On Monday during Leadership Summit, the National Association of REALTORS® celebrated 25 years of the REALTORS® Relief Foundation with the dedication of a donor wall, located at REALTOR® Plaza at the NAR headquarters in Chicago. Approximately 70 people were in attendance for the dedication.
“I’ve personally had the privilege of being boots on the ground in hurricane-stricken areas, tornadoes, fires in my own backyard of Washington State. The impact is real, and we’ve seen it,” said Kitty Wallace, RRF vice president, at the dedication ceremony.
“When disaster happens, people aren’t thinking about what they’re going to do tomorrow. They’re thinking about where they’re going to stay today, tonight, where their children are going to go after they’ve lost everything. And we are that little bit of hope,” she continued.
The foundation, which was formed by NAR in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has provided financial support in both the immediate aftermath of natural disasters and throughout the recovery period that often follows. To date, RRF has put over $53 million in the hands of 50,000 families across 50 states and territories.
RRF operates as the philanthropic arm of NAR, and the association covers 100% of the foundation’s administrative expenses.
“It means every dollar donated goes directly to families in need,” said RRF President Greg Hrabcak. “It reflects NAR’s belief that giving back is not an accessory to our work; it is central to who REALTORS® are.”
Hrabcak also acknowledged the increase in intensity and volume of natural disasters, emphasizing the importance of RRF’s continued efforts.
He introduced the REALTORS® Legacy Circle, a new program that recognizes the donors whose major gifts will ensure the foundation’s sustainability for the long term. Hrabcak noted that Linda Page, broker of Fraleigh & Rakow Realty in Rhinebeck, N.Y., had already committed as inaugural member of the Legacy Circle.
Her name, along with the future members of the Legacy Circle, will be added to the wall.
“There is nothing that represents professionalism and just the sterling role that REALTORS® play in this country—in the way that they give back, in the way they support their communities and support their clients and support their hometowns—than through RRF,” said NAR Chief Marketing Officer Bennett Richardson.
NAR President-elect Christine Hansen talked about the devastation wrought on West Virgina due to severe storms in 2025. She noted that the destruction was widespread, and families all over the state were displaced. Paige Powers, a local real estate professional, drove all over the region for hours, searching for survivors to bring them aid in the form of supplies and relief checks. A year later, families were still rebuilding, and RRF stepped up again.
“They visited food pantries, met with community leaders and they provided gift cards because it takes a lot more than just six months or 12 months to recover.”
The RRF donor wall is located in REALTOR® Plaza facing Michigan Avenue—a public display so that passersby might better understand the integral role NAR members play in their communities. It is dedicated to the late Martin Edwards, Jr., who became NAR’s president just after 9/11 and was integral in helping establish RRF.
Wallace and others at RRF worked to secure the funds through individual donations from NAR members, and enough funds were raised to ensure completion of the wall.
Though RRF has served communities all over the country for the past 25 years, the donor wall was constructed as a living structure designed to remember the past and look forward to the future. RRF and NAR executives dedicated the ribbon cutting to the foundation’s next 25 years, a nod to the continued impact of the organization responsible for helping families rebuild their lives.
