Land Trust Capacity Building Grants Recipients

The over-arching goal of the Capacity Building Grants is to build land trusts with sustainable professional and technical capacity. These two-year, matching grants ranging from $30,000-$60,000 are enabling eight selected land trusts to significantly expand their professional capacity by supporting permanent staff or other major capacity building investments in land trust leadership, coastal land conservation, stewardship, and regional collaboration. Five projects were awarded with these grants, as follows:

Downeast Rivers Land Trust, Great Auk Land Trust, Quoddy Regional Land Trust, Maine Coast Heritage Trust

•  Project: Building the Capacity and Sustainability of Three Land Trusts in Downeast Coastal Maine
•  Project Summary: Funding is directed to support a broad, innovative collaborative that is aimed at strengthening the land trusts toward realizing a Downeast Conservation Vision. The grant enables the addition of three fulltime staff that will serve the Downeast region for a three-year pilot period and beyond. Specifically one Development Specialist to be shared by the three local trusts, two Conservation Specialists, and one Administrative Efficiencies provided through contract personnel.
•  Funding Amount: $55,200

 Georges River Land Trust

•  Project : An Intact Watershed: Building Georges River Land Trust Capacity to Accelerate Community-Based Conservation
•  Project Summary: Funding is directed to increase significantly this growing land trust’s use of community-based efforts to advance conservation. They seek to serve as a catalyst for locally supported land protection results and to inspire, sustain, and nurture stewardship ethic among residents in the watershed. The grant enables increasing the Conservation Project Manager from 32 hours/ week to full-time, hiring the first Stewardship & Trails Manager at 32 hours/ week, and providing this position with professional development training and technological support.
• Funding Award: $50,700

Medomak Valley Land Trust

•  Project : Conservation Connections: A Capacity Building Initiative
•  Project Summary: Funding is directed to support the land trust’s leadership in meeting urgency for land protection and lack of local resources with an innovative plan to accelerate conservation in the Medomak River valley. Their focus is building on-going conversations and establishing stronger connections with the local communities and other conservation groups. Specifically, funding will upgrade the Executive Director position to full-time and create a new part-time (24-32 hours) Development Specialist.
•  Funding Amount: $55,700

  Lower Kennebec Regional Land Trust and Phippsburg Land Trust

•  Project : Kennebec Estuary Collaboration
•  Project Summary: Funding is directed to support a new formal collaborative focused on conserving the unique land and water resources of the Kennebec River Estuary, one of the largest and most important freshwater tidal ecosystems in the country. The grant enables the partnership to hire an Executive Director and an Administrative Coordinator, with the intent to professionalize the business and administrative functions of the two organizations and to work with both of the land trust boards to develop a shared vision for land conservation in the Kennebec Estuary.
• Funding Amount: $56,400

 Royal River Conservation Trust

•  Project : Stewardship Coordinator for Royal River Conservation Trus t
•  Project Summary : Funding is directed to launch the crucial, organization-building next steps of a land trust created by a recent consolidation of three small mid-coast local land trusts. The grant enables this land trust to hire a part-time Stewardship Coordinator to strengthen their base of support, be more proactive in looking for and following up on land conservation projects, and bring the baselines, easements and management practices inherited in a recent merger up to fulfill the revised Land Trust Standards and Practices.
•  Funding Amount: $32,000