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Free downloadable resources

Model Documents

The following draft legal documents for preserving farms, together with explanatory commentaries, are available for free download:

Farmland Access in Urban Settings

Farmland Access in Urban Settings

Despite increasing interest in urban agriculture, little exists to help farmers navigate access to land in urban settings. Jo Rosen of Equity Trust and Kathy Ruhf of Land for Good co-authored a guide that addresses urban land access for commercial farmers. The guide looks at the unique challenges in locating urban properties, and dealing with urban ordinances, soil issues, and …

2011 Community Land Trust Technical Manual

2011 Community Land Trust Technical Manual This manual, available as a free pdf from   Grounded Solutions, updates and revises the 2002 ICE Community Land Trust Legal Manual. Edited by Kirby White, with input from expert practitioners from all across the country, the manual provides the most current and comprehensive technical and legal guidance available for creating and managing community land trusts.  Topics include incorporation of CLTs, options for bylaws, model ground lease, ownership restrictions, resale formulas, stewardship, enforcement, and much more.

The Value of Land in Economics

The Value of Land in Economics

Economics As If Values Mattered, part 1

BY CHUCK MATTHEI

AS OFTEN AS economic issues occupy our personal thoughts or dominate public discourse, the subject of “economics” remains confusing and even intimidating to many people. It seems to be vast, highly technical, and quite impersonal—yet we are each so profoundly affected by its realities.

Despite appearances, economics is in essence …

Faith and Finance

Faith and Finance

Economics as if Values Mattered, part 2

BY CHUCK MATTHEI

BENEATH ALL OF THE EMBOSSED certificates deposit books, and daily market reports, investments are human relationships. Capital, after all, represents labor and land. and whether it is accumulated from wages or donations, rents or product sales, inheritance or other unearned income, we might appropriately ask three questions: With whom are …

The Spirit Of Work

The Spirit Of Work

Economics As If Values Mattered, part 3

BY CHUCK MATTHEI

OF ALL THE ECONOMIC challenges confronting us, none is more complex and contentious than the problem of employment. The character and culture of labor are changing, even more than that of land or capital. From the definition of meaningful work to salary scales, corporate structures, and strategies for job creation, …

Gaining Ground

How CSAs Can Acquire, Hold, and Pass On Land This discussion of land tenure and financing for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was adapted from a chapter prepared by Chuck Matthei of the Equity Trust for Farms of Tomorrow Revisited, edited by Trauger Groh and Steven McFadden (Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, 1997). It lays the groundwork for what has become our farms for farmers program, while setting forth ideas on how to balance individual and community interests, as well as practical ideas on developing a relationship with a land trust and on financing a farm purchase. Download free pdf

Introducing Community Land Trusts Pamphlet in Spanish & English

Introducing Community Land Trusts Pamphlet in Spanish & English A concise, compelling brochure introducing community land trusts, explaining the importance of community control of land and including a description of the essential features of CLTs, endorsements from people involved in CLTs, and stories of three successful CLTs. This is a useful tool for local CLT organizing and includes a space to fill in a local contact name.

Student Handbook on Community Investment by Colleges and Universities

Produced by Equity Trust Inc.
This 26-page handbook is available in pdf format:
Student Handbook

INTRODUCTION: Recent years have seen an exciting growth in the number of students concerned with the issues of poverty, economic injustice, and environmental degradation. This new level of student engagement with these global issues – perhaps most publicly illustrated with the 1999 protests against the …