Standard-Bearers

17 Mar Standard-Bearers

18 March 2025

By David Allen, Development for Conservation

Dear Board Director:

Does your organization have a Conflict-of-Interest Policy? Do you – specifically you – know what it says and how and when to use it?

Is it signed by every Board Director every year?

Have you seen evidence that it is being used?

How about a Gift Acceptance Policy, an Investment Policy, or an Internal Controls Policy? How about an Easement Defense Policy, Records Retention Policy, a Confidentiality Policy, or a Human Resources Policy?

Same questions: Do you know what they say and how and when to use them? Have you seen evidence that they are being used? Or are you perhaps simply trusting that staff and current executive leaders know what they are doing?

If your land trust has recently been accredited or reaccredited, the answers may very well be YES. All good. But the truth is that most board directors are substantially unaware of how the organization is supposed to work (i.e. what the governing policies actually say), and therefore effectively incapable of exercising their role in Governance. If you find that this shoe fits you, or perhaps others on your board, I have a suggestion for you:

Introduce a substantive discussion about board governance into the agenda at a board meeting at least every quarter.

Here’s one way that might look:

The Land Trust Alliance publishes a set of Standards and Practices to serve as guidelines for the land trust community nationwide. There are twelve Standards. The Standards are written in such a way as to be considered minimal performance expectations of land trusts, and documented adherence to them is required for accreditation consideration.

The first seven of the Standards are generally applicable for any non-profit organization, whereas the last five are specific to land trusts and land trust business. (If you are not representing a land trust, there are almost certainly similar, mission-specific standards you could adopt for your particular non-profit.)

Delegate each Standard to one of the board directors who agrees to serve as a “Standard-Bearer” for a period of three years. Each designated board member begins by reading carefully through the specific Standard and its subordinate Practices. S/he also reads through the by-laws, relevant organizational policies, and current strategic and operational plans, looking for vertical consistency. S/he accesses the Learning Center and reviews guidance documents relevant to each Standard and Practice.

The Standard-Bearer effectively becomes the board “expert” for that Standard. And s/he explicitly seeks unambiguous examples of organizational compliance with all policies. (It’s not enough to simply have a policy – it must be used, and its use should be documented.)

S/he shouldn’t simply take someone else’s word for it, either. Go to the minutes and see for him/herself.

At a designated board meeting, s/he reports formally on the Standard, noting all the practices and policies underneath it – teaching everyone else along the way. S/he also offers an opinion as to the degree to which the organization is currently compliant, offering recommendations for improvements or wording changes as appropriate. Any specific discrepancies are noted and recommended action brought to the board’s attention.

I recommend that board directors report on these Standards at board meetings, at least one per calendar quarter, and that the reports cycle through the Standards on a regular basis. The order won’t matter – any order will accomplish the same thing. And any organization could thus cycle through the first seven Standards every two years. Land Trusts could cycle through all twelve every three years.

Note that this is a terrific role for first-year board members. They benefit from knowing the organization that much more intimately, and the organization benefits from having a fresh set of eyes looking critically at the way it does its business every couple of years or so.

As an added bonus, when the Accreditation Commission (or me, or anyone else) asks whether your land trust is compliant with one of your policies, you’ll know!

You’re welcome.

Cheers and Have a Good Week!

-da

PS: Your comments on these posts are welcomed and warmly requested. If you have not posted a comment before, or if you are using a new email address, please know that there may be a delay in seeing your posted comment. That’s my SPAM defense at work. I approve all comments as soon as I am able during the day.

Photo by Kerstin Riemer courtesy of Pixabay