Nearly 70 percent of REALTORS® volunteer in their community each month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ Community Aid and Real Estate report, released in December 2018. As part of NAR’s commitment to supporting the humanitarian efforts of its 1.4 million members, the association announced that it has begun accepting applications for the 2020 Good Neighbor Awards, recognizing REALTORS® who have made an extraordinary impact through volunteer service.
Five winners will each receive a $10,000 grant for their nonprofit organization. The winners will be recognized at the 2020 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans, earning travel expenses to the conference and considerable media exposure for their cause. In addition to the winners, five honorable mentions will each receive a $2,500 grant.
“Nothing about this association makes me more proud than the fact NAR has honored over 200 REALTORS® during the past 20 years for all of the work they have done to improve the lives of the people around them,” says NAR President Vince Malta, broker at Malta & Co., Inc., in San Francisco. “The fact that NAR can support their important work by providing grant money and national exposure only further exemplifies the commitment that all REALTORS® have made to their communities, clients and neighbors.”
Since 2000, the Good Neighbor Awards program has donated more than $1.3 million to REALTOR®-led nonprofits around the country. The awards program is supported by primary sponsor realtor.com® and Wells Fargo.
“The Good Neighbor Awards inspire us to expand our horizons and make great things happen, which is why realtor.com continues to support this program year after year,” says realtor.com Chief Marketing Officer Nate Johnson.
Realtor.com is the Good Neighbor Awards’ primary sponsor, and also sponsors the Web Choice Favorite, which awards additional grant money to the three finalists who get the most votes from the public. “While many people visit realtor.com to find their place in this world, Good Neighbors help make this world a better place,” says Johnson.
Last year’s Good Neighbor Awards winners contributed thousands of hours and raised millions of dollars for their respective causes. NAR celebrated the 20th year of the Good Neighbor Awards by announcing—to the surprise of the 2019 recipients—that the winners’ grant awards would be doubled.
2019 Good Neighbor Awards Winner Mark Solomon, who builds “tiny homes” for homeless veterans, says that his nonprofit continues to benefit from the media exposure it earned as a result of his Good Neighbor Award recognition.
“The award has helped Veterans Community Project as we expand from our first community in Kansas City to around the country,” says Solomon. “We are using those funds to help us build houses in Colorado, and plan to be housing homeless veterans there later this fall.”
Nominees are chosen for the award based on their personal impact on the community through volunteer work. To be eligible, nominees must be NAR members in good standing. Good Neighbor Award entries must be received by Friday, May 8, 2020. For more details, judging criteria and the online nomination form, call 800-874-6500 or visit nar.realtor/gna.
