As a realtor, you have the freedom to allocate your profits as you see fit. Once you are fiscally able to do so, we recommend incorporating charitable donations into your business model. By doing so, you’ll not only experience the joy of giving back to the community that has supported your success, but you’ll also have the opportunity to market your business in a fully positive way.

The following strategies are time-tested tools for you to consider when you’re developing your charitable giving pathways.  

Establish a Donor-Advised Fund

Realtors who are searching for an efficient way to offset a high-earnings year should explore establishing a donor-advised fund (DAF). Such funds are sponsored by public charities that manage the donations. Donors receive tax deductions immediately while retaining the ability to recommend grants when they can set aside time to do so. In this way, a realtor who is passionate about a charity can create an ongoing fund to provide for continued growth.

Donate a Set Percentage of Your Commissions

When clients or prospective clients see that you donate a percentage of your commission to charitable causes, your image and brand receive a boost. To take it a step further, allow your clients to choose from a selection of charitable causes, and donate in their name when you close on their deal. With their permission, share their names and the cause they chose to support across your social media platforms.

Once you’ve established a pattern of charitable giving on behalf of your clients, you may consider pitching your efforts as a story to local news stations. This will give you the opportunity to attract new clients, each of whom represent donations to your chosen causes. The best outcome will result from their being a domino effect of giving that results in other real estate agents following your example.

While any charitable giving is a positive endeavor, consider giving your clients the opportunity to give back to Habitat for Humanity, or another Middle Tennessee organization that works to provide housing to underprivileged members of our community. Such efforts dovetail beautifully with your career choice, and often new homeowners are eager to take such an opportunity to assist those who aren’t in their same fortunate position.

Partner with Other Real Estate Professionals

Networking within your profession will always be essential to your success. How better to strengthen your connections with your fellow agents than to join together to magnify the impact of your charitable giving?

Begin by reaching out to any of your connections who have expressed an interest in fundraising or volunteering for a cause under the umbrella of their business. You may wish to create a “Realtors Giving Back” day at a soup kitchen, work together to contribute toward efforts to build a home through Habitat for Humanity, or fund an adoption event for a local animal shelter.

Real Estate for Rehabilitation

There is no region of the country wherein the communities have not been ravaged by addiction. Many of us know someone who has struggled with addiction, and we wish there were more we could do to help.

That’s where The Salvation Army’s Real Estate for Rehabilitation program comes in. RER provides recovering addicts in need of assistance with no-cost, live-in treatment that lasts for 6 months. RER is fully funded by donations of goods from within the community.

As a realtor, you will constantly be in contact with people who are moving, and when people move, they often downsize. By facilitating contact between a representative of RER and clients who are seeking to downsize, you’ll assist both your clients and the members of the community who are among the most vulnerable.

To get started, visit the website for Real Estate for Rehabilitation and order one of their marketing kits for realtors. You’ll receive a stand stocked with cards and brochures to hand out to your clients. Your clients can visit the website to schedule a pickup, or you may choose to ask a representative to reach out to your client instead.  

Organize a Community Event

As a real estate agent, you have built extensive ties with your community. By drawing on these relationships, you can create immensely effective fundraising events to benefit a cause that is relevant to both your real estate niche and you personally.

The first step is to choose an organization or organizations to which you’d like to donate. Next, reach out to these nonprofits and ask what they need most in this fiscal year. Finally, partner with your chosen charity or charities to raise awareness about your fundraising event.

At the event, make sure that your speech to your guests relates to your own volunteer experience. Share what makes this cause special to you. It’s important that your words reveal why this cause resonates with you personally, or your guests may feel that they’re at an event designed to raise your own brand visibility.  

Join Forces with Local, Independent Businesses

You likely have a favorite coffee shop, brunch spot, and perhaps a dog grooming salon to which you’ve always been loyal. Consider working in partnership with one or more of these local Middle TN businesses to organize fundraising efforts. These fundraisers won’t be as much work for you as the events you host independently and will benefit a local business and a local charity at the same time. Events like these are beneficial to the fabric of our communities, and as such are also positive ways to promote your real estate business.