Help Celebrate REALTORS® Who Give Back

When your association shares the story of a member who gives back to the community through charity work, champions a worthy cause, or makes a difference in the lives of those in need, all REALTORS® share in that positive spotlight. Whether it’s promoting the members in your own association or sharing the stories of the NAR Good Neighbor Awards winners though your communication channels, the result is a greater consumer recognition that REALTORS® do more than sell houses.

In fact, nearly 70 percent of REALTORS® volunteer in their community each month, according to the recent NAR Community Aid and Real Estate report.

The new Good Neighbor Facebook page makes it easy to share stories with your social media audience. Simply like the page at facebook.com/RealtorGoodNeighbors and share uplifting content. Also, visit the Good Neighbor website  and visit the Media Kit for free ads, posts, and prewritten stories to promote the May 10 application deadline.

This year marks the 20th year of NAR’s Good Neighbor Awards, which honor REALTOR® achievement not in sales but for making an extraordinary impact through volunteer work. Winners’ stories generate considerable media attention, which benefits the cause with additional donations, volunteers, and support.

2010 Good Neighbor Wendy Rocca, a Keller Williams Realty broker in Newton, Mass., founded Operation American Soldier, which has shipped 35,000 care packages to American troops deployed overseas. “Without the Good Neighbor Awards, we would still be packing boxes from our home, if we had been able to continue at all,” she says. “The award helped us secure a location and receive donations from REALTORS® and lenders around the country. NAR’s Good Neighbor Awards was the catalyst for everything we have accomplished.”

In 20 years, the Good Neighbor Awards has granted $1.3 million to more than 200 nonprofits. The positive effects of Good Neighbor Award entrants have been felt in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and 15 countries around the world. More than 4,000 REALTORS® have applied for NAR’s Good Neighbor Awards, and an increasing number of state and local REALTOR® associations recognize their own winners.

Highlighting Good Neighbor stories reminds members and the public of how REALTORS® make a positive difference every day, says 2013 Good Neighbor Kristina Rhodes, at F.C. Tucker Emge, REALTORS®, Newburgh, Ind., who founded a chapter of Make-A-Wish and chairs the Good Neighbor Society networking group.

Join the group of local and state associations with their own Good Neighbor program to spotlight your REALTORS® who make a difference. Go to the Good Neighbor Awards, and click “Launch” to access the online Good Neighbor starter kits.

The Good Neighbor Awards is funded by primary sponsor realtor.com® and Wells Fargo Home Lending. Questions? Contact Sara Geimer.