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Executive Director Position Description
Alaska Farmland Trust is a small nonprofit land trust that preserves agricultural lands across Alaska for future generations. We are seeking an Executive Director to lead the organization in our next stage of development. Over the next three years, our strategic goals include:
Goal 1: Private landowners and other appropriate agencies work together to conserve in perpetuity the most important agricultural lands in Alaska.
Goal 2: The community embraces private land conservation as a tool to protect important community values.
Goal 3: The trust has the organizational structure to permanently protect and manage lands.
Goal 4: The trust has a stable and growing base of financial support. More specifically in the next three years we will raise adequate operating funds to demonstrate capability of organization to exist and develop plan for capital campaign for land conservation projects.
We are seeking a resourceful leader with excellent management skills and experience to guide the organization as an Executive Director to fulfill these goals. Our ideal candidate will be a creative and collaborative leader who will effectively manage the organization’s resources and finances in fulfillment of our mission.
Minimum Qualifications (full):
- No less than three to five years experience in comparable level of responsibility
- Demonstrated success in organizational financial management
- Previous nonprofit experience
- Demonstrated success in developing and sustaining strong partnerships with public and private sector
- Passion and knowledge about agricultural land protection.
- Demonstrated success in fundraising and grant writing
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
Position is fulltime, offers an IRA, paid holidays and vacation. Competitive nonprofit salary. First round of applications are due by January 17, 2012. Applicants should send a cover letter with salary requirements and resume, including three references to
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Position Description:
The Executive Director provides direction and leadership toward the achievement of Alaska Farmland Trust and its annual goals and objectives.
Reports to: Board of Directors
Organization and Financial Management
- Implement projects. Research and answer questions as requested by Board of Directors.
- Organize staff and board committees to ensure that annual goals are met. Create opportunities to use volunteers to complete tasks.
- Supervise staff: set priorities and ensure deadlines are met. Complete annual performance reviews.
- Develop annual work plan including operating budget and special budgets for projects and events. Manage budget and accounting system with Board of Director’s Treasurer and bookkeeper.
Development
- In conjunction with the Fundraising Committee, manage all development activities. Develop a written plan to achieve this goal.
- Coordinate Board activities on corporate and individual donors, including Annual Appeal and membership drives.
- Develop a plan for obtaining grant money from foundations. Draft and submit grant proposals. Manage grant budgets.
- Work with legislative delegation and other governmental entities on government funding for purchase of conservation easements and operating funds.
Outreach
- Ensure that information is available to the public on the organization’s mission’s goals and projects.
- Work on a continuing basis to increase local awareness of and appreciation for agricultural land protection in Alaska.
- Work on a continuing basis to increase landowner awareness of Alaska Farmland Trust programs.
- Organize events such as the Valley Farm Picnic, State Fair Booth and markets.
Lands Program
1. Identify and prioritize the most critical land areas for protection.2. Update and use prioritizations for the Matanuska to guide the conservation projects in the Matanuska.
3. Complete land acquisitions and conservation easements on land within prioritization.
4. Assist landowners in transitioning lands to new land managers and owners (Farm Succession and Farmlink Program).
5. Protect other non-priority lands on a case-by-case basis.
6. Steward the conservation values of lands protected.
7. Screen and present to Lands Committee all applicants for conservation easements, donations and land purchases.
You can help protect the Matanuska Valley’s rural character and agricultural heritage by becoming a Farmland Partner to the Alaska Farmland Trust.
The Importance: Matanuska Valley farms truly define the area’s character. Our farmers and the land they work are an important economic engine not only for our local communities but for our state. Farmers and ranchers produce food, feed, and fiber that other businesses use themselves or resell. They generate jobs, work with restaurants and grocers to market their products, and rely on other businesses for equipment, supplies, and services. When surveyed in August 2011, over 1100 Alaskans and visitors requested more access to Alaska Grown produce in their favorite grocery stores. They also increase public awareness of the importance of buying locally grown products and seeking out other Alaskan businesses.
Our Work: There is something that we can do to help keep the economic engine of agriculture running. The Alaska Farmland Trust has been working since 2005 to protect Agricultural Lands across Alaska. Recently we received a $500,000 appropriation from the State of Alaska for direct land protection. Because of these funds, we are in an improved position to meet our mission of protecting and preserving Alaska’s farmland. However, this money is slated only to directly protect land. The Alaska Farmland Trust has a four-part approach to land protection:
- Working with landowners to take private action to protect their farmland.
