An Introduction to Mergers for Land Trusts

Mergers and other types of formal organizational partnerships have become more prevalent within the land trust community in recent years as a range of new challenges and opportunities have arisen.

This publication seeks to be a helpful resource to land trusts considering merging, with an overview of the process and key junctures, tips from organizations that have been there and tools to make the process easier.

Chapter one lays out what a merger means and the conditions under which land trusts seek to merge. It also provides an overview of other forms of collaboration that do not rise to the level of a merger. Chapter two presents the benefits and challenges involved in a merger. Chapter three details the merger process itself and identifies what land trusts should expect and prepare for in each stage. Included here are a series of best practice tips for making the process run more smoothly. The chapter also includes an overview of the steps in a typical merger. Included throughout this publication are case studies that illustrate different types of mergers and scenarios that led to a merger. The appendices contain handy checklists to help land trusts through the merger process.