FUNDRAISING WISDOM
SARAH BRATNOBER
< Kids get to be scientists while their parents help with easy stewardship projects as part of Mississippi Valley Conservancy’s Naturehood Connections program.
Relevance and Conservation Becoming the Land Trust Your Community Needs
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By MARC S M I LE Y
ustainability for land trusts is more than a good idea. It is fundamental to our audacious promise of perpetuity. Becoming a sustainable land trust may come down to a simple equation of relevance and relationship-building over time—two critical principles for fundraisers and development directors to build into their programs. Relevance and equity-focused programming go hand-in-glove. A focus on relevance opens up constituencies in ways that land trusts too often neglect. Relevance requires a focus on inclusion, reinforcing the relationship-building priority at the heart of sustainable resource development. This last year brought a lot of uncomfortable adjustment and learning to conservation groups everywhere, but relevance never rang with greater significance than during these most difficult times. A conservation easement that no one sees rarely excites the crowd. In challenging times, this quiet community benefit may in fact come across as tone-deaf. On the other hand, access to nature, perhaps conservation’s strongest calling card, became a clearer priority for families, health care providers and others seeking meaning and respite in 2020. Nature’s health benefits emerged front and center, and land trusts were able to prove their value at a core community level.
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S AV I NG L A ND M A G A ZIN E FALL 2021
