The Trustees of Reservations Conclude the Largest
Non-Profit Environmental Campaign in
Massachusetts' History Sharon, Mass. - June 19, 2006 - The Trustees of Reservations, the world's oldest regional land trust, announced today the successful completion of their Landscapes & Landmarks capital campaign. With the support of more than 13,500 donors, The Trustees raised $62.3 million in cash and received more than $35 million in land in just five years—the largest campaign by an environmental organization in Massachusetts' history. The Kresge Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and The Pew Charitable Trusts, who select projects on a national scale, were among the campaign's leading supporters. More than 20 donors gave $1 million or more to The Trustees—sending a powerful message that conservation and the environment are a high philanthropic priority. “Massachusetts is under siege,” explains Edward Ladd, Chairman Emeritus of Standish Mellon and Co-Chair of the Landscapes & Landmarks Campaign. “Time is short. I believe that we have one or two decades left to protect the integrity of precious landscapes and the character of local communities. This success is a transforming event for The Trustees and a very large step in preserving the quality of life in Massachusetts.” “The Trustees now have the capacity to operate at a new level of effectiveness,” says Frances Colburn of Manchester-by-the-Sea and Campaign Co-Chair. Completion of the campaign enables The Trustees to accelerate their conservation and historic preservation work by protecting more land, connecting people with their statewide network of nearly 100 reservations as outdoor classrooms, building the capacity of the conservation community, and involving more people in caring for special places in their communities. “One of the greatest outcomes of this campaign is that more people are involved in saving special places in Massachusetts than ever before,” said Andrew Kendall, President of The Trustees of Reservations. “In fact, our membership has increased from 25,000 to nearly 45,000 in the past five years. Organizations like ours can't save the Massachusetts landscape—the future of our quality of life depends on the collective action of everyone who cares.” The Trustees' capital campaign funds have been used to establish nine new reservations on 1,685 acres—all of which are open to the public—bringing the total land owned and managed by The Trustees to nearly 25,000 acres on 96 reservations in nearly 70 communities across Massachusetts. In addition, other accomplishments include: permanently protecting hundreds of additional acres; increasing institutional capacity to take advantage of future conservation opportunities; launching the Putnam Conservation Institute; constructing the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster; establishing an Archive and Research Center; undertaking major stewardship projects on reservations across the state; caring for the historic resources closely associated with Trustees' properties; expanding education and outreach programs to larger and more diverse audiences; and developing new communications and volunteer programs to better serve visitors, supporters, and members. |  Case for Support
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