Stapleton Real Estate | Homes for Sale

Charities, Fundraising, and Donations – A New Approach

Next week is The Logan School for Creative Learning’s annual fundraising auction, and my wife and I have been working hard on soliciting donations and contributing items which will hopefully fetch a good price.  We are lucky in that we have a very close friend who works for Sharp and donated a flat screen TV, and Stapleton’s new natural children’s store, Naturally Loved, put together a nice gift basket of puzzles for us.  Maureen also designed and created an earring and necklace set that we are donating.

But as the holidays approach and our ability to continue to give in such hard economic times is stretched to its limits, I wanted to make the readers here aware of a giving program that I have developed as a real estate professional.

Since getting into real estate in 2006, I have always had a focus on being green.  I became a certified EcoBroker to understand more about sustainability and various environmental issues related to buying and selling homes.  Also, in an effort to offset my carbon footprint due to all the miles I would be driving as I practice my profession, I became a CarbonFund.org Business Partner.  My intent was to make sure that every transaction in which I was involved had at least some level of environmental friendliness to it.  Now I have a way to bring a little social consciousness into every transaction as well.

Each and every one of us has a cause that is near and dear to our hearts.  For me, there is supporting my daughters elementary school, in addition to the various social causes in which I believe, and many organizations that support veterans and law enforcement to which I would like to donate.  But the with volatility in the market and not knowing when the next commission check will come, along with the normal obligation of living life, it has become more difficult to do so.

That is why, in conjunction with the Logan auction, I have made an offer to the school that I will make a donation of 10% of any commission I earn from a Logan based referral to them upon a successful closing.  

For example, a fellow Logan parent contacts me to help them purchase a home for $200K where the commission being offered is 3%.  I would earn $6000 on that transaction and in turn would donate $600 to the school.  To me, this becomes a situation where everybody wins.  I earn the commission, the client realizes their goals through a successful transaction, and an organization receives the financial support that it needs.

However, some people with whom I have shared this idea have expressed concern that such an arrangement would be a violation of RESPA (the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act).  Yet I don’t see this as a problem.  My donation would not be going back to the client, so it can’t be classified as a kick-back.  Nor is the fact that money will be going to someone other than a licensed broker isn’t a problem either.  I compare it to what many Americans do with their paychecks, but they call it tithing.  There is no RESPA violation when someone decides to give 10% of their earnings to a church of their choosing.  Therefore, making a contribution to a different form of non-profit organization shouldn’t either.

In fact, I would be willing to make a similar offer to donate to any client’s non-profit organization of choice, as long as we have the discussion before hand.  Of course, if someone wanted me to contribute to a group to which I was diametrically opposed (say Hamas or the KKK) I would object.  But chances are, supporters of such organizations and I wouldn’t chose to work together in the first place.

So, if you or anyone you know would like to take advantage of this unique way of giving, please contact me using the information below.  Hopefully this will be a way in which we all can sustain a level of donations and support for the causes and entities in which we care.

Thank you.

John Keene | Live Green Real Estate | john@keene-properties.com | 303-547-7578