Three More Wisconsin Land Trusts Receive National Seal

As we previewed last spring, we’re pleased to announce that Mississippi Valley Conservancy, Bayfield Regional Conservancy, and Caledonia Conservancy are officially accredited!  Our hats are off to you!

See a video we made about the process and hear testimonials from these land trust leaders.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission was incorporated in April 2006 as an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance to operate a land trust accreditation program to build and recognize strong land trusts, foster public confidence in land conservation and help ensure the long-term protection of land. The Commission is governed by a board of diverse land conservation and nonprofit management experts from around the country. Commissioners volunteer their expertise to verify that a land trust is carrying out specific indicator practices from Land Trust Standards and Practices.

The accreditation seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation. It recognizes organizations for meeting national
standards for excellence, upholding the public trust, and ensuring that conservation efforts are permanent.

The invitation to apply comes after many months, often years, of work revising policy, updating records, and fund-raising to ensure perpetual agreements are upheld.

Previously there had only been one accredited land trust in WI, Kinnickinnic River Land Trust, so these three additions are significant!  Each of these organizations has had connections with and received services from GWC and the Land Trust Alliance as recently as this year.  As we look ahead to meeting our goals for the Land Trust Excellence and Advancement Program (LEAP), we’re proud to share with you these accomplishments that align so squarely with our commitment to land trust excellence.

New LEAP Peer Learning Opportunities – Join Us!

We at GWC are very excited to announce a new offering through the Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program and our partnerships with the Land Trust Alliance Midwest Program and the Heart of the Lakes in Michigan. 

Building on the success of the Peer-to-Peer Mentoring program piloted in Michigan in 2010,  we are teaming up to offer a peer-to-peer mentoring program in Wisconsin and Michigan in 2012.  Due to the generosity of our LEAP funders, participation in the program is free and available to all land trust members of Gathering Waters!

What is the Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program?

This is an organized effort to match peers of similar experiences throughout Michigan and Wisconsin to learn from one another as a component of both ACE (Accelerating Conservancy Excellence) and LEAP (Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program).  This mentoring program will foster relationships and advance learning and sharing opportunities within the land trust community.  In addition to individual visits there will be group learning opportunities throughout the year and we will reimburse peers for making one trip to visit another peer.

 Is it right for me?

We hope so!  The program is designed for staff and board members of land trusts in WI and MI that are willing to share their expertise as well as learn from others doing similar work.  The requirements of the program are that participants make one trip between March 1 and October 31, 2012, and be willing to host peers at their land trust.

 How do I apply?

Applications are due by January 20, 2012 and should be submitted electronically to MaryKay O’Donnell, Kate Zurlo-Cuva, AND Julie Stoneman.

Questions?

Call or e-mail Kate Zurlo-Cuva  (608-251-9131, ext. 12).

LEAP: The Right Services at the Right Time

This past January Gathering Waters Conservancy launched Wisconsin’s Land Trust Excellence and Advancement Program (LEAP), a three-year program to deliver focused and enhanced services to Wisconsin’s land trusts.  LEAP offers customized services to land trusts through an application process, as well as universal services to all land trusts.

Earlier this month we began accepting applications for the second round of LEAP customized services.  There’s still time between now and December 2nd for Wisconsin land trusts to submit an application to receive these tailored, one-on-one services.

As the applications come in, we’re also focusing on new universally available services to land trusts in the coming year.  In the next week there are two especially terrific trainings that still have openings:

Friday, December 2nd at 11 a.m.
Ask An Expert Call: Is it Fund-raising or Not? Making Sense of Fund-raising Expenses
To register, please e-mail your organization’s name, participant names, and e-mail addresses today.

Wednesday, December 7th at 10 a.m.
LEAP Webinar: Succession Planning for your Land Trust
Come spend your lunchtime with national non-profit expert Andy Robinson. This 90 minute webinar is appropriate for all levels of knowledge and would be useful for board members, executive directors or operational directors. Because of the generous support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation through LEAP, this webinar is being offered at the discounted rate of $25 per connection to our members. Register by December 6th.

As we move to 2012, we want to be sure LEAP offers the right services at the right time to Wisconsin’s land trusts and are interested in talking with you about how to do this successfully.  Please contact Kate Zurlo-Cuva to talk more about how GWC can develop our programming to best meet your organization’s needs.

Now Accepting LEAP Applications!

