Search Results for: call for action

One month in to the Maryland State Legislature’s 90-day session this past winter, the Governor unveiled a proposal that would trim the state’s Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID). The 22,000-member Maryland Association of REALTORS® had to act quickly. NAR approved a $300,000 Issues Mobilization grant, which funded half the cost of an extensive advertising and public education campaign, which included polling, robo-calls, print and online advertising and plenty of media relations. The endeavor was capped by a huge rally organized by MAR outside the office windows of the Governor and key legislators in the Maryland Statehouse. Thanks to the quick and...

With three out of five Reno city council seats up for grabs, the 1,900-member Reno Sparks Association of REALTORS® (RSAR) was eager to take some bold action to get out the vote this year. They decided to use the RSAR offices as an early voting site! The $2,950 Game Changer Grant they received from NAR paid for flyers to local businesses, and signage. By providing this public service, they helped to raise public awareness about what REALTORS® do, as well as show that they are engaged in the political processes that affect them. They also used NAR’s Voter Registration Initiative...

When a referendum to bring light rail to Hampton Roads came back for another round in April 2012, the Hampton Roads REALTORS® Association (HRRA) got busy – again. The 3,300-member association had supported light rail proposals before, but this time they kicked their campaign efforts up a few notches with an Issues Mobilization Grant from NAR of $74,000, as well as additional funds for polling and direct mail pieces. In addition, the state association and HRRA kicked in their own funds, making REALTORS® the single largest contributor to the cause. In the end, the referendum was carried in 90 of...

With 26,000 members, the Miami Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI,) has the potential to wield a lot of power in the political advocacy arena, but it was having trouble getting members involved. So, in March of 2012, MIAMI came up with a game-changing plan. The association applied for and won a $25,000 Game Changer Grant to create a “Market Solutions through Political Advocacy” team. The team works to heighten member awareness of political issues; recommends local races to screen; and advocates for candidates during elections. It’s working. In the last year they’ve identified a number of local candidates to get behind...

Last spring, when the City of Los Angeles proposed solving its $230 million fiscal year budget deficit by doubling the documentary transfer tax rate to $9 per $1,000 of assessed value, REALTORS® took action – fast.

Development in Montgomery County, MD, just north of the nation’s capital, is growing fast. The Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® (GCAAR) wants to make sure it grows smart, as well. Two Smart Growth Grants from NAR have been helping it do so. The 8,500-member association used the first one to begin a member education program, which became a celebration of Montgomery County’s smart growth in action. The second enabled GCAAR to participate in a coalition of county officials, developers, and others to advocate for a comprehensive mass transit plan. Funds were also used to create a magazine compiling smart...

Some gals have all the luck! Sure enough, at the Association Executive Institute in San Diego this spring, Lady Luck rewarded two participants who had generously invested in the REALTOR® Political Action Committee – by simply participating in the drawing. The stakes were high (the prizes were iPad minis!) but both winners graciously point out that the chance of winning a nifty techno-gadget was not the incentive. Lauren Hansen, CEO of IRES, the MLS serving northern Colorado, and Carol Heins, AE for the Mid-Fairfield County Association in Connecticut, became Major Investors as a result of their investments during the sweepstakes....

The village of Seville, Ohio had been hard hit by the recent recession, and before that, by the imposition of a set of extremely limiting zoning codes that left its once-charming main street commercial district 33 percent unoccupied. It was anchored at each end by shuttered gas stations, constituting unsightly brownfields. A recently closed elementary school loomed vacant nearby, not just an empty property, but representing the absence of significant tax revenue from the village coffers. Within a year of receiving a $15,000 Smart Growth Action Grant from NAR through the 618-member Medina County Board of REALTORS® (MCBOR), Seville has...

After two years, the 'Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper' placemaking challenge launched by the Michigan Association of REALTORS® (MAR) is proving that little things make a big difference.

When Oklahoma City passed an “abandoned property” ordinance last November subjecting certain vacant properties to registration requirements, mandated fees, and municipal inspections, the Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® thought the city had gotten too big for its britches. OAR used NAR’s polling services, along with a $95,000 Issues Mobilization Grant, to put together an aggressive campaign to convince the Oklahoma state house to pass legislation eliminating fee-based property registries. It worked!  The Protect Property Rights Act was overwhelmingly passed and signed into law by the governor this spring.