Dear Friend,

Over the last month, the land trust community has been celebrating the biggest victory in conservation tax law in two decades. The expanded tax incentive, part of H.R. 4 signed into law in August, has the potential to change the way all of us do our work for the better.  This has been LTA's top priority for the past four years, and I appreciate all of your support to get it passed.  

Be sure to register for the National Land Conservation Conference: Rally 2006 October 12-15 to learn how to put this new tax law to work. 

See you in Nashville!

Rand Wentworth President, Land Trust Alliance

Tax Incentive Resources Online

Don Young (Ducks Unlimited), Mary Pope Hutson (LTA), and Andy Loza (Pennsylvania Land Trust Association) before the signing ceremony

In case you missed the extensive resources relating to the expanded tax incentive on our website, here are a few highlights:

• Tax attorney Stephen J. Small's Perspective on the Expanded Tax Incentive, and
• The Grassroots Toolkit: a collection of sample materials such as a factsheet for donors, op-ed and letter to the editor templates, and instructions for hosting a public education forum.

More Resources

Last Chance to Pre-Register for Rally 2006

• Federal Policy forum
• Seminar 14: Tax Benefits and Appraisals for Conservationists
• Panel discussion with the IRS (see C14 on Workshop Chart)
• Sunday lunch question and answer session

Register Now

Tennessee Land Trust Network Formed

Photo of Williamson County, TN, by Robin Hood

Since we'll be in Nashville for Rally this year, we wanted to highlight some other great news from Tennessee. Representatives of ten Tennessee land trusts met with LTA program staff in August and agreed to form a new statewide land trust network to be a forum for information exchange, collective planning and training opportunities; and for considering and influencing state public policies affecting land conservation interests.

Steering committee members include Jeanie Nelson, Land Trust for Tennessee; Kathleen Williams, Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation; and Bill Clabough, Foothills Land Conservancy.

Want to learn more? Catch up with Jeanie, Kathleen, and Bill at Rally!

Fundraising Tips

Do you need help improving your organization’s fundraising methods, getting your board involved, or just getting started with fundraising? The Alliance for Nonprofit Management answers some of your most pressing fundraising questions, such as:

• Why are people afraid to ask for money?
• How do we ask for a “major” gift?
• How can our board members help raise money?

You can also learn more at any of the ten courses on fundraising offered at Rally, including “From the Ground Up: Fundraising for Land Trusts,” “Five Million in Five Months” and “Advanced Strategies for Individual Giving.”

Rally workshop information

Updated Land Conservation Case Law Summaries

Check out the latest installment of Land Conservation Case Law Summaries on LTAnet, created by attorney Rob Levin. This quarterly electronic publication provides land trust practitioners with information on the latest legal issues and how they affect private land conservation. There are 93 total cases included, with fourteen new and three updated cases.

You must be affiliated with an LTA member land trust or one of LTA’s partners to be eligible for LTAnet access; learn more about joining LTA or sign up for your own LTAnet account.

More Free GIS Courses

As land trusts increasingly use GIS in their land conservation strategies, LTA is helping to make this technology more accessible to its members. Because of the overwhelming interest in the newly launched Land Trust GIS website and the online courses offered by GreenInfo Network and LTA in July, we are pleased to announce two additional free courses GIS on September 27:

• Introduction to GIS and Land Trust Property Mapping
• How to Make Outstanding Maps in GIS

Classes are limited to 20 people each, so make sure to sign up today to reserve your spot!

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Land Trust Alliance
1331 H St NW, Suite 400 Washington DC 20005
phone: (202) 638-4725, fax: (202) 638-4730
www.lta.org | eNews@lta.org

The Land Trust Alliance promotes voluntary land conservation and strengthens the land trust movement by providing the leadership, information, skills and resources land trusts need to conserve land for the benefit of communities and natural systems.