Minnesota Land Trust

“The executive committee is comprised of the officers of the organization and all chairs of the other standing committees. Currently there are seven members of executive committee. All the members of the committee are on the full board of directors. The committee is authorized to act on behalf the board, but this role is limited to urgent action which needs to be taken on behalf of the organization in between the bi-monthly board meetings. Any action taken is reviewed at the next meeting of the full board of directors and the full board is notified in advance of all meetings of the executive committee.”

“The executive director and the treasurer of the board of directors review the draft of the form 990. The form 990 is also reviewed by the entire finance committee or the executive committee. At the executive director's discretion, any questions or concerns may also be reviewed with outside legal counsel. Any requested or required changes are then discussed with the tax preparer and a draft 990 is reviewed by the finance committee. A copy of the final form 990 is distributed to the full board of directors for review and comment. Prior to filing, the full board of directors accepts the form 990 and related documents.”

“In addition to annually asking all board members and staff to disclose potential conflicts in writing, all major organizational transactions are evaluated with respect to potential conflicts of interest. The executive director or the chair of the board are involved in evaluating prospective potential conflicts and documenting decisions.”

“The executive committee of the board of directors also serves as the personnel committee of the board with specific responsibility to evaluate the performance of the executive director and set compensation for the executive director. The executive committee reviews available data regarding compensation of similar positions in similar situations and sets compensation accordingly. All of the members of the executive committee are independent and knowledgeable about nonprofit compensation. Decisions of the executive committee are documented in the minutes and/or in the personnel file of the executive director as appropriate.”

“Audited financial statements are available on the minnesota land trust web site and on file with the minnesota attorney general's office. Copies are also available from the land trust upon request. An annual report summarizing audited financial information and program information is also prepared annually. It is widely distributed to donors and other interested parties and is available on the minnesota land trust web site. Copies of other governance documents and land trust policies are made available on a case by case basis as requested. In practice, requests have been very rare.”

“We initiated a new pilot program as part of our public engagement strategy. This program is a three year exploratory effort with the city of duluth to help them achieve their goal of becoming an outdoor recreation destination by implementing numerous nature-based recreation projects and helping the city preserve the greenspace on which the trails and other venues depend.”

“The minnesota land trust uses the services of doherty employer services, a professional employer organization, to provide the organization with human resources services including payroll processing and benefits management. All minnesota land trust employees are co-employed by doherty. However, doherty is solely responsible for complying with all income and social security tax laws and regulations related to our employees, including completing all required tax filings such as irs forms w2s and w3s.”