Organizational Operations & Management

SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats. SWOT analysis is a methodological tool designed to help workers and companies optimize performance, maximize potential, manage competition, and minimize risk. SWOT is about making better decisions, both large and small. It can help determine the efficacy of something as small as introducing a new product or service or something as large as a merger or acquisition. Again, SWOT is a method that, once mastered, can only enhance performance.

This publication is designed to complement the 2004 Land Trust Standards and Practices. General information on Land Trust Standards and Practices and on Land Trust Alliance publications and training programs related to the standards and practices can be found at www. landtrustalliance.org. The two-volume Land Trust Standards and Practices Guidebook contains more detailed information about each practice and how land trusts can meet them. Alliance member land trusts and partners can find this informa- tion, sample documents and more online at The Learning Center (http://learningcenter.lta.org).

A manual describing the procedures an organization should take in seeking recognition of tax-exempt status from the IRS.

This publication provides best practices and tools for managers of environmental and conservation nonprofits in our challenging economic times. Learn how to track your finances, recognize danger signals, assess your options, and make tough decisions fairly with the best interests of the organization in mind. The Environmental Support Center and The Institute for Conservation Leadership created this publication with the generous support of The Beldon Fund, The McKnight Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, and The Moriah Fund.

Organizations should be wary of draconian renewal clauses that are sometimes embedded in seemingly innocuous contracts. If an organization enters into a contract containing such a clause, the organization should have a management system in place to ensure that crucial dates for action are not missed.

This “Risk Management Checklist” offers an overview of the process of dissolution (which is an action governed by state law) as well as a list of the issues that CEOs and board leaders should consider when planning to wind down the operations of a nonprofit.