Organizational Assessments

I use the Land Trust Alliance’s Assessing Your Organization format to conduct guided organizational assessments with land trusts. I am available to help land trusts implement the recommendations that emerge from assessments, working with staff and board members to develop policies and procedures. Several land trusts have collaborated with me to help their organizations prepare for an accreditation application.

Qualifications:

• Listed on the Land Trust Alliance roster of qualified consultants. 
• In 2007, completed 2-day Land Trust Alliance training workshop for consultants conducting assessments and strategic planning. 
• Led one land trust through successful accreditation application in 2007 pilot, including assessment, policy/procedures revision and development, and accreditation application.
• Completed seven assessments with western land trusts; four more currently underway.
• Ten year service as a land trust Board member. 
• Adept at working with Boards of Directors and facilitating meetings with diverse participants.
• Knowledgeable about land trust Standards and Practices and a wide range of land conservation tools.
• Skilled at managing projects and meeting deadlines. 

“The Texas Land Conservancy benefited greatly from the organizational assessment process using an outside consultant. While we were aware of some of the issues that our consultant, Donna Erickson, presented, she was able to flesh out a very thorough and insightful critique of our organization that we would have been unable to do ourselves had we chosen to do a self-evaluation.  Donna is very knowledgeable about the assessment process and was able to help us prioritize and organize her recommendations into a working action plan…Donna “got us” right away, and was able to be critical, diplomatic, and truly thoughtful in her analysis and in her subsequent policy work with us.”  

— Mark Steinbach, PhD, Executive Director, Texas Land Conservancy

Current and Recent Assessment Clients (Most of these organizations have contracted with me beyond the assessment to help them implement its findings and prepare for accreditation):

• Douglas Land Conservancy, Castle Rock, Colorado
• Clark Fork – Pend Oreille Conservancy, Sandpoint, Idaho
• Great Land Trust, Anchorage, Alaska
• Interior Alaska Land Trust, Fairbanks, Alaska
• Southeast Alaska Land Trust, Juneau, Alaska
• Kachemak Heritage Land Trust, Homer, Alaska
• Nushagak-Mulchatna Wood-Tikchik Land Trust, Dillingham, Alaska
• Bitter Root Land Trust:  Hamilton, Montana
• Blue Mountain Land Trust: Walla Walla, Washington
• Five Valleys Land Trust:  Missoula, Montana
• Flathead Land Trust: Kalispell, Montana
• Inland Northwest Land Trust, Spokane, Washington
• Malpai Borderlands Group:  Douglas, Arizona
• Okanogan Valley Land Council: Tonasket, Washington
• Prickly Pear Land Trust: Helena, Montana
• Texas Land Conservancy:  Austin, Texas
• The Vital Ground Foundation:  Missoula, Montana
• Whatcom Land Trust: Bellingham, Washington