Risk management helps land trusts plan for and cope with uncertainty.
Land trusts must exercise care in determining how they will steward the land they conserve, while also ensuring the proper use and protection of financial, human and other assets essential to advance the mission of the land trust. The discipline of risk management offers principles, tools, frameworks and strategies that land trust board members and staff can employ to fulfill their responsibilities.
Embracing risk management as a discipline to protect the land trust’s assets involves:
Understanding basic risk management terms and concepts.
Learning to recognize and evaluate the special risks that arise as a result of land trusts’ work.
Recognizing the potential risk management roles of land trust personnel.
Formulating practical risk management plans and strategies suited to a land trust’s circumstances, current operations and long-term goals.
Explore the information, resources and suggested strategies for designing and implementing a practical risk management program presented here. It’s important to recognize that there are many methods and approaches to understanding and managing risk. The approach best suited to one organization may be impractical, inappropriate or ineffective in another.