The Virginia Land Conservation Foundation

News and notices

VLCF Grant Program

The next possible grant round may be in the summer or fall of 2008. Plans for this round are indefinite because funding will be unknown until spring 2008.

The VLCF Board approved a revised grant manual on Nov. 19, 2007. Click here to download it (PDF).

VLCF Annual Report

Click here to download the 2006 Annual Report of the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (PDF).

Land Preservation Tax Credits – Conservation Value Review Criteria

Click here to download the Conservation Value Review Criteria that the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) director will use to verify the conservation value of donated land or conservation easements or other less-than-fee interests in land that result in tax-credit applications for $1 million or more. These criteria were adopted by the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation on Nov. 21, 2006, and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2007.

Click here to download procedural guidelines for conservation donors whose tax-credit applications are for $1 million or more.

FY2008 Grant Round - The VLCF's Board of Trustees met June 13, 2007, to authorize the latest round of grant awards from the Virginia Land Conservation Fund. Click here for a press release about the grant projects. The fund is a state-funded, 50 percent matching grant program for land conservation.

For information on grant criteria and project eligibility, please click here to read the grant manual, which includes the application form. Click here to download a Word version of the application form. Call (804) 225-2048 for more information.

Background

Virginia. The very word conjures images of pastoral beauty. There are special places here, special lands that have witnessed America's greatest human triumphs and tragedies. Our state's open spaces, farms, areas of cultural significance, parks and battlefields inspire and attract people from around the globe. About eight million now call the Old Dominion home. And Virginia's natural habitats, some found nowhere else on earth, are home to some pretty special plant and animal inhabitants as well.

Few would argue that our commonwealth's natural and cultural resources are less than astonishing. With such unmatched resources, however, comes responsibility; the responsibility to conserve and protect these special places for future generations. That's where the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (VLCF) comes in.

In 1999, the General Assembly and the governor established the VLCF to help fund protection of these resources. Funds from the foundation are used to establish permanent conservation easements and to purchase open spaces and parklands, lands of historic or cultural significance, farmlands and forests, and natural areas. State agencies, local governments, public bodies and registered (tax-exempt) nonprofit groups are eligible to receive matching grants from the foundation.

The purpose of the foundation is to provide state funding used to conserve certain categories of special land. Those categories are open spaces and parks, natural areas, historic areas, and farmland and forest preservation. The money comes from the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, which is managed by the foundation. A portion of the fund may be used for developing properties for public use. Grants used for acquisition are generally used only for current projects; only in exceptional cases - where considerable public benefit and compelling, unusual financial need and circumstances have been shown - might grants be made for already complete purchases.

The foundation establishes, administers, manages - including the creation of reserves - and makes expenditures and allocations from the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, which is special, non-reverting money in the state treasury. One major function of the foundation is to make matching grants to holders and public bodies for:

• purchasing fee simple title to or other rights, interests or privileges in property for the protections or preservation of ecological, cultural or historical resources
• lands for recreational purposes
• lands for threatened or endangered species, fish and wildlife habitat
• natural areas
• and agricultural and forestal lands and open space.

The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation provides staff and administrative support. An Interagency Taskforce reviews and recommends grant applications to the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. Grant awards are based on applications for 50 percent or less of total project costs pursuant to specific criteria defined in each category.

Categories: There are four application categories, and each has a particular set of criteria.

• Open Spaces and Parks
• Natural Area Protection
• Historic Area Preservation
• Farmlands and Forest Preservation

Eligibility: Applications can be submitted by agencies, localities, public bodies, and registered (tax-exempt) nonprofit organizations in accordance with application procedures.