We are now accepting new applications for land trust participation in Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program (LEAP) customized services.  We are very excited to have the resources to continue LEAP in the coming two years and have opened up a second round of applications.

Early this year, Gathering Waters launched LEAP, a program of services for land trusts that are both universally available as well as customized.  We have brought LEAP to Wisconsin land trusts jointly with the Land Trust Alliance in order to work with land trusts to uphold our perpetual conservation obligations as a community.

Photograph by Adrienne Wallner

LEAP universal services are open to all Wisconsin land trusts and consist of trainings, workshops, and other opportunities available throughout the year.  Customized services are available to select land trusts by application.   Selected participants will receive a customized suite of intensive services in 2012 and 2013 including an assessment, implementation plan, coaching and mentoring, and a grant to accomplish a major goal or task.

To apply for customized services please complete an application and submit it by Friday, December 2, 2011.  Questions can be directed to Kate Zurlo-Cuva or MaryKay O’Donnell from the Land Trust Alliance.

Rally Training – It’s the Real Deal

We’re home and recovered from a long weekend of intensive seminars, workshops, field trips, and receptions at Rally, the Land Trust Alliance’s annual training event.  This year, we were proud to host the thousands of participants in our great state and enjoyed the opportunity to learn from land protection experts from around the country.

We got the latest information from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, participated in conversations that will help us take climate change into account with our work, were joined by several top attorneys and land trust leaders to ask ourselves, “are we doing the right thing” with perpetual conservation easements, and convened our Wisconsin land trust council to discuss future programming for our community.

We were especially excited to celebrate our Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program with a reception sponsored by our board member Art Harrington and Godfrey & Kahn.  We are nearly one year in to this signature partnership program with the Land Trust Alliance and are proud that it was highlighted at Rally this year.

Rally is always a unique opportunity to learn from those around us.  The workshop sessions were incredibly useful as were the conversations in the hallway.  The energy was palpable in the conference center and though we left exhausted, we left filled with a sense of elation for what we do.

Next year’s Rally is in Salt Lake City on September 29-October 2.  See you next time in the mountains!

We’re Packing Our Bags for Rally 2011!

At last count over 25 Wisconsin land trusts have registered for Rally in October.  We’re really excited that so many of our member land trusts are seizing this excellent opportunity to learn from each other and the national faculty that make it all possible.

As we announced on this blog last week, Gathering Waters Conservancy was able to offer eight Rally scholarships this year.   We’re pleased to report that we’ve added to this number through our Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program partnership with the Land Trust Alliance.  The following groups received an Alliance scholarship:

• Bayfield Regional Land Conservancy
• Kettle Moraine Land Trust
• Milwaukee River Greenway Coalition
• Milwaukee Urban Gardens
• North Avenue Marketplace BID 32
• Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust
• North Central Conservancy Trust
• Ozaukee Washington Land Trust
• River Revitalization Foundation

All told, at least 17 Wisconsin land trusts are receiving some well-deserved assistance with Rally costs. Thanks go to the generous donors who make LEAP possible.

We can’t wait to see each of these Wisconsin land trusts and more at Rally in Milwaukee on October 13-16.  You’ll have endless opportunities to learn in workshops, get outside together, share with colleagues, and hear some pretty spectacular plenary speakers including Milwaukee’s own Will Allen while we’re there.

If you haven’t already, here’s your chance to register.

We promise you’ll get your money’s worth and feel reminded of why we love our important work.

LEAPing on Over to Rally

GWC is proud to announce that we’ve awarded scholarships to eight of our land trust members to attend Rally, 2011, the national land trust conference in Milwaukee this fall.

The land trusts receiving scholarships include:

• Baird Creek Preservation Foundation
• Baraboo Range Preservation Association
• Driftless Area Land Conservancy
• Glacial Lakes Conservancy
• Northwoods Land Trust
• The Prairie Enthusiasts
• Tall Pines Conservancy
• West Wisconsin Land Trust

We’re awarding these scholarships as part of our commitment to making land trusts stronger through the Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program (LEAP).  These scholarships have been awarded through our LEAP universally-available services.  We’re also working on customized services with six land trusts right now and plan to bring more into the program later this year.

Now more than ever we’re committed to standards of excellence in land trust work.  Click through to support our efforts to help land trusts protect the places that make Wisconsin special.

LEAP is Underway!

