Announcement
If you are a local GAD and are interested in running for the 2022 Vice Chair position of the NAR GAD Advisory Group, please send an email to me at CGaravaglia@NAR.REALTOR, and I will be in touch with more information and next steps. The deadline to declare interest is April 30th.
Special Welcome
The Political Advocacy Education team at NAR extends a warm welcome to our newest GAD cohort! GAD Nation has 36 new members from our February orientation class. If you see new names in the Facebook group or on one of our monthly All-GAD calls, say hello and make them feel welcome!
RPAC
2021 President’s Circle Update
As you may know, the RPAC Trustees Federal Disbursement Committee decided to temporarily pause all federal political disbursements after the events of January 6. The RPAC Federal Disbursement Trustees will meet again soon to continue discussions regarding a number of topics, including the selections and timing of the first round of President’s Circle target candidates. We appreciate your patience and will keep you informed as decisions are made in the weeks ahead. Contact your NAR Political Representative with any questions.
RPAC Major Investor Recognition
Make sure you and your members are recognized as RPAC Major Investors! Submit RPAC investments to the NAR Finance Office no later than Wednesday, April 21, 2021 to meet this first transmittal date. Click here for more information or contact Jackie Zaporowski, 202-383-1029.
2020 Local President’s Cup and Local Triple Crown Winners
Congratulations to the 403 local REALTOR® Associations that won the President’s Cup and the 419 local REALTOR® Associations that won the Triple Crown! These awards reflect the hard work of local association staff and leaders like yourselves who have met their RPAC and advocacy goals. Contact Jackie Zaporowski, 202-383-1029 with any questions.
Consumer Advocacy
Consumer Voices Makes Your Advocacy Efforts Stronger
Does your Association have a legislative or policy issue that consumers need to be educated on? The Consumer Advocacy Outreach grant offers your association the ability to apply for money up to $25,000 to engage with a powerful collective of consumers in your community and advocate for public policy issues that impact homeownership and property rights. Apply now or contact Erin Murphy at 202-383-1079 or emurphy@nar.realtor.
Community Outreach
Deadline Approaching for Transforming Neighborhoods
Local associations may apply until March 5, to hold either a place-based training or to receive a technical assessment to identify ways to tackle vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties through the Transforming Neighborhoods program. NAR provides planning assistance and will cover a significant part of the program costs. View a recent placed-based training and technical assessment created from the program for further insight. Questions? Contact Wendy Penn, 202-383-7504.
Webinar: Shape Your Community’s Future with Smart Growth on 3/3, 2PM EST
As communities struggle with where and how to grow, REALTORS® are bringing resources and expertise to the table. Learn how associations are shaping their community’s future by leveraging smart growth resources to ensure the REALTOR®’s voice is heard as decisions are being made. Reserve your spot online today. Questions? Contact Hugh Morris.
Join NAR’s Smart Growth Challenge!
Put your association in the spotlight by applying for and executing a smart growth level-2 grant and a placemaking level-1 or -2 grant in 2021. Your efforts will be featured in NAR’s On Common Ground magazine or a best practices webinar to demonstrate the impact these grant-funded projects can have on your association’s advocacy efforts and community betterment. Apply now.
Grant to Address Broadband, Well and Septic Regs, Zoning and More!
A new Rural Outreach Grant to fund advocacy initiatives related to broadband, onsite well and septic, open space preservation, protection overlay districts and infrastructure challenges is now available. Associations can explore a newly revised Rural Outreach site for detailed information on rural issues and select a time to meet with staff virtually to discuss strategies to address rural challenges. Questions? Contact Holly Moskerintz, 202/383-1157.
Customized State Legislation Program
State associations can receive assistance to help take the lead in writing and introducing legislation to help the better address the challenges of growth and improve communities. NAR will offer, at a reduced rate to the association, the services of respected land-use consultant, Robinson & Cole, to draft state legislation on Smart Growth issues (think…new zoning enabling legislation, inclusionary zoning, accessory dwelling units, requirements for local planning, changes in subdivision law, open space protection). Questions? Contact Christine Windle, 202-383-7504.
Fair Housing Month is Around the Corner!
Make plans to leverage Fair Housing Grants to support fair housing month, fair housing education and partnerships with local organizations that further the mission of fair housing – plus satisfy the 2021 Core Standards fair housing requirement. Need ideas and inspiration? Access resources, showcase stories and search “Fair Housing” via REALTOR® Party success stories. Questions? Contact Wendy Penn at 202-383-7504.
Kelli Starrett
GAD Chair
New Orleans Metropolitan Association Of REALTORS®
Can you believe that March is upon us already? Spring is either in the air or coming soon to the air near you and it is bringing better temperatures, more hours of daylight and, hopefully, enough vaccine availability that we can begin to worry less about the virus and start to see restrictions eased up around the country. And maybe, just maybe, we will get one step closer to planning our travel to Denver in July and San Diego in November.
I don’t know about you, but I found registering for the virtual REALTORS® Legislative Meetings to be both normal and sad. We have become pros at virtual conferences, but I am looking forward to the days when virtual becomes hybrid and happy hours no longer take place on Zoom. On a very related note, registration is now open for the free virtual REALTORS® Legislative Meetings. The perk of it being both free and virtual is that you have no excuse to not attend. Between the governance meetings and sessions like the Legislative and Political Forum or Federal Issues Update, there is valuable content throughout the conference to keep our committees and PACs ahead of the curve.
Our GAD Meeting is scheduled for May 11 at 10:00 AM CST, and you won’t want to miss it. Block your calendar out now for a good portion of the day, as we will follow it with our State & Local Breakouts. Based on your feedback, we are structuring the breakouts differently for this conference. To ensure you get the information you need to join those, make sure your contact info is correct in the GAD Directory. If you find yourself with extra time or a sleepless night, creep on some of your colleagues and make sure they are in the directory. We have lots of new faces in GAD Nation and we want everyone included for what I know is a favorite conference session for many of us.
Speaking of new faces, please join me in welcoming more than 30 new GADs and AEs to our family! We had a great virtual orientation session with them earlier this month where they spent two afternoons drinking from a firehose on all things NAR. It certainly takes practice to become well-versed in all that NAR has to offer, but I suspect they will have it figured out quickly. In the meantime, we are all here to support you as sort through all the options at your disposal. Being a GAD is not a competition; it is about sharing insights, thinking through problems, and plagiarizing someone else’s brilliant idea so that you shine in the eyes of your members. I look forward to seeing the ways GAD Nation is strengthened by our new colleagues. Welcome aboard!
-Kelli Walker Starrett
- May 3 – 14
Virtual REALTORS® Legislative Meetings - 2021 GAD Institute
Date: July 20-22, 2021
Location: Denver, Colo.
Hotel: Hilton Denver City Center Registration/Hotel
Cost: Institute Registration $550/Hotel $229+ Taxes and Fees/night
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