MLTN Infoline – August 4, 2022
Is Your Land Trust Ready for the Unexpected? | |
Is your land trust prepared for the “what ifs?” of life, such as, what if someone hurts themselves on your trails? What would happen if your land trust lost dedicated board member involvement? Are there risks of potential conservation easement violations? We’re here to help you ensure the durability of your land trust and the permanence of its protected lands by understanding risk. Risks are not always bad — sometimes we’re presented with opportunities when we try new things or engage new people. The Land Trust Alliance, Maine Land Trust Network, and Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition are collaborating to help your land trust understand and assess its risks through a series of five online training sessions that will run Tuesdays starting Oct. 4. Then, your organization can consider a consultant led risk assessment. Please join us on Aug. 30 from 4–5 p.m. for a complimentary information session to learn more. We think you’ll be impressed with the value of this information packed, five-part, easy to digest webinar series. Register for the info session here. Knowledge is power, people! Whit, Jeff, and Donna | |
New Accounting for Leases in 2022: The Change is Here! | |
Thursday, August 25, 2022 2:00-3:30pm Cost: $59 for MANP members* with code, $99 for non-members This training is offered by Maine Association of Nonprofit’s partner QuickBooks Made Easy and is for users of both the Desktop and Online versions of QuickBooks. Is your nonprofit leasing space or equipment of some kind? If any lease you are under is for a term longer than 12 months, then you are in for A HUGE CHANGE this year in how you account for these leases on your books! The accounting gods have issued an accounting standard that deals with leases (ASU 2016-2 & ASC 842 for the accounting geeks out there). The bottom line is, the entire amount of your lease now needs to be booked as a liability on your books with a corresponding “right of use” asset shown as well. Making things more complicated, this new liability will need to be recorded as a loan with an imputed interest rate used to record a portion of each monthly lease payment as interest expense. This represents the biggest change in years in accounting and will have dramatic effects on your financial statements! Whether you are a nonprofit bookkeeper, a CPA, or simply doing the books for your nonprofit, you are now required to implement this change in order to be in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles. Visit MANP’s website for webinar details, a link to register, and the code for MANP members. (*Most MLTN members are MANP members.) | |
The Maine Emerald Ash Borer Management Project Needs Your Support | |
The Maine Emerald Ash Borer Management Project is led by Dr. John Daigle of the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine Orono. Dr. Daigle is a member of the Penobscot Tribe and is a Commissioner on the Wabanaki Commission for Land and Stewardship Nil yut ktahkomiq nik (the whole earth is our home.) John and his team joined MLTN for a Zoom call earlier this year, and more recently presented at Maine Audubon. He was also featured in the Portland Press Herald as a “ray of hope.” The purpose of this project is to build a community of interest and response to the Emerald Ash Borer threatening Maine’s ash trees and Wabanaki cultural lifeways. Land Trusts can be great allies in this effort by learning to collect ash seeds and collecting specimens on land trust lands to put in storage. In addition, John and his department have received a USDA Grant that requires a match. If you or your organization are interested in helping them reach their goal, you can provide match through funds and/or in-kind and volunteer hours. There is urgency in this request because the USDA needs this information very soon. If you can help, please click here and learn how you can pledge support. Our friends at the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative will be compiling all this information to present to the granting organization. If you have any questions, contact Jess Burton by email or phone: (207) 272-9693, or Dr. John Daigle by email or phone: (207) 659-6708. | |
Beginner Grantseeking and Intermediate Grantwriting Webinars from MANP | |
Need help securing grant funding to support your land trust’s mission? Maine Association of Nonprofits can help you find funding opportunities and write a compelling grant application. Choose one or both of these sessions to step up your grant prospects this fall. Beginner Grantseeking – Tuesday, Sept 13th, 2-5pm Where does the grantseeking process start? How do you find funders interested in your organization and your programs? There are proven tactics for finding funders that are a good fit for your organization–and plentiful resources online–many of them free! In this three-hour live online training, you’ll learn the best ways to begin grantseeking, explore four good places to start looking, work through a proven process for finding funder information, discover how to “dig deeper” into a foundation’s interests, and determine the best way for you to start capturing what you are learning about your organization and its potential funders. Learn more and register at MANP’s website. Intermediate Grantwriting – Thursday, Sept 29, 10am-1pm Many people who work in nonprofits find themselves in the position of “accidental grantwriter” and do not feel fully equipped for the challenge. This session will provide a balance of tools, practice of skills and significant writing opportunities to deepen participants’ knowledge of and skills in grantwriting. This intermediate-level training is also a hands-on writing clinic, in which registrants will receive feedback from other participants about specific sections of one of their grant proposals as well as have an opportunity to create and/or improve some usable grant content for their organizations. This session is focused on writing. Learn more and register at MANP’s website. | |
Land Trusts and Water Quality | |
August is National Water Quality Month and the Land Trust Alliance has released a new guide that will help land trusts learn about local water quality challenges, design ways to address them, and communicate about the land-based solutions they can offer. The new guide, Taking the Plunge: Guidance and Inspiration to Help Land Trusts Protect and Restore Water Quality, outlines the legal framework around water quality, walks land trusts through incorporating water quality into their work, and shares inspirational stories of land trusts that have successfully protected and restored water quality in their communities. Combined with Advancing Watershed Protection through Land Conservation: A Guide for Land Trusts, a new resource released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, land trusts will have the information they need to take on water projects. Land trusts are perfectly positioned to lead water quality initiatives that benefit our health, communities and economy, and many land trusts are finding water work to be critically important to their growth and longevity. After all, protecting water quality helps everyone. | |
2022 Fall Changemakers Gathering Application | |
Applications Due: Wednesday, August 31, 2022 The Gathering will be held at Tanglewood 4-H Camp from Friday afternoon, Sept 16th, through Saturday afternoon, Sept 17th. This convening is free for young adults (ages 15-30). Fee is $100 for established leaders, and can be negotiated on a sliding scale to ensure that cost is not a barrier to participation for anyone. The Gathering is intergenerational but youth planned and facilitated. This event focuses on bringing people together who are passionate about the environment, educating others about the environment, and are committed to building more just and sustainable Maine schools and communities. The Gathering provides networking and connection, skill-building workshops, self-reflection, heads together innovation and solution building, and a chance to gain hope and inspiration from other people who are working to make a difference for our Maine environment. Learn more and apply to participate at their website. | |
New Accreditation Requirement: Management Plans | |
In spring of 2021, the Land Trust Accreditation Commission released an updated version of the Requirements Manual and a document outlining the changes. Some of the changes began to take effect in 2022. Each month, the Commission has been highlighting one of the new changes. In July, they focused on a new stewardship requirement related to management plans. You can read the update here. You can also read recent updates on changes related to finance and transactions here. If you’re an accredited land trust or in the process of preparing for or applying for accreditation, you’ll want to bookmark this page for easy reference! | |
L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program | |
Applications Due: Friday, September 30, 2022 L.L.Bean and Maine Coast Heritage Trust are pleased to provide grant support to Maine’s land trust community through this longstanding grant program, which provides strategic funding to Maine land trusts for stewardship activities. Since 2004, L.L.Bean has been a critical partner to Maine land trusts, helping MCHT provide nearly $350,000 in grants to 54 Maine conservation organizations! Funded projects have ranged from creating accessible trails to funding essential preserve management plans to supporting outreach materials and maps, and much more. To learn more about about the program, view a list of past grantees and projects, and download the application, please visit the MLTN website. Questions may be directed to Warren Whitney, Land Trust Program Director at Maine Coast Heritage Trust. | |