The following activities help create or improve systems, programs and policies that enables and induces development that follows the 10 Smart Growth Principles. Use these ideas for inspiration and if you have an idea but are not sure if it is eligible for a grant, contact Hugh Morris at 202-383-1278. Level 1 – Smart Growth Grant Ideas Smart Growth Class: Host NAR’s Smart Growth for the 21st Century Class or other course focusing on Smart Growth and/or Land Use, Development and Growth. Expert Speaker: Bring in a speaker who can address specific growth and land use issues impacting your community. Placemaking Training:...
Fair Housing Toolkit
As stewards of the right to own, use and transfer private property, fair housing protects our livelihood and business as REALTORS® and depends on a free, open market that embraces equal opportunity. The Fair Housing Grant program provides funding to state and local REALTOR® Associations to enhance the importance fair housing plays in our industry and in our communities.
Issue Webinars
The State and Local Issues Policy Committee began co-hosting legislative issue webinars with other NAR Governance Committees in 2020 and now is committed to hosting six (6) new issue webinars each calendar year. These webinars educate and assist REALTOR® Associations and REALTORS® by sharing ideas on how to effectively lobby and support relevant REALTOR® policies at the state and local level. Issue Webinar Recordings ISSUE WEBINAR SPEAKERS DATE NAR RESOURCES RECORDING Foreign-Buyer BansNAR’s State and Local Issues Policy Committee hosted a webinar focused on the potential impacts of various state legislation banning foreign buyers from purchasing real estate. While the...
REALTOR® Party New Member Orientation
The REALTOR® Party New Member Orientation supplements the existing NAR Orientation Toolkit for associations. A great way to introduce new members to the REALTOR® Party and the importance of REALTOR® Advocacy, materials include: REALTOR® Party New Member Orientation PowerPoint (4 MB) Talking Points for Instructor Orientation Video (40 MB) By educating your members on the value of advocacy, you increase the likelihood of their involvement in Calls for Action, voting for issues important to real estate and using those activities to achieve association core standards requirements. How do I embed the video in the PowerPoint presentation? Download the PowerPoint presentation and video...
Community Development Advocacy
State and local REALTOR® associations can apply for grants in Housing Opportunity, Smart Growth, Placemaking, Rural Outreach, and Fair Housing to support advocacy, education, and engagement efforts.
Michigan REALTORS® Create “Sense of Place” in Workforce Housing
When the Michigan Association of REALTORS® (MAR) received an Ira Gribin grant from NAR a few years back, it funded a statewide initiative to study the benefits of placemaking in workforce housing. “As REALTORS®, we have been all about land use planning for a long time, but now we clearly need to focus on placemaking, specifically, as the real key to reversing the fortunes of the housing market here in Michigan.” says 2012 MAR President Beth Foley. Placemaking is a progressive movement that creates improved and distinctive public spaces by involving community input. In February 2012, when Governor Rick Snyder...
Oklahoma Association Goes Beyond PAC Contributions to Help Elect Two REALTOR® Champions
The 8,325-member Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® (OAR) has long had one of the state’s strongest Political Action Committees. But this spring, having received the maximum allowed PAC contributions from OAR, two of its strongest advocates – one in the State House (Marion Cooksey) and one in the State Senate (Clark Jolley) - were still faced with tough primaries. They needed an extra boost. OAR used a $14,500 Independent Expenditure Grant for polling and mailers to bring about success. Representative Cooksey won her race outright in the primary; Senator Jolley will face an Independent in the fall general election, and is...