REALTOR Relief Fund Update

Posted at 1:51 PM, Sep. 8, 2005

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In a short time frame, the REALTOR Relief Fund has exceeded $2.5 million. For the latest NAR Press Release, see the posting in the Katrina Blog at

http://realtown.com/weblogs/entry.php?u=MKH&e_id=476

How will the Relief funds be distributed and who is directing that effort? For answers I contacted Pat Kaplan, President of the REALTOR Relief Foundation. Pat is a past Treasurer of NAR and longtime REALTOR from Portland, Oregon.

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Hi John:

Thanks for helping to get the word out to the REALTOR community on this

incredible Katrina disaster. I really appreciate the 'on the spot'

help Internet Crusade provides.

The REALTOR Relief Directors have had conference calls about every 48 hours since the disaster struck. In addition to raising funds, we have worked with the three impacted state EOs for immobilization efforts. Perhaps you have already seen this very recent press release.

We are referring people to the three state association web sites for specific help/volunteer/aid info. They have organized and have their applications ready and on-line. The three sites are:

http://www.larealtors.org/

http://www.msrealtors.org/

http://www.alabamarealtors.com/

Other states, such as Texas, have set up sites to help coordinate housing efforts for displaced survivors.

http://www.texasrealtors.com/web/1/housing/relief.htm

The issue of designating funds only to displaced REALTORS is a tough one. Technically, the REALTOR Relief Fund (RRF) cannot play a preference as it is a charitable foundation since it is a public foundation and donations are charitable donations. The core mission of the RRF is to provide 'housing funds' during a disaster. However, knowing the rules under which the RRF must play was the impetus for NAR's donation of $1 million from their budget (again, separate from the RRF). These funds can be used for REALTORS displaced. I understand the 3 states have also been receiving funds specially for this purpose.

In addition, the Foundation directors are working on a more long-term

plan to help displaced survivors. We know there will be requests from

REALTOR associations in the states that are receiving the survivors and

we are working toward a plan for that.

I hope this information is helpful.

My best,

Pat

_____________________________________

Pat G. Kaplan, CIPS, CRB, GRI, e-PRO

President, Realtor Relief Foundation

MailTo:PKAPLAN@realtors.org

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Thanks for the update, Pat.

John

REALTORS® COMBINE RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE TO HELP KATRINA EVACUEES

Posted at 9:24 AM, Sep. 8, 2005

WASHINGTON (September 7, 2005)The National Association of Realtors® has raised $2,324,657 for the Realtors® Relief Foundation to provide emergency relief for hurricane victims in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, including displaced Realtors®. The foundation has received 5,906 donations totaling $1,174,657, which will be added to NARs $1.15 million seed donation.

Every penny that we raise will make its way to someone in need, said NAR President Al Mansell of Salt Lake City, UT. Not one cent will be spent on administrative costs.

Realtor® associations throughout the South have helped create tools to facilitate the search for evacuee housing. The Louisiana Realtors® Association has launched www.HurricaneHousing.net. On this site, Realtors® and property owners can submit available properties in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and people displaced by the hurricane can search the database directly. Realtor® members in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas are combing their records and contacts to locate every available bit of spare inventory that could be used to house people displaced by the storm and its aftermath. Many of these associations have developed a special information template that Realtors® can use to forward the information to the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the National Emergency Resource Registry at www.swern.govthe U.S. Department of Homeland Security will use this data to help coordinate relocation efforts.

State and local sites have been developed, as well. The Houston Association of Realtors®, in partnership with local media and other organizations, has launched project Make a Home. At www.har.com, visitors can apply for shelter, donate shelter, and find short-term lease and volunteer opportunities.  The Traverse Area Association of Realtors® in Michigan is coordinating and maintaining a community information Web site for Northern Michigan hurricane relief efforts. The site, www.mikatrinahelp.com, will be a directory of available services for refugees and will include information about housing, health, social services, transportation, and schools. 

Mansell remarked, Realtors® are not only opening their wallets; they are scouring their databases and contacts to locate vacant homes, condos, apartments, and mobile parks, as well as other space such as warehouses, houses, schools, churches, and empty commercial buildingsanything that can house Hurricane Katrina evacuees for a week, a month, six months, or even longer. 

