A Victory for South Carolina!

The CLT Enabling Act was signed into law on June 18 by the Governor  of South Carolina.  The law defines a community land trust and describes its purpose to hold legal and equitable title to land and then to lease the land to promote affordability.   

You can read the full bill here.

Dear Valued Members, Partners and Key Stakeholders:

I am writing to provide an update about the Network's activities during this transition period.  

Our full board retreat was in April and included a full day with the Academy to kick it off. The discussion was thoughtful, passionate, and strategic; leading us to a unanimous decision to formally and fully bring the Academy activities into the Network and to govern with a single board. The contributions of our Academy volunteers were roundly celebrated and appreciated, and its members were invited to join the board or board committees, thus incorporating their leadership into a more streamlined structure, adopted to make the organization more effective, more transparent, easier to govern and to staff.

The Network will continue to have a board of Director of 13 to 15 members, and every committee will be chaired by a board member and work on behalf of and at the direction of the board. The board structure has been streamlined by reducing the number of board committees from 14 to 7 to rationalize the structure and allow staff to better support the committees. For example, the Heritage Lands Initiative will no longer be a separate committee but its mission and values will be incorporated into everything we do. The board has also reviewed and, as needed, refined some of our internal policies and procedures to ensure that we are managing the Network effectively.    

Going forward, Network activities will focus in three program clusters to reflect our core functions:

• Support the field to grow and support CLTs (community and capacity building department);
• Sustain and build the network (operations and member services department); and
• Advance the field (research and policy development department).

In the meantime, the organization has continued work on existing programs and activities. The day-to-day operations are well-managed by the interim executive director, Melora Hiller and staff Jessica Grant and Emily Thaden. Jessica has been busy managing the conference preparations while Emily is working on several research projects and policy issues. The technical assistance program, led by Melora, is on track with completing organizational assessments and assisting grantee organizations to develop scopes of work.  

This has allowed the board to focus on larger strategic discussions about our role nationally and in partnership with others.  Our two key funders have been kept closely 'in the loop' and are cheering us on.

Meanwhile the transition committee (including board and former academy representatives) is working with a skilled consultant to ensure a successful search, selection, and hiring process for the new executive director.  

I want to thank the staff, board and the former Academy Advisory Board members for their unwavering commitment to the Network during this transition and for their willingness to roll up their sleeves and do the work! I also want to thank all of you for your support and patience during this transition period.  

You'll be hearing more about changes at the Network during the conference and in the coming months. Registration is open so please review the extensive course program and supplementary events and register today.

We look forward to seeing you in Burlington!