Donations of land are the true foundation of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. Sheriff’s Meadow gratefully accepts many gifts of land. For more information on this subject, please view the tab entitled “Gifts of Land.”
Gifts of the land
Gifts of land are the “foundation” of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. Most of the land that Sheriff’s Meadow has conserved across Martha’s Vineyard was donated. Sheriff’s Meadow welcomes and encourages gifts of land. All gifts of land are subject to the review of our Land Acquisition Committee and must be approved by vote of our Board of Directors.
Conservation Land
Essentially, there are two types of land donations that one can make. First, one can give land to Sheriff’s Meadow for conservation. Many of our sanctuaries, such as Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary, the Caroline Tuthill Preserve, and Quansoo Farm, are the direct result of such gifts. For these properties, a citizen-conservationist who owned the land desired that the land be conserved, and Sheriff’s Meadow desired to be the land-conserving organization. If you are interested in making such a gift, please contact Executive Director Adam Moore. Please also consult the conservation portion of this website as it describes the many different ways that land can be given and conserved.
Asset Land
Land may also be donated as “asset land.” In these cases, the donor gives land to Sheriff’s Meadow so that the land may be sold, and the proceeds used to support the mission of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. Sheriff’s Meadow also welcomes gifts of asset land. An excellent example of a donor who gave both conservation land and asset land to Sheriff’s Meadow is the late Mrs. Florence “Flipper” Harris. Mrs. Harris donated the 150-acre Quansoo Farm to Sheriff’s Meadow for conservation, and she also donated a 6-acre property on the Tisbury Great Pond that could be sold. Sheriff’s Meadow did indeed sell the six-acre property and created an endowment with the proceeds. Fortunately, these six acres also became conservation land as the purchaser was the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission.
Please contact President, Adam Moore if you are interested in giving land to Sheriff’s Meadow. Thank you.