Our Credentials
The Georgia Piedmont Land Trust adheres to the Standards & Practices established by the Land Trust Alliance (LTA). GPLT went through a rigorous process to achieve accreditation and renewal of accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission (LTAC) which evaluates a land trust's adherence to the LTA Standards.
Land Trust Accreditation Commission
Accredited Since 2015
GPLT achieved first time accreditation in 2015
and renewal of accreditation in 2021.
Accreditation is awarded to land trusts meeting the highest national standards for excellence and conservation permanence.
Each accredited land trust completes a rigorous review process, which takes 12+ months, and joins a network of organizations united by strong ethical practices.
The Land Trust Accreditation Commission was incorporated in April 2006 as an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance to operate an innovative program to build and recognize strong land trusts, foster public confidence in land conservation and help ensure the long-term protection of land.
The Land Trust Alliance publishes Land Trust Standards and Practices and selects the accreditation indicators; only its board can make changes to them.
Accreditation is not a one time effort. Once accredited a land trust must then be reevaluated every 5 years in order to maintain/renew it's accreditation status.
As of 2021 GPLT is 1 of 450 land trusts nationwide who are accredited.
Land Trust Alliance
Member Since 1998
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation organization working to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation across America.
The Land Trust Standards and Practices are the ethical and technical guidelines for the responsible operation of a land trust.
The Standards set 12 broad principles or standards. These standards are broken down into 59 practices and 188 practice elements, which describe the essential actions needed to fulfill the standards. The LTA provides training and technical assistance to help land trusts achieve and maintain accreditation.
The Standards exist not to protect a minimum level of performance, but to make the entire land trust community aspire to excellence and continuous improvement.
Land Trust Alliance member land trusts must adopt the Standards — meaning that they affirm these guidelines in principle and commit to putting them into effect.
GPLT readopts the current version of the LTA Standards and Practices at the beginning of each year. The most recent revision was published in 2017.
Guidestar Gold Participant
Since 2015
GuideStar helps provides information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving. GuideStar is a 501(c)(3) public charity.
GuideStar lists information on every nonprofit registered with the IRS as tax exempt, as well as data on former nonprofits. GuideStar obtains the information from the nonprofits themselves, the federal government, and partners in the nonprofit sector.
GPLT works to keep its information updated and correctly stated on this platform.
Thank you to Hank Ohme, Suzy Downing, Dale Higdon
& Carol Hassell for all our spectacular pictures.