Realtors® are finding many ways to help Katrina victims. The Virginia Association of Realtors® worked with Sams Club and Lowes Home Improvement to assemble materials such as bottled water, non-perishable food items, personal hygiene products, and home repair items and delivered them via truck to the Mississippi Emergency Management Authority in Jackson, MS this weekend.

In their own communities, Realtors® are reaching out to evacuees. The Tuscaloosa, AL Association of Realtors®  has asked all brokerages to identify openings for clerical staff as well as displaced Realtors®. The Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors® in Pennsylvania is coordinating with the Lehigh Valley Red Cross to compile rental properties for longer term assistance. In the small town of Columbia, MO, 82 evacuees have already arrived. The Columbia Board of Realtors® has pledged, through its foundation, to cover upfront costs for displaced families and is paying for vouchers for hotel rooms to provide temporary shelter.

Contributions to the Realtors® Relief Foundation can be made online through the following secure site powered by NARs e-commerce system: https://www.realtor.org/RelFundTrack.nsf/Contribution?OpenForm.

Contributions are tax deductible. To make contributions by mail, checks should be made payable to the Realtors® Relief Foundation and sent to: Realtors®  Relief Foundation, Attn: NAR Finance Division, 430 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.

The National Association of Realtors®, The Voice for Real Estate, is Americas largest trade association, representing more than 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Austin Donation Update

Posted at 10:38 AM, Sep. 6, 2005

Vouchers can be used to purchase needed goods, and Goodwill will also include one free toy for each of their children.To donate goods to goodwill, see info here: http://www.austingoodwill.org/ I believe that this is true anywhere that the red cross shelters are set up, so you can bring your donations to goodwills anywhere. Here is the info from Goodwill Houston:

http://www.goodwillhouston.org/About%20Goodwill/Katrina_Assistance.shtml

Http://www.linktoaustin.com

MailTo:lmelnick@linktoaustin.com

Washington State Agents to Hold Fund Raiser

Posted at 12:01 PM, Sep. 2, 2005

Great to hear from you and so glad to see the effort that Realtors are making to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. When I think about the long-term effects so many will feel in their business and lives, and yet to be giving so much of themselves is really impressive. Even though I am far away, I have been so horribly upset by everything that I am seeing on the news, it's just devastating. I pray for you all.

Up here in Washington state we want to help. I am organizing an effort with other individuals in my office of Windermere to do a fundraiser for food and monetery donations for the Realtor's Relief Foundation and also to America's Second Harvest. We will be sitting outside area grocery stores, and contacting our spheres, farms, whoever we can, to help raise money and non-perishable food for these two organizations. My belief is that these are good ways to help meet the two most basic human needs of food and shelter.

The lady at our local office of ASH says they need to raise $2M to create a food distribution network into the area (warehouses, trucks, setting up feeding stations etc.) and they also need food to keep the supply of food stable for hungry people here, as they divert resources to the hurricane victims. So both kinds of donations can really help.

Do you have any insight into how the funds for the Realtors Relief will be distributed? How it works to actually find homes for these people?

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. You can post it to the blog. It might give other Realtors across the country an idea for a great way to help even if we are too far away to open our homes.

From: Sandy Kaduce [mailto:sandyk@windermere.com]

Another e-PRO at Work!

Posted at 6:14 PM, Sep. 1, 2005

address: www.alamode.com/katrina. And if your response is really overwhelming, he'll go higher.

Communities stick together when disaster strikes, and help one another out. Real estate professionals like you and us know that better than anybody. Please visit www.alamode.com/katrina today and donate generously. Thanks in advance for your donation,

Mailto:Virginia@Tatseos.com

HTTP://Tatseos.com

Message from Al Mansell, NAR President

Posted at 5:27 PM, Sep. 1, 2005

Dear Fellow REALTOR®

As we witness the horror and tragedy caused by Hurricane Katrina, we don't have to sit silently by. We can do something now to help.

More than 40,000 REALTORS® have been affected by Katrina--more than any other disaster in history. Many have lost their homes and their businesses. Almost all REALTORS® in the region devastated by the storm have lost their livelihood because the real estate business in their communities will be shut down for months to come.

