1,000 member land trusts, increased dues revenue is essential. The Land Trust Alliance will be raising member dues over three years effective October 1, 2018. To help land trusts plan, we have posted the final dues schedules below.
Following this three-year period, our expectation is that periodic annual dues increases will reflect adjustments for inflation.
We recognize that for some members, this dues adjustment represents a challenge, but if we’re to grow as a community and achieve the goals we’ve set for ourselves, we must grow together.
Land Trust Membership Annual Dues
| 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 | $2,800 |
| $500,001 to $750,000 | $3,500 |
| $750,001 to $1,000,000 | $4,100 |
| $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 | $4,800 |
| $2,000,001 to $3,000,000 | $6,200 |
| $3,000,001 to $6,000,000 | $7,600 |
| $6,000,001 and above | $9,000 |
Ready to Renew
Is it time to renew your land trust membership? Call 202-347-7475 or email membership@lta.org to receive your renewal materials*.
How to Determine Your Next Renewal Date
We assess membership dues annually based on your billing date. Membership renewal invoices are mailed to members two months in advance of their set renewal date and include the effective dues schedule. Please submit your renewal payment with your renewal invoice. Early payment does not discount the dues for that renewal period. Please contact membership@lta.org for additional information.
Not a Member?
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.
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 conservation.
The process is simple: Learn more about the Standards.
Questions
Do you have questions about membership? Call 202-347-7475 or email membership@lta.org.
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