Mergers & Other Collaborations of Land Trusts in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Land Conservation ConferenceWorcester MA

March 2012

Presenters: Panelists:Mark H. Robinson Jaci BartonExecutive Director Executive DirectorThe Compact of Cape Cod Barnstable Land Trust, Inc.Conservation Trusts, Inc.& &Kristin DeBoer Peggy StevensExecutive Director Executive DirectorKestrel Land Trust Westport Land Conservation Trust

Mergers & Other CollaborationsGeneral Forms of Collaboration

Information Sharing: listserv, get-togethers

Resource Sharing: equipment, office, knowledge

    Joint Venture: land acquisition

    Service Agreements: MassLIFT, one-time or extended; mapping, etc.

    Staff Sharing: potential conflicts can be avoided

Group Purchasing: bulk discount; NonProfit Connect

Fiscal Sponsorship: MLTC for many years

Service Centers: The Compact, Coalition for Buzzards Bay

Restructuring: mergers, affiliations, supporting organizations

• Why get a partner? It just complicates things!

• Answer: – They have something you don’t– They have something you need– Such as: $$$$ or expertise or clout or

backup– Create a track record– Satisfaction of success shared

Mergers & Other Collaborations

What comes first? The Project or the Partner?Usually, the project, but not always

Ex: 1997 MV Conservation Partnership TTOR, TNC, SMF, VCS, MVLB

Ex: current W. Mass Aggregation ProjectMt. Grace, Franklin LT, BNRC, etc.

FIRST PRINCIPLESHow to pick a partner:• Understand niches and needs

• Identify interests (functional, geographic)

• Don’t waste time: round pegs, square holes

Examples:TTOR, MAS: adding to existing holdings or

large new areasTNC: prime rare species habitatsDFG: hunting and fishing access

$$$$Land is ever more expensive

Each pot is limited:

(CPA matching grants way down; 25%)

Fundraising in down economy likely to be tougher

Partners enable you to reach

higher and more often

Dennis Pond Deal, 2006-2007PARTNERS:• Public:

– Town of Yarmouth (OSC, CPC, ConCom)– State Self Help Program

• Private:– The Nature Conservancy– International Fund for Animal Welfare– The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation

Trusts– Yarmouth Conservation Trust

• Each had a different reason to be involved

The Nature Conservancy

The Compact

$250,000 guarantee $250,000 guarantee

Intern. Fund for Animal Welfare

$500,000 no-interest loan

Yarmouth Conservation Trust

pre-acquisition

Town of Yarmouth

Seller

$500,000

Deed

$500K

Deed

State LAND grant

$250K

DENNIS POND DEAL, 2006-2007

CR

June 2007

Dec 2007

March 2008

A Service Center

The Compact is the oldest, self-sustaining regional service center for land trusts in the U.S.

Land Trust Alliance, 2002: Compact “a national model of sustainable land trust cooperation on a regional basis”Source: Robert Bowers, LTA Board Chairman, letter to The Compact.

Texas State University, 2005: Compact “an excellent example of how a

grassroots effort of dedicated land trusts can build a sustainable service center that continues to evolve to meet the needs of land trusts.”

Source: Rebecca Ann Blecke, “Land Trust Training and Technical Assis-tance Programs: A National Assessment,” M.P.A. thesis, TSU, Fall 2005.

“Models of Collaboration Among Land Trusts” by Sylvia Bates for Maine Coast Heritage Trust, June 2005

Conclusions:1. Volunteers who manage land trusts find the

full-time staff support of Compact crucial 2. Compact enables land trusts to do more work

and more ambitious complex projects.3. Compact’s philosophy: best way to keep

Compact strong is to build capacity of land trusts

4. Compact does not compete with member land trust on fundraising

5. Compact cannot substitute for local leadership

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Ingredients of The Compact1. Shared regional identity: an area that makes

sense to people (Cape Cod, as opposed to MetroWest, whatever that is)

2. Scope: large enough to create economies of scale, small enough to be present in each community regularly

3. Create trust by time, familiarity4. Longevity at the top5. Create value-added for each member land

trust; money being well-spent6. Not just a clearinghouse, hands-on help

Vive la difference!Most land trust service centers founded with “top-down” approach or “other peoples’ money”Examples: 1. Connecticut Land Trust Service Bureau

founded by The Nature Conservancy 2. Gathering Waters land trust coalition in

Wisconsin funded by state operating budget3. LTA funded statewide land trust centers in

NY and WA.BUT, The Compact formed by local land trusts

banding together and self-funding.

Members of The Compact, 2012Association to Preserve Cape CodBarnstable Land Trust, Inc.Bourne Conservation TrustBrewster Conservation TrustChatham Conservation

FoundationCoalition for Buzzards BayDennis Conservation TrustEastham Conservation FoundationThe 300 Committee, Inc.

