Hilltown Land Trust (HLT) is a small land conservation organization responsible for the stewardship of 4,200 acres of conserved land in 13 rural Hilltowns in western Massachusetts. In addition to our land conservation mission, we seek to deepen the connection between people and land by providing public access to conserved land and offering a range of public events.
In 2016 HLT staff and the board developed a 7-year strategic plan. We are now seeking to create a new strategic plan, mission statement, and goals and measurable objectives to guide our work for the next 3-5 years.
As a critical piece of our strategic work, we are seeking to grow our committees and Board of
Directors and believe it is vital to our work that we recruit and retain members whose
backgrounds, experiences, identities, and perspectives will bring greater diversity to the
organization. We believe it is essential that our work is relevant to and meets the needs of more
diverse people.
Background
HLT was founded in 1986 and hired its first staff member in 2010. We currently have three staff, two full-time AmeriCorps members and an eight-person, volunteer Board of Directors. Eight additional volunteers serve in an advisory capacity on HLT committees. Our organizational budget and staff have grown by 50% in the past two years and with that increased capacity we are hoping to engage in a broader spectrum of conservation work while continuing the land protection and land stewardship activities that are core to our mission.
In 2009, HLT formally affiliated with The Trustees of Reservations, a state-wide land conservation organization. The Trustees provides HLT with back-office support that allows HLT to focus on our core mission. While HLT’s work is embedded within the structure of a larger organization, we maintain a separate board of directors and conduct projects and run programs in our own name.
In 2021, HLT’s board and staff articulated our commitment to organization values of community, sustainability, collaboration, accountability, and belonging. These values lay the foundation for imagining a Hilltown Land Trust that better serves the needs and interests of our whole community. (Full Values Statement is included below.)
Hilltown Land Trust’s staff and board have engaged in some initial diversity and inclusion training as a group (over zoom in 2021) and individually during 2020, 2021, and 2022.
In fall 2022, HLT launched a public survey and series of conversations with community members intended to hear from and build relationships with a more diverse group of constituents as a precursor to diversifying organizational leadership and planning for the organization’s future. We have heard feedback from over 150 community members about our past work, future priorities, and interest in getting more involved with our organization. This survey remains open as we continue to reach out to more people.
Over the last several years, HLT has begun to build relationships with members of the Nipmuc Nation. This collaboration has included consultation on Indigenous priorities for reparative actions, working together on grant-seeking to strengthen and sustain this work within the Tribe and HLT, and working with a Nipmuc Cultural Steward to incorporate Indigenous stewardship perspectives into our conservation work.
Proposals
Hilltown Land Trust is seeking a consultant or team of consultants to guide the organization through a strategic planning process and to build the skills of our board and staff team in diversity, equity, cultural sensitivity, and inclusion issues. HLT desires to become a land trust whose work not only serves our current members but also supports people who have been underserved, excluded, and forgotten. We are seeking consultants to lead us in a strategic planning process to frame this work. We are clear that this work will involve some organizational transitions and hope to work with consultants skilled in facilitating open, honest, and challenging communications.
We are accepting proposals from consultants to guide us in either or both of the following, with preference going towards a consultant(s) who could provide both, as we view these issues to be interconnected and complementary.
Expected Outcomes from HLT’s work with consultants:
- Strategic planning: revising our mission and goals, establishing measurable objectives for a 3- 5 year time frame, facilitating discussions related to programmatic focus and fundraising capacity, and preparing a draft strategic plan.
- Cultural sensitivity training to ensure HLT is a welcoming, inclusive, and equitable organization prepared to serve our whole community.
HLT’s board and staff are fully committed to dedicate at least two full days to accomplish the group work needed for plan development and training. We envision additional time will be spent preparing for and following up on these sessions.
Ideally, this work will begin in spring 2023 and be completed by the end of the summer 2023. Preference will be given to consultants with experience working with conservation organizations.
To respond to this request for proposals, please provide the following to our Executive Director Sally Loomis (sally@hilltownlandtrust.org):
- A brief description of proposed services and expected process
- Expected outcomes
- Time involved including feasible start date
- Expected costs
- A list of references and/or previous clients (please include any conservation organizations you have worked with)
Due Date: 03/06/2023. If you need more time, please reach out to let us know.
Hilltown Land Trust Organizational Values
Community
The benefits of conserving land stretch beyond just our geographic service area. Our HLT community includes partners, donors, visitors, volunteers, and supporters from all over and from all walks of life. By welcoming and embracing diverse opinions and identities, our Hilltown Land Trust community and the land we conserve, and steward will have greater impact both within our service area and beyond.
Sustainability
We believe that the health of the land, the fauna and flora, our air and water, and ultimately, people require attention and care over the long term. Our mission and resultant actions must be anchored in the truths of the past, the realities of today, and be focused on future outcomes.
Collaboration
We seek to build lasting partnerships through listening and sustained engagement and seek to pool our resources with others to advance shared goals. By leveraging our collective strengths and expertise, we will accomplish more than on our own.
Accountability
We understand that honesty and transparency are essential to earning the trust of our donors, our members, our volunteers, our partners, and the communities we seek to serve. Additionally, as a land conservation organization, we hold ourselves accountable to telling a more complete history of the land we conserve.
Belonging
All people benefit from the preservation of the natural world and have a right to be heard and to be included in issues that affect their lives and those of future generations. We seek to reduce historical and present-day barriers to accessing our natural world.
