Financial management can be more of a challenge than usual in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring additional thought, care and planning. The Land Trust Alliance has put together a list of frequently asked questions and answers regarding use of restricted funds, when to utilize reserves, and how to maintain fiscal controls while working remotely, plus links to more resources. Check it out here.

Note that this is intended as a starting point for land trusts to be supplemented by additional financial management materials and guidance and is not legal, financial or other advice. If a land trust or individual requires legal advice or other expert assistance, they should seek the services of competent professionals.

Have questions? Please let us know. You can email us directly or call 802-262-6051 for Leslie, or 202-800-2248 for myself.

Thank you,
Hannah

P.S. Do you have 10 minutes for practical tips on re-opening? Melanie Lockwood-Herman, executive director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, discusses strengthening relationships, organizational planning and getting your team and facilities ready when re-opening offices. See the quick course here.
 

You may have heard that the U.S. Tax Court issued a series of recent opinions that directly address the specific language and necessary elements of a proceeds clause for conservation easements to qualify as charitable contributions. In response, the Land Trust Alliance updated its guidance concerning drafting provisions in conservation easements concerning extinguishment and proceeds -- Pointers for Drafting the Proceeds Clause in Conservation Easements. Your attorney may want to review your template to help avoid additional disputes with landowners. Terrafirma is seeing an uptick in claims where the landowner refuses to comply with the percentage payment in any clause.

The Alliance also has these additional helpful pointers on easement drafting to avoid disputes:

1. Pointers For Balancing Risk When Permitting Structures On Deductible Conservation Easements
2. Pointers for Balancing Risk on Conservation Easement Modification Eight Elements to Consider Following the Full Tax Court Decision
3. What you need to know from tax cases shorn of nuances
4. Pointers for Balancing IRS Audit Risk When Permitting Commercial Forestry on Tax-Deductible Conservation Easements

Have questions? Please let us know. You can email us directly or call 802-262-6051 for Leslie, or 202-800-2248 for myself.

We are excited to announce a pair of new features that should make life a little easier for Terrafirma member-owners – two steps at a time.

1. There is a new quick and easy way to update claims on the Terrafirma website. After you submit a claim we ask that you send us updates every three months, up until now via e-mail. You can now just click the handy blue “Add Update” bottom at the bottom of each claim instead. This will make past updates easier to track, so you can see at a glance what you last wrote and when.
2. There is a new payment option! In addition to the ACH transfer option that we announced in November, you can pay via online bill pay. See details here: https://terrafirma.org/payments

Please remember that Terrafirma applications and payments are due February 3, 2020. Land trusts awaiting a February Accreditation decision receive an automatic extension to February 24.

Have questions? Please let us know. You can email us directly or call 802-262-6051 for Leslie, or 202-800-2248 for myself.

Thanks,
Hannah

Conservation Defense Coordinator
ALLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC
(202) 800-2248  |  

Santa isn’t the only one with a list. On the Terrafirma website you’ll find a list of the 13 eligibility requirements that must be fulfilled before your organization can join Terrafirma. These answers routinely come up when examining claims, so you want to be sure that you can give a confident yes to all 13.

If you are already a Terrafirma member and you are updating your application, you may be used to checking off "yes" to all of these without reading through carefully. This year, remember to revisit these eligibility requirements and make sure that you still satisfy all of them.

Please also remember:

• If you are awaiting your February accreditation decision, whether first time or renewing, don't hit that submit button just yet! Please fill out your application and then hit "submit" once your decision is received. There is an $11/parcel accreditation discount that we don't want you to miss.
• Check in with your bank to see how to send your payment via ACH transfer.

Have questions? Please let us know. You can email us directly or call 802-262-6051 for Leslie, or 202-800-2248 for myself.

You can now use Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers to pay your Terrafirma premium. The ACH is a secure network that is all digital. Terrafirma is all online: invoices, notices, applications, policies and payments. Starting with the 2020 application period – opening on Dec. 1, 2019 and closing on Feb. 3, 2020 – ACH transfers will be the preferred method of payment.

Terrafirma’s land trust members have increased to the point that payment processing is significantly more expensive. ACH transfers are better not just for the planet, but for keeping your premium payments lower. ACH transfers are also less risky than sending paper checks through the mail, with fewer opportunities for human error and oversight. Additionally, this new system will offer easier payment tracking!

Please note that an ACH transfer is not the same as a wire transfer. Terrafirma does not accept wire transfers. While ACH is free, wire transfers incur a fee both for Terrafirma and for the land trust. Terrafirma charges a $30 processing fee for any wire transfers received.

Terrafirma cannot accept credit cards, due to the expense of both processing and administration, as well as the price of having the appropriate controls in place to address the high security risk. These costs would be passed on to you, the policyholders.

You may be able to set up ACH transfers online with your bank by creating a transfer to an external account using Terrafirma’s account information. Alternatively, you can take this information to your bank manager to set up an ACH account to pay the premium annually.

We’re excited to bring you this new payment method. Have questions about ACH transfers? Visit our FAQ page or please let us know. You can e-mail us directly or call 202-800-2248.

Last month we wrote about common problem areas relating to division, and how no-division clauses can help. Here is why avoiding division is crucial not just for the easement’s habitat, scenic values and wildlife, but for your organization:

• More owners means more chance of management related conflicts.
• Property divisions within a conservation easement increase costs and burdens of extra monitoring and enforcement, including more paperwork. 
• Subdivisions increase the number of landowners the land trust is responsible for maintaining relationships with; if a land trust is not able to devote enough resources towards landowner relationships and communications, violation risk increases.
• Studies show that more landowners means more risk of violations generally. This is why Terrafirma will always count parcels with different owners separately.

Have questions about easement division violations or anything else? Please let us know. You can e-mail us directly or call 202-800-2248.

Thanks,
Hannah