2021 Spring Landscript - Annual Report

DEAR FRIENDS,

What. A. Year.

A year that began unlike any other ended up shaking many of us to the core, upending our daily routines and our very way of life as a global pandemic hit home. We each did the best we could, and many of us found solace in the natural world (see board chair John Collins’ letter on page XX). All of us had to make changes of one sort or another, and many of us thought long and hard about how to build resilience for ourselves and our communities.

Throughout 2020, I spent a lot of time thinking deeply about something I’ve always pondered during my 30 years as head of GTRLC: sustainability. Not just the sustainability of our natural world but of the very organization you have all helped build since our humble beginnings in 1991. What steps are we taking to ensure long-term viability? What safeguards do we have to protect ourselves from turbulence in the uncertain years and decades ahead?

When we launched the Campaign for Generations nearly six years ago, we put much thought into this concept. One result was a renewed focus on securing planned gifts to sustain our work well into the future. That focus has paid off, as we have secured nearly 50 new documented planned gifts since the campaign began!

Planned giving, of course, is a wonderful option for donors. It allows them to dedicate financial resources to a cause they value without parting with those resources now. And such giving may offer tax benefits to donors or their heirs. Most importantly, it allows them to leave a lasting legacy in a cause they value deeply.

But these planned gifts are also truly vital to organizations such as ours, as they provide a continued stream of revenue for the future. While we will exit our momentous campaign soon, our work will not – and in many ways will never – end. The land is still calling, and we are still answering. Planned gifts help ensure we will always have vital resources available to tackle our mission.

Inside this issue of Landscript, you’ll see how these gifts are helping to keep our mission alive and thriving, even during difficult times. Thanks to all of you for working with us to accomplish these vital tasks and projects.

For more information about planned giving, please contact Fund Development Director Marissa Duque at mduque@gtrlc.org. And to all of you who have given – through a planned gift or otherwise – thank you so much for helping us save our region’s incredible natural, scenic and farm lands.

Stay safe and be well,

Glen Chown, GTRLC Executive Director

photo by Nate Richardson