(Falmouth)

Massachusetts Audubon SocietyThe Nature Conservancy (MA Chapter)Orenda Wildlife Land Trust, Inc.Orleans Conservation TrustProvincetown Conservation TrustSandwich Conservation TrustThree Bays Preservation, Inc. (Barnstable)Truro Conservation TrustWellfleet Conservation TrustYarmouth Conservation TrustFriends of Pleasant BayHarwich Conservation Trust

20 Voting Members – $1,500 minimum for dues and service; entitled to direct service on projects, access to Land Fund loans and grants

3 Associate Members - $300 - $500 annual dues

Board of Directors - 18(each Voting Member land trust pays $1,500 per year and sends a delegateto vote on Compact matters; meets 5-6x/yr.)

GOVERNANCE

Thomsen Land Fund Managers – 5

(appointed by Board of Directors, including 2 at-large, non-board members; has separate decisionmaking on investments and requests by land trusts for mini-grants and low-interest loans; reports decisions to Board; meets as needed; advised by Exec. Dir.)

Staff – 3

Executive Director

Mark Robinson, 26 years

Assistant Director

Michael Lach, 12 years

Senior Land Protection Specialist

Paula Pariseau, 9 years

(all full-time professionals)

Nominating Committee – 3

Recommends officers, and annual award recipient

The Compact also provides office space for a full-time administrator of one land trust and payroll services for 4 others

PROGRAMS

There are only 300 acres of American holly/American beech forest on Cape Cod, according to the Wildlife Conservation Project, a countywide GIS

mapping project published by The Compact in 2003.

In 2003, The Compact published its Cape Cod Priority Ponds Project, which analyzed and ranked for protection almost 3,000 pondshore parcels totaling more than 12,000 acres.

In 2005, The Compact completed its Perceived Open Space Project, inventorying about 9,000 acres on Cape Cod, all unprotected lands used for recreation, agriculture or institutional use, such as the boy scout camp in Yarmouth shown here.

Charles H. Thomsen Land Fund for Cape Cod

The Charles H. Thomsen Land Fund

for Cape Cod is a The Compact’s revolving loan fund, providing local land trusts with timely access to

capital to purchase critical land.

$560,000 in capital has been lent out and returned 39 times for a total of $3.55m since 1992

“A distinguishing quality of the Land Fund is the close connection between the Compact’s leadership and the client land trusts. The land trusts work together to guide The Compact, which creates a high level of trust and interchange. The commitment to shared risk developed through an awareness of the work of each trust, and the governance role that these land trusts play in The Compact, allow the loan fund staff and board to feel comfortable offering generous, flexible loan terms.” Source: A Field Guide to Conservation Finance by Story Clark, Island Press, 2007, p. 243.

Charles H. Thomsen Land Fund for Cape Cod• Working capital: $650,000• Loan terms: 1% -4%,

unsecured, short-term (less than 5 years)

• 39 loans made since 1992• Loans have ranged from

$7,500 to $300,000• $3,550,000 in loans made, all

but $9,000 has been paid back so far.

• $95,000 in small grants have also been distributed to local projects.

• In total, grants and loans have resulted in the purchase of 681 acres worth more than $18 million.

The Thomsen Land Fund provides money for land acquisitions by tree-huggers all over Cape Cod.

SERVICES

COMPACT REVENUES, 2006COMPACT REVENUES, 2006

Most of the funding for The Compact’s operations comes from the land trusts themselves, in the form of annual dues and fees for direct services on their local projects. Source: 2006 audit of The Compact

How Compact staff time is spent

RegionalProjects

20%

General and Administration

4%

Member Land Trust Projects 

76%

Source: Compact timesheets, 2005

Types of services provided to Member land trusts:• Landowner outreach and negotiations• Deed, conservation restriction drafting and approvals• Natural resource baseline & property inventories• Educational workshops for land trusts and landowners• Regional open space research & ranking• Land use management plans for conservation areas• Grant writing• Newsletter writing, editing, layout• Advice on public filings• Fundraising campaign structure• Membership development coordination• Liaison to county, regional and state non-profits & agencies, media• Cultivation of regional network of professionals available to assist

land trusts at no or low cost

• Whatever else land trusts want/need and cannot get done with their available help!!

All-volunteer land trusts can do land projects without The Compact.

They cannot do multiple, complex projects simultaneously without The Compact.

SERVICES NOT PROVIDED

• Land trust membership data base tracking

• Envelope stuffing• On-the-ground land maintenance

(i.e., driving around with rakes and saws)

• Most tax filings

• Local leadership