Determining What Records to Keep
Source
About This Document
Should you to retain all those scraps of paper, voicemails, e-mails and other items related to the conservation easement to document the donor’s intent, state of mind and the course of the easement’s negotiation? This document provides guidance on developing a records retention schedule.
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Membership Required
This resource is a Land Trust Alliance member benefit for the staff, board and volunteers of land trust and affiliate member organizations, and Alliance donors at the Protector level.
Labeling Records
Establishing a consistent naming and numbering system allows you to access records and information consistently and rapidly.
Sample for Practice 9G: Records Management Policy
This is a sample Records Management Policy from the accredited Marin Agricultural Land Trust.
Sample for Practice 9G: Records Policy
This is a sample records policy from the accredited Hudson Highlands Land Trust.
Recordkeeping Risk Assessment for Conservation Easements
Recordkeeping involves risk management. An organization must choose which documents to keep and which ones to destroy. This factsheet can help you evaluate which records are essential to keep and for how long.
Managing Records for Litigation
This guidance discusses basic rules of evidence that apply to the admission of documents most likely to be involved in conservation easement litigation. It also reviews best practices for records systems that are supportable in court and sustainable for the long-term.
Sample for Practice 9G: Records Policy
This is a sample records policy from the accredited Land Conservancy of New Jersey.
Sample for Practice 9G: Records Policy
This is a sample records policy from the accredited Bluegrass Conservancy.
Practice 9G – Records Policy Template, Sample 2
This is a records policy template by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
Sample for Practice 9G: Offsite Records Storage Agreement
This is a sample agreement between a land trust and a private individual for offsite records storage from the accredited Northern California Regional Land Trust.
Sample for Practice 3D: Project Fact Sheet Template
This is the sample project fact sheet template from the accredited Eastern Sierra Land Trust.