NEW!  Land Trust Loan Impact Report

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We Are A Conservation Leader, Not Just A Lender.

Every community has a few favorite places that residents love and hope to save. Today, 1,700 land trusts operate across every county of America. These local land trusts—many quite small—manage to protect 1 million acres every year. But even savvy land trusts frequently lack sufficient funds to swiftly secure properties that come up for sale. As a result, land that could have been protected is lost to development.  As communities seek to balance environmental and economic goals, they turn to us for help.

Through our Land Trust Loan Program, we provide bridge financing and unparalleled real estate expertise that make it possible for land trusts to protect historic farms, natural areas, favorite parks and more. Because we actively work in land conservation, we are uniquely able to evaluate potential projects and counsel land trust staff on real estate transactions and fundraising and marketing, among other areas.

Since our first loan in 1993, we have made a lasting impact on American land conservation. Today, our fund stands at roughly $25 million. By continually revolving these dollars, we have provided more than $85 million in more than 150 loans to roughly 100 partners. With our backing, local conservationists have protected more than 95,000 acres across 30 states—lands valued at nearly $200 million. These include at least seven battlefields, five state parks, 25 natural areas for wildlife, eight forests, 35 farms, 17 historic sites, eight trails, 23 open space areas and much more.

The Conservation Fund Advantage

The Fund, through its Loan and Land Conservation Leadership Programs, provides local organizations with the financing and skills needed to accomplish their conservation goals.

Experience: Expertise and technical assistance is provided throughout the entire process—from acquisition to fundraising to disposition.

Flexible Terms: Security for the loan and payment schedules are tailored specifically to the needs of the borrower and any partners. Interest rates are typically below WSJ Prime Rate.

Efficient & Swift Application Process: The Conservation Fund is committed to working with each applicant to accommodate specific scheduling needs. 

Success Stories

Read about how our Land Trust Loan Program helped land trusts from across the country save their favorite places.

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Tennessee & North Carolina

“When properties come on the market, we need to protect them, or we fail in our mission. In the real estate boom of a few years ago, we were competing with developers trying to outbid us. Our good working relationship with The Conservation Fund enabled us to arrange loans so that we could close on a property, take it out of the hands of the seller and then have the time to raise funds after we’d obtained the land.” — Carl Silverstein, Executive Director (pictured here with his son, Will). Read more >>

 Westcave Preserve, Texas

“For many years, we’ve wanted to purchase the ‘rim around the canyon’ surrounding our grotto. The Conservation Fund lent us $1.3 million of the $2 million purchase price, allowing us to add the buffer zone we needed to expand our education programs, build a new nature trail and better protect the resources from future development.” — Molly Stevens, Executive Director. Read more >>

 Leelanau Conservancy, Michigan

“The Conservation Fund was absolutely critical to the Crystal River project. We borrowed $2.1 million while we waited for federal funding for the last 59 acres to come through. With our annual budget of just $600,000, a purchase costing more than $4.8 million was a huge risk. We could never have borrowed so much money from a bank.” — Susan Price, Chief Financial Officer. Read more >>

 Franklin Land Trust, Massachusetts

“Our first partnership with The Conservation Fund was in 1997-98. When you hike to the top of Mount Sugarloaf in Deerfield and look down on the Connecticut River Valley, much of what you can see has been protected by the Franklin Land Trust, often with help from the Fund.” — Rich Hubbard, Executive Director. Read more >>

 Land Conservancy of West Michigan

 “We were having trouble coming up with the final $3 million we needed to complete the purchase. The window of opportunity was closing fast, and we wouldn’t have been able to squeeze through that window without The Conservation Fund. The Fund was a wonderful white knight, riding in with a bridge loan we needed to complete the deal.” — Peter Homeyer, Executive Director. Read more >>

 Norwalk Land Trust, Connecticut

 “Talk about angels! If it weren’t for TCF, the deal simply wouldn’t have happened. The Conservation Fund agreed to give us a $2 million mortgage with undermarket interest and very liberal repayment terms. We couldn’t have done it without them.”  —  D. Seeley Hubb ard, President. Read more >>

Natural Heritage Land Trust, Wisconsin

 “The quarry wanted to expand, and they were outcompeting us in bids. The loan program helped us win, since owner Jim Koltes never wanted to see his family’s farm turned into gravel. He told us how pleased his late father would be to see the land conserved.” — Jim Welsh, Director. Read more >>

Brandywine Conservancy, Pennsylvania

 “Blaine Phillips, The Conservation Fund’s regional director in Pennsylvania, heard about what we were doing and was very intrigued. The resulting TCF loan was critical to bridging the gap in our funding and securing the last piece of the historic Meetinghouse Road corridor.” — David D. Shields, Associate Director. Read more >>

Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation, Minnesota

 “Our biggest challenge is to help the business community understand the relationship between protecting the resources and the dollars that come into their businesses from the hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the country who visit this area every year. The landowners we work with understand this and are very supportive; more than 300 local families have donated to our Conservation Fund loan repayment.” — Paula West, Executive Director. Read more >>

For more information:

If you are interested in a loan, please contact Reggie Hall, Director of the Land Trust Loan Program at (703) 525-6300 or by email at rhall@conservationfund.org.

We’re grateful to charitable foundations such as the McKnight Foundation, the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, whose leaders believe in protecting our American outdoors and have invested in our work.