Giving Close to Home

Source: Giving Forum Winter 2012 01/27/2012

By Susan Cowsert, Executive Director, Edina Realty Foundation

In 1996, after decades of charitable giving requests, Edina Realty launched the Edina Realty Foundation to focus our giving. Because our business is housing, we focus on nonprofit organizations that work with homeless individuals and families or on homelessness prevention.

We have made grants to organizations that provide safe shelter, aid families facing financial crisis by helping forestall mortgage foreclosure, offer food and clothing to those fleeing domestic violence, provide clinical care and supplies, and more.

Giving by Each Office and Department

It is very important to us that the giving be local. All money donated through real estate sales commissions, fundraisers and payroll deductions goes into a specific account designated for that donor’s office or department. Each of our 60-plus sales offices and every corporate department have an elected foundation representative who solicits grant proposals from nonprofits in their area.

Office agents and employees then vote on which organizations in their community will receive grants. Staffs of many offices invite grant recipients to meet with them to hear first-hand how foundation dollars will be used.

Last year, Edina Realty Foundation made 205 grants totaling $340,036. Typical grants range from $500 to $5,000. In 1999, when we reached our first $1 million in giving, we created an internal and external “Thanks a Million” campaign acknowledging our agents, employees and clients for making this milestone possible.

Agent Participation Steady Despite Drop in Home Sales

The Edina Realty Foundation is supported by our REALTORS® who contribute part of their home sales commissions. And every time an agent donates part of a commission, Edina Realty makes a contribution as well.

Employees of Edina Realty Home Services, Edina Realty, Edina Realty Mortgage, Edina Realty Relocation and Edina Realty Title contribute time and money too. Annually we have about 30 office fundraisers, such as silent and live auctions, garage sales, denim days and more. We have an employee payroll deduction program and also accept annual gifts from agents and employees.

There’s no denying that the housing market has been hit hard in the struggling economy. Decreases in home values and sales have caused our total funds to decline. But participation in the foundation’s efforts has remained steady. More than 75 percent of our agents continue to give a portion of their sales commissions to the foundation.

Economic Support Beyond Housing

Every year since its inception in 1996, the Edina Realty Foundation has supported Habitat for Humanity. Twenty-two of our offices have donated more than $209,000, and many agents and staff members have volunteered to help build homes for low-income Minnesota families.

We were one of the first to partner with Dress for Success Twin Cities, making a $10,000 grant when the program launched here in 2009. Dress for Success provides women with business-appropriate clothing and a network of support and professional development tools to help them achieve economic independence. Most of our metro offices serve as drop-off sites for clothing, shoes and accessories. To date, we’ve collected some 15,000 items and helped outfit 700 women.

After Hurricane Katrina, we donated $9,000 to both the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross for relief efforts. We also partnered with Hope for the City to collect supplies for hurricane victims. What started as a two-day effort at our corporate headquarters soon expanded to a week-long drive at eight sales office locations. The donations that poured in filled 93 semi-trucks and were soon on their way to New Orleans.

Increasing Participation for Critical Causes

Working with Minnesota FoodShare since 2003, our offices have served as drop off sites during the annual March Food Drive. In 2010, the Edina Realty Foundation donated $39,150 to the drive, a 31 percent increase over 2009. This made us the eighth largest corporate contributor – not bad for an organization with a combined 2,500 independent contractors and employees!

During one food drive, we challenged offices to build houses with the donated items and awarded a prize for the best effort. We try to make our fundraising events fun, not to make light of the severity of the causes we support, but to encourage more staff at more offices to participate.

The Edina Realty Foundation offers financial support to organizations that provide housing and related services to homeless individuals and families.
www.edinarealty.com/pages/foundation-grant-guidlelines