REALTORS® raised over $8 million to help the families of 9/11 victims keep their homes and we raised more than $1.8 million in record time for the victims of the Tsunami. Now we must help the victims of Katrina--so many of whom are our friends and colleagues.

But this miracle can't happen without your help. I need you and other REALTORS® like you to make a contribution that will have a huge impact on the life of a fellow REALTOR®.

The REALTORS® Relief Foundation is raising money now to help victims of Hurricane Katrina in those states. NAR has kicked off the effort with two contributions totaling more than $1 million, but we will need a lot more. Won't you join us? EVERY PENNY donated will go directly to help victims of Hurricane Katrina get back on their feet. You can find out more about the REALTORS® Relief Foundation at www.realtor.org/relief.

You can make tax deductible contributions online through the following secure site powered by NAR's e-commerce system: https://www.realtor.org/RelFundTrack.nsf/Contribution?OpenForm.

Please join me and thousands of others in this vital cause. Let's show our fellow REALTORS® and all Americans that they can count on us in this time of need!

Sincerely,

Al Mansell,
President

Blood Donations Needed

Posted at 6:42 AM, Sep. 1, 2005

Because of the loss of their New Orleans office, and the growing # of patients being transported across the state, Lifeshare Blood Centers is appealing for blood.

This has been a previous (and easy)  project for the Southwest Louisiana Association of REALTORS, so Lake Area REALTORS, please go to the Lifeshare location at 214 South Ryan Street.

The Lake Charles office hours are 8-5:30.  They will also be open Saturday, Sunday, and Monday....Labor Day weekend,  from 9-3:00.

If you know if extended hours are available in other parts of the state, please post.  

NAR Donates $1 Million More to Katrina Relief

Posted at 1:36 AM, Sep. 1, 2005

NAR Donates $1 Million More to Katrina Relief

CHICAGO (September 1, 2005) -- The National Association of REALTORS^® announced today it will contribute an additional $1 million to funds established by REALTOR^® associations in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi to provide emergency relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Earlier this week NAR made an initial donation of $50,000 to each of three state REALTOR^® associations to help them establish funds to provide emergency assistance.

As the extent of the suffering and devastation caused by Katrina becomes clear, NAR is stepping up its efforts to raise funds from Realtors for emergency relief in the Gulf Coast.

"Hundreds of thousands of families lost their homes in this disaster. More REALTORS^® have been affected by Katrina than any other disaster in history. Today Im asking the REALTOR^® family to rise to the challenge, just as we did after 9/11 and the Tsunami in Southeast Asia earlier this year," said NAR President Al Mansell of Salt Lake City. Mansell is making a direct appeal today to the nations 1.2 million REALTORS^®.

All administrative costs of the project will be absorbed by NAR. Every penny raised will go directly to aid the victims. Contributions can be made online through the following secure Web site powered by NARs e-commerce system: http://www.realtor.org/relief. Contributions are tax deductible. To make contributions by mail, checks should be made payable to the REALTORS^® Relief Fund and sent to: REALTORS^® Relief Fund, Attn: NAR Finance Division, 430 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611.

The National Association of REALTORS^® , The Voice for Real Estate, is Americas largest trade association, representing more than 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Information about NAR is available at http://www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the Web sites News Media section in the NAR Media Center.

Time For Us To Give Back

Posted at 1:48 PM, Aug. 31, 2005

Paula Bean provides an update from Jacque Stanly at NAR on how we can help our fellow agents dealing with the Katrina disaster.

I emailed the CEO and the VP of communications at our Board in Orlando as to how they dealt with last years hurricanes in Florida, and how we could help with this years Katrina catastrophe.   They responded back immediately, as I knew they would.  Our Board here is so awesome! Here is what I found out (copied below).  IMHO, I think we should all form a coalition from RT and EPT to make a lump sum distribution to all of these programs... what does everyone else think?

 Tres Amigo's - are you in?  It would be very nice, as well as a powerful statement on the numbers of RT to contribute to these very worthy causes. {John's note: Thanks for the update, Paula. Yes, we are in. We're setting Up a special blog, along with Lake Charles, LA REALTOR and NAR Certified e-PRO Trainer, Mary Kay Hopkins - "The purpose of this Weblog is to match needs resulting from Hurricane Katrina with the talents and resources of the real estate community." More to follow later today.}

Then again, everyone could do what they want on their own, but there is power in numbers, and I'd be more than happy to spearhead it if need be. Let's talk Realtalk!!  It is time for us to give back, help out others and make a difference!