By Kate Zurlo-Cuva

In January we kicked off the Land Trust Excellence and Advancement Program and are pleasantly surprised by the tremendous positive momentum we have garnered in the land trust community.  Our two years of preparation and development are coming to fruition this summer – we’ve kicked off our first round of customized services grants and have made new trainings universally available to Wisconsin land trusts.

MaryKay O’Donnell from the Land Trust Alliance (our program partner) and I have been furiously aligning our resources for services with the six land trusts receiving an assessment, implementation plan, and a grant to reach a major goal.  Just this past week alone we had the pleasure of beginning an implementation plan on a gorgeous sunny day for the Green Lake Conservancy with a porch-side view of Green Lake itself, began the guided organizational assessment process for the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, and initiated a path to accrediting the Ice Age Trail Alliance.

Green Lake Conservancy board members, Kate, & MaryKay celebrate planning success over lunch

Each of these organizations is the recipient of a multi-year commitment from GWC and the Land Trust Alliance for mentoring, coaching, and improvement activities – these services total nearly $20,000!  The land trust community has collectively pledged a commitment to perpetual land protection and we take this very seriously.  We feel striving for excellence is the key to our future success.

We’ll continue to develop new opportunities to learn from experts in the field as well as our peers in the Wisconsin land trust community.  And, we’ll open up a new period for applications to the customized suite of services for land trust excellence at the end of the year.

Later this year, we’ll head to Lac du Flambeau to tackle a few goals with the Northwoods Land Trust. We’ll also carry out guided organizational assessments with Natural Heritage Land Trust and the Prairie Enthusiasts.

Please support our efforts to strive for excellence in the land trust community.  Your contribution can make the difference in a land trust becoming nationally accredited, contribute to vital trainings to bring land trusts up to industry standards, and assist us with meeting our mission of protecting the places that make Wisconsin special.

Serving the Land Trust Community, Collaboratively

In the non-profit world there is always lots of talk of partnerships.  To do them right, however, takes patience, experience, and an understanding of motivations.  Success is measured when collective objectives outweigh what could be accomplished individually.

Recently, we featured a video on our homepage about the Lake Michigan Shorelands Alliance.  This partnership of ten land trusts that operate in the Lake Michigan basin and that have been collaborating for nearly a decade, represent an incredible amount of regional expertise and opportunity for learning.  One recent collective success was the completion of regional critical resource evaluation maps.

Staff at GWC have also recently begun work with the Blufflands Alliance, a collaboration of six land trusts that operate in the upper Mississippi river basin across four Midwest states.  This Alliance is a model for collaboration nationwide and it is an exciting challenge to strategize and plan with such a gifted group of conservation leaders.

As these two entities look at opportunities in the future we are challenged with defining the value of collaboration.  A sustainable partnership demands mutual benefits and defined leadership.  We’ve learned from these two models and continue to study the best ways to make our work more efficient while also adding resources for conservation in Wisconsin.

It is here that we see more opportunities for LEAP.  Through the Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program we will unveil a peer mentoring network in the coming year.  It is our hope that we can continue to facilitate successful partnerships that benefit of the land trust community.  Stay tuned for more information on this and other universally-available services to help land trusts achieve excellence through LEAP.

GWC is grateful for support from the Joyce Foundation, the Brico Fund, Sustain Our Great Lakes, and Wisconsin DNR to work with LMSA and the McKnight Foundation to work with the Blufflands Alliance.

We’re Awarding Six Wisconsin Land Trusts with Capacity-Building Grants

Beyond the universal services, these six land trusts will receive customized services in the coming year including a guided organizational assessment, implementation plan, individualized mentoring and coaching, and a discretionary grant for use on a major project such as preparation for national land trust accreditation status.

The six land trusts receiving grants include:

• Green Lake Conservancy Foundation
• Ice Age Trail Alliance
• Kettle Moraine Land Trust
• Natural Heritage Land Trust
• Northwoods Land Trust
• Ozaukee Washington Land Trust

For 17 years, we have provided a variety of universal services to land trusts.  LEAP builds on and enhances this tradition of quality support to land trusts.  In fact, next Thursday all land trust staff and board members are invited to attend a Webinar on board member evaluations, and an in-person workshop on Tax Benefits for land trust work will be held on June 21^st in Madison.  We will be unveiling more of our universal services through LEAP in the next year.

Our next round of customized services applications will be announced later this fall and we’ll continuously update and refine our universal services to land trusts.

We are thankful to the following organizations for their support of LEAP: The C.S. Mott Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation , The Forest County Potawatomi Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Wisconsin Energy Foundation.