Category Archives: grants

Small Connecticut Boards Make Big Impact with Placemaking Grants

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The 650-member Greater Fairfield Board of REALTORS® created an inviting 'pocket park' on an unused downtown corner. The 156-member Newtown Board of REALTORS® helped establish an attractive and productive 'Fruit Trail' of flowering trees and perennials along a recreational path.

The Executive Officer of the REALTOR® boards of Greater Fairfield and Newtown, Connecticut declares that "Placemaking Grants are one of the best things that the National Association of REALTORS® has done for the local boards!" Frances Cormier-Carroll ought to know:  both her boards made use of this small-scale, intensely local REALTOR® Party program to enhance their respective communities with inviting spaces last year.  In fact, they're both applying for grants to fund new projects this year, and she anticipates the REALTOR®-supported placemaking activities will continue in this corner of Connecticut well in to the future.

The Placemaking Grant program helps REALTOR® associations plan, organize and build new public spaces in their local communities. "Not only do these activities help the towns and the REALTORS® by generating positive exposure," says Cormier-Carroll, "but the national association is really putting resources back in to the country through its local boards. Our members are proud of that, and our communities are grateful." She notes that the grant application process is user-friendly, and that the NAR staff provides invaluable assistance and advice as the boards have prepared their project proposals.

She credits the presidents of both boards with the energetic leadership it has taken to make their respective projects happen:

Last summer, the 650-member Greater Fairfield Board of REALTORS® (GFBOR) partnered with the Town of Fairfield to create a 'pocket park' on a small plot of unused public land at a downtown crossroads. 2016 President Stephanie Barnes, together with
co-chairmen Michael Traum and Kristen DeLaurentiis, approached the town to develop the project and identify the site. With a $3,000 grant from the REALTOR® Party, numerous planning meetings and about 100 man-hours of labor from the Fairfield Department of Public Works, an inviting and attractive park emerged, featuring new trees and plantings, a winding brick pathway, and three benches with plaques identifying the REALTORS® as the donors. In his remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in October, Fairfield's First Selectman, a former REALTOR® and Past-President of GFBOR, noted the benefit of amenities like the new pocket park, in terms of both quality-of-life and property values.

The 156-member Newtown Board of REALTORS® used its $1,500 Placemaking Grant to help establish a "Fruit Trail" along an existing recreational path on the 185-acre campus of a former hospital that the town has taken over for public/private use and development. The Newtown Fruit Trail connects the community with nature, and its young plantings will feed the land and the people, as well as attract bees, birds, and butterflies. One July morning last year, board President Barbara Frey and seven of her REALTOR® colleagues actively joined the effort, mulching, weeding, and planting fruit trees and perennials. Not only did the REALTOR® team contribute the grant and considerable elbow grease, notes Cormier-Carroll, but the funds from the REALTOR® Party were spent at a local nursery, supporting the local economy.

"These boards, Newtown especially, are on the small side, but their members are deeply involved and committed to improving their communities," she says, adding that both of the placemaking projects have also served to strengthen the bonds between REALTORS® and local leaders. "There's been a great community response to these placemaking projects, from neighborly notes to recognition from officials. We are so grateful to NAR and the Placemaking Grant program for making this  possible."

To learn more about how smaller associations are making a big impact with the REALTOR® Party's Placemaking Grants, contact Frances Cormier-Carroll, Executive Officer of the Greater Fairfield Board of REALTORS® and the Newtown Board of REALTORS® at 203-255-0497.

Game Changer Grant Deadline

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The REALTOR® Party Game Changer Program originated from the thought that a state or local association may have a great, original public policy, advocacy or outreach idea relating to real estate, but it still may not neatly fall under the existing grant options within the REALTOR® Party programs. For that reason, the REALTOR® Party Game Changer Program was established. NAR looks for new programs, events or ideas that change the way business is typically conducted. In addition, Game Changer ideas should be ones that can be replicated with other states and local associations. Two rounds of applications are reviewed each year (deadlines of January 31 and July 31) for dollar amounts up to $15,000. If you have a Game Changing idea, please consider filling out an application.  For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203.

Huntsville REALTORS® Build Partnerships and Promote Diversity in Northern Alabama

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Recognizing that minority representation in its leadership didn’t accurately reflect the diversity of its membership, its community and the real estate industry at large, the Huntsville Area Association of REALTORS® (HAAR) has embarked on a determined initiative to encourage the engagement of minorities in its leadership structure. Under the direction of 2016 HAAR President Kathy Mann, the first African American woman to serve in the position, the association is using a Diversity Grant from the REALTOR® Party to help revive the local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), the historic organization founded by African-American industry professionals in 1947. In partnership, the REALTORS® and the REALTISTS®, as NAREB members are known, are moving toward a stronger future in northern Alabama.

Mann explains the impetus behind HAAR’s support of NAREB: When she became president of HAAR, one of her goals was increasing its minority membership involvement and leadership. A work group was formed to help find solutions to getting more minority members engaged with the association and how to help address issues in the community such as improving minority homeownership and affordable housing. “Four years ago, I learned about NAREB and attended a national meeting. I loved what it stood for, and what it was accomplishing as a national organization focused on economic opportunity for all,” she says. The work group decided that revitalizing the local NAREB chapter that already existed would be the perfect solution. HAAR member April Parker was elected as the new president of the Huntsville Association of Real Estate Brokers (HAREB,) which now numbers fourteen members.

HAAR Chief Executive Josh McFall says that at the board level, the association is constantly looking to get new people involved. “NAREB is a great channel to expand our leadership with professionals of diverse perspective and experience,” he says. “We’re proud to be able to support our local chapter with outreach and training that will help its members succeed and, hopefully, join our efforts.” In July 2016, Parker, Mann and McFall worked together to apply for a Diversity Grant from the REALTOR® Party to support leadership training and community outreach for the local REALTIST® board, activities that coincide with the NAR Core Standards requirements.

When the grant was received, Mann and Parker hit the ground running. They’ll soon be launching a membership drive among contractors and other professionals associated with the real estate industry, to increase participation in HAREB. In early November, HAAR supported a regional NAREB leadership event in Birmingham, which was attended by eleven of the fourteen current HAREB members, and where Parker shared information with her fellow leaders about partnering with local REALTOR® Associations. She has planned training sessions throughout 2017 that will cover leadership principles and practices, business etiquette and professionalism, how to set up a business, and tax and finance issues. All the training will be hosted at the HAAR offices. The HAAR Board of Directors has also granted one HAREB member ex-officio non-voting status on its board, giving the new leader valuable insight into the governance of the REALTOR® Association.  Says Parker, “We’re bringing together a group of passionate people.  As we reach out to real estate professionals in our community, they’re excited about these opportunities, and the inclusion. Several of our HAREB members are already serving on HAAR committees!”

For local consumers, Parker has developed a two-part series on homeownership and credit-worthiness that was so well received at a local church, that HAREB has been invited to present it at a local college, and to high school seniors and their parents at a local school. “That’s our goal,” she says, “reaching the community that our members will serve. Thanks to all we’re able to do with this grant from the REALTOR® Party, they’ll be prepared, and so will we.  I'm so grateful to Josh, Kathy and HAAR for recognizing the importance of NAREB being part of the REALTOR® Association.”

To learn more about how the REALTORS® of Huntsville, Alabama are strengthening their community by supporting diversity in their industry, contact HAAR President Kathy Mann at kathydmann@gmail.com, HAREB President April Parker at aprilparker@usa.com, or HAAR Chief Executive Officer Josh McFall at 256-536-3334 or josh@hbrmls.com.