Paula Bean, REALTOR
e-PRO Certified Internet Expert
Certified Real Estate Consultant
Carib Gulf Realty 321.228.4663
http://www.HomeOrlando.com

REALTOR RELIEF FOUNDATION PROVIDES FUNDS FOR KATRINA RELIEF EFFORT

WASHINGTON, DC (August 30, 2005)?The REALTOR Relief Foundation is spearheading donations to REALTOR associations in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi  this week by contributing $50,000 to each of three state REALTOR associations impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

REALTOR Relief Foundation President Pat Kaplan said the initial contributions will help fund the establishment of state relief funds.
"However, much more will be needed to help the many who have lost their homes or businesses," she said.

"There are so many on the outskirts of New Orleans who have lost everything," says Sandy Lash, an executive at the Louisiana Association of REALTORS in Baton Rouge. The storm left 6-7 feet of water in areas around New Orleans, including Metairie and Kenner, where virtually every structure sustained damage. "It will be weeks or months before full power is restored to these areas, and the entire water system in the area has Been compromised," says Lash.

In Alabama, communities around the Gulf, still recovering from Hurricane Ivan a year ago, are once more digging out. "We have thousands

who lost everything in Ivan and had built their homes back up only to have them destroyed again," says J. Danny Cooper, association executive at the Alabama Association of REALTORS.

NAR CEO Terrence M. McDermott is calling on Realtors to reach out and help their colleagues in this time of tremendous need. "We would

probably all like to run down and pitch in and help, but since that's not possible, we should all pray that our Realtor community finds the

strength to make it through this trial," he says. "We ask that you send whatever you can to the REALTOR Relief Foundation and we will pass your donation along in a rush."

All administrative costs of the project will be absorbed by NAR; 100 percent of all donations will go directly to aid the victims.

Contributions can be  made online through the following secure site powered by NAR's e-commerce system:

https://www.realtor.org/RelFundTrack.nsf/Contribution?OpenForm. Contributions are tax deductible. To make contributions by mail, checks

should be made payable to the REALTOR® Katrina Project and sent to:REALTOR Katrina Relief Project, Attn: NAR Finance Division, 430 N.

Michigan Ave.,Chicago IL 60611.

For those who would like to make donations directly to the states, in Alabama please send checks payable to the Alabama REALTOR Disaster Relief Fund, P.O. Box 4070, Montgomery, AL 36104. Donations can be made by credit card by calling the Alabama Association of REALTORS at 334/262-3808 or by going online to www.alabamarealtors.com/relief.cfm.   For Louisiana, checks payable to the Louisiana REALTORS Association Relief Fund should be sent to P.O. Box 14780, Baton Rouge, LA, 70898, or to Regions Bank, attn: Louisiana REALTORS Association Relief Fund, 5353 Essen Lane, Suite 150, Baton Rouge, LA 70809.

The National Association of Realtors, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1

million members involved in all aspects of the residential andcommercial real estate industries.

The Spirit of Outreach

Posted at 1:46 PM, Aug. 31, 2005

As I watch in disbelief the pictures of devastation coming from the

vulnerable belly of our nation, of a vibrant city destroyed, the area's

citizens now homeless refugees in a land of plenty, I see firsthand the

spirit of outreach and caring we Americans possess, both individually and

at the corporate level...

"Dear Associates,
RE/MAX Allegiance has donated $10,000.00 to The American Red Cross for

the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. We strongly encourage everyone

associated with RE/MAX Allegiance to donate something ...
Sincerely, Charlie Bengel
Chairman - RE/MAX Allegiance"

... and I am proud.

Donate where and what your heart dictates, but do give. This disaster

will drain more than any levee could begin to contain.

Rani Covington, CRS, e-PRO, JIM66 -- "Ronnie"
RE/MAX Allegiance ~ Serving Northern Virginia
800-344-7253 x4391 ~  Cell Ph: 703-980-6063 Mailto:Rani@realtor.com

www.RaniCovington.com