- Aiding farmers in developing farm succession planning.
- Facilitating relationships between current and future landowners.
- Building public awareness and community partnerships in support of agricultural land protection.
Your Partnership: As a business owner in Anchorage, you can play an important role in helping us assist landowners in transitioning their farms to the next generation of farmers. As a Farmland Partner your contribution would go towards our new Alaska Farm Link Program. This program will connect beginning farmers with current agricultural landowners to make the most of their agricultural lands. For many beginning farmers, access to agricultural lands is a huge hurdle to starting their agricultural business. By creating the connection between a landowner and land user, we help to eliminate that hurdle. Your contribution will go towards the start up costs for this program, including developing a database, program marketing, and staff time for developing this program. Our current fundraising goal is $5,000.00.
We would be honored to have you as a partner in our efforts to protect the asset that farmland is to our state. Your participation as a Farmland Partner will help to maintain our farmland, reduce our local tax burden by lessening the number of government supported services required, increase our state’s independence from outside food, and keep our communities healthy and strong.
As part of your $100 partnership, you will receive recognition in our quarterly newsletter distributed to 700 individuals, on our website sponsor page, and an annual thank you advertisement in the daily news. You will also receive a Farmland Funder insignia for use at your business.
We would be delighted to stop by at your convenience to discuss what we do, how we do it, and how you can help by becoming a business partner to our efforts. In return, we will help your customers grow to appreciate all you do for them and their community.
I look forward to hearing from you! Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Margaret Adsit, Executive Director
-WHEN- This three day workshop will be held February 23-26, 2012
-WHERE- The Palmer Train Depot, S. Alaska St. and Evergreen, Palmer, Alaska
-COST- $35.00 per attendee
-TOPICS- This conference will give you tools for farming in Alaska, whether you are just starting your farming venture or looking to retire.
This conference will cover, step-by-step:
• Developing goals
• Business planning for profit
• Putting the plan on paper
• Transfer planning
• Effective decision making
• Retirement planning
• Succession Planning
• Estate Planning
After the conference, Alaska Farmland Trust will continue to follow up with you and continue the development of your business or succession plan. This conference is limited to 70 participants, so register early! Contact project director John Collins at 907-745-3336 or 907-715-7497 for more information or mail registration information to 248 E Dahlia Ave, Palmer, Alaska 99654
Thanks to Kimberly Allen, our outreach intern, we hosted a booth at the South Anchorage Farmer’s Market, Spenard Farmer’s Market, Palmer’s Friday Fling, and the Wasilla Farmer’s Market . We enjoyed meeting all of the visitors and Alaskans that stopped to talk or learn about our mission.
If you didn’t get to purchase one of our great t-shirts this summer, visit our online store to pick up a great gift and show your support for the Farmland Trust.
John Collins is a native of Seattle, Washington and a graduate of Seattle University. He grew up on a hog and cattle farm in Snohomish, Washington and has been involved in agriculture for over 20 years. After college, he went to work for Boeing while continuing to raise hogs on the family farm. After being laid off from Boeing, he went to work for several Labor Unions such as Service Employee’s International Union and American Federation of State and Government Employees over the next 20 years.More recently, Mr. Collins spent the past 10 years of his career involved with Prisoner Re-entry programs and its initiatives as Program and Project Director with organizations such as Arbor Education & Training, Las Vegas Urban League and Workforce Connections
Recently, Mr. Collins returned to Alaska to help out his father and happened to come across our position for Project Director. When he read the ad, he knew that this was what he wanted to do and where he wanted to work. He felt that this would bring him back to his roots in the agricultural community.
His work will focus on business planning workshops. The upcoming business planning conference aims to help farmers understand that a business plan the four steps of Farm Business Succession Planning may help them run their operation.
Farm Business Succession Planning entails:
1. Strategic business planning
2. Retiring
3. Transfer
4. Estate planning
This conference will be open to all farmers in Alaska that are interested in turning financial risk into profit for small to mid-sized farms and ranches in Alaska. The conference will be held February 18 in conjunction with the Potato & Vegetable conference in Palmer, Alaska. This will be the first step in developing on-going communication and consultation for the special circumstances and conditions that farmers and ranchers face in Alaska.
Participants in this conference will receive ongoing support from Alaska Farmland Trust in the form of one-on-one consultations, online business planning tools and information to address their specific operational needs.
Register for the February 23-26 conference by calling (907) 745-3336.
