Get Started with Accreditation
By now, you should have a clear understanding of the value of accreditation, gained insight into the accreditation process, and determined that you’re ready for accreditation. With this foundation, you’re ready to begin your accreditation application journey and reference the materials below.
Express Your Intent
If you know your land trust is ready to apply, it's a good idea to let the Commission know and send us an expression of intent by using the form below. Even if you’re still developing a roadmap to be ready to apply for first-time accreditation and are still a few years out, we still encourage submit your intention.
Letting the Commission know your intent to apply means:
Your land trust will receive written confirmation of its intent to register that can then be shared with interested parties (such as grant funders).
The Commission can share your future intent with Alliance staff which will help you stay connected to educational resources.
The Commission will have your land trust on a contact list about first-time accreditation. We'll be in touch to let you know when the lottery will be opening and any other pertinent application process information.
Sending the Commission an expression of intent is an informal process and does not bind your land trust to apply at a specific time.
Explore Accreditation
There are many resources to help support your land trust prepare for the first-time process. We encourage you to explore the process steps by watching our Overview video and reviewing the reference copies of the pre-application and application. When your land trust thinks it is ready to demonstrate compliance with the Standards and the accreditation requirements, test this assumption with a careful review of the Reference Application Packet.
Read each indicator element and the list of required documentation you will be asked to submit.
Identify whether each document exists, where it is, and if it is of sufficient detail to demonstrate compliance. Most groups who go through this the first time find gaps. The next step is to develop and implement a plan to fill those gaps.
Go Deeper Headline
What can our land trust do to be truly prepared for accreditation? What do other land trusts find to be the hardest part?
At the Commission, we get these questions a lot and we understand why! The answer is, you know your land trust best and every organization is unique – with unique challenges and opportunities. But there are some common themes that many first-time land trusts have found challenging. Explore the resources below to dive deeper.
What's Next?
Enter the first-time accreditation lottery and submit registration.
