Shenandoah Valley Fund

Working with our regional partners through the Shenandoah Valley Conservation Collaborative (SVCC), the Alliance has created the Shenandoah Valley Fund. This revolving loan fund will assist landowners with gap funding to cover the costs of completing conservation easements on their land.

A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement, established between a landowner and non-profit conservation organization or public agency. The easement permanently restricts development while allowing for uses such as farming, grazing and timber harvest as determined by the owner of the land. A landowner sometimes chooses to do this to preserve the environmental integrity of the land and/or because they want the parcel to remain intact as a legacy for generations to come.

When a landowner makes the decision to permanently protect their land with a conservation easement, they encounter several upfront costs, including property surveys, appraisals, and other associated legal fees. These costs require the landowner to have cash on hand to begin the process and often discourage or downright exclude willing landowners from going forward. The Shenandoah Valley Fund will remove this financial barrier by providing interest-free loans to help landowners cover these upfront costs.

The key to making the Fund work is Virginia’s transferrable Land Preservation Tax Credit. Once an easement is in place, the landowner is eligible for an income tax credit of up to 40% of the value of the easement. The credit can be claimed in increments of $20,000 per year. Landowners who have little or no Virginia income tax burden can sell these tax credits and use the proceeds to repay their loan from the Shenandoah Valley Fund, thus replenishing the Fund so it can help the next landowner. 

The Shenandoah Valley Fund is overseen by a five-person loan committee made up of individuals dedicated to conservation in the Valley and tasked with assessing project suitability and determining the size of a loan.

The Alliance is proud to play a central role in providing access to the benefits of conservation easements for all landowners in the Valley. If you’re interested in more information on the Shenandoah Valley Fund, please reach out to SVCC Project Manager Kevin at ktate [@] shenandoahalliance.org.