SMDRA Good Neighbor Award

Many of our SMDRA members modestly donate their time and funds to help improve the lives of others in need or to help advance a cause or a mission that they care about.

The SMDRA Good Neighbor Award celebrates and recognizes these remarkable members who have made a great difference to others. It is SMDRA’s plan that this recognition will help raise awareness of each recipient’s important contributions and show that SMDRA members care about the welfare of our community. As an added benefit, this program will position us to submit SMDRA Good Neighbor Award winners into the NAR Good Neighbor Awards national program.

SMDRA Good Neighbor Award Judging Criteria includes:

• Depth of Contribution – (Time, vision)
• Impact of the Contribution – (Results)
• Broadness of Impact – (How many people benefited)
• Leadership/Initiative
• Role Model for Other REALTORS®

PLEASE READ ALL THE AWARD INFORMATION CAFEFULLY, before you proceed to the online application. You will be required to answer/upload detailed information in the application to support your Nomination.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & APPLICATION DEADLINE:

• MUST be received by the March 5, 2021 deadline.
• Nominees must be members of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR) and the South Metro Denver REALTOR® Association (SMDRA), in good standing
• Nominees should have contributed to a program that improves the livability of a those activities aren’t limited to real estate or housing issues.
• Nominees should have made a significant contribution of personal time, but contributions of money, materials, or other resources will be considered by the judges as well
• Nominees will be judged on level of personal contribution, impact of personal contribution, broadness of impact, and the project’s suitability as a role model for other REALTORS®.
• The award is intended to recognize individual contributions, and are not association or company-wide. However, if an individual can be singled out as instrumental to the success of a group effort, he or she is eligible. If the achievements of two people (such as a married couple or co-founders of an organization) absolutely cannot be separated, they can enter as a pair and their entry will be considered as one.
• Some portion of the nominee’s community work must have taken place between January 2020 to December 2020, but judges will also consider ongoing efforts outside that time frame
• Nominees should be able to document the results of their individual involvement though published reports and/or testimonials from the organization they served or the people they support
• Nominations must be accompanied by a completed entry form
• REALTORS® may nominate themselves or may be nominated by someone else, such as another SMDRA member, or the community organization they support
• Grant awards will only be issued to a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
• Late submissions will not be accepted.
• All application submissions will be confirmed by email. If you do not receive a confirmation receipt within 72 hours of submitting your nomination, please call the SMDRA Office at 303-797-3700, or email Michelle Smith at michelle@smdra.com.

SMDRA Good Neighbor Award FAQs

WHO CAN NOMINATE A GOOD NEIGHBOR?
Anyone can nominate a Good Neighbor—common examples include the nominee’s broker, a colleague, a spouse, or a representative from the charity or real estate board. Many candidates nominate themselves. The nominee, must be a REALTOR®, that is a PRIMARY or SECONDARY member in good standing with the South Metro Denver REALTOR® Association (SMDRA) and the National Association of REALTORS®.

CAN I NOMINATE MYSELF?
Yes, in fact, we encourage you to. Though some people aren’t comfortable “selling” themselves, you are uniquely qualified to share the details of your experience with us. If you do nominate yourself, we encourage you to provide testimonial letters from people who are familiar with your volunteer work–these testimonials usually speak in more glowing terms than you would use to describe yourself and provide insight into how your work is viewed by others.

CAN A GROUP BE NOMINATED?
Though there are plenty of deserving groups, this award is specifically intended to recognize individual REALTORS®. The only exception would be if two people—such as husband and wife or mother and daughter—work together equally on a project. If their work truly cannot be separated, they can be nominated together, assuming both are REALTORS®. However, keep in mind that the judges will be comparing them with individual candidates. Generally, it is advisable to designate one person as the nominee if possible.

AM I ELIGIBLE IF I VOLUNTEER FOR MORE THAN ONE ORGANIZATION?
Absolutely. It is not uncommon for volunteers to be involved in more than one nonprofit. If you would like your application to be considered based on your work with several charities, include the information on the application (upload additional documents if necessary). One word of caution: Quality is more important than quantity. Generally, the more organizations you include, the harder it is for judges to determine the impact you have made, so it’s often better to limit the details to only the organizations for which you have made a significant impact.

HOW CAN I MAKE MY APPLICATION STAND OUT?
The essay and the testimonial letters are often the most valuable portions of the application for the judges. The following tips provide insight into what the judges are looking for and can help you submit the most effective essay:

1. Be as specific as possible. For example, give a close estimate of the number of hours volunteered, the number of people the nominee helped, the number of dollars raised, etc. Vague words like “countless” “incalculable” or even “thousands” are of very little use to the judges.
2. Don’t rely on adjectives. Superlatives like “kindest”, “most dedicated”, “most generous”—though certainly true—don’t help the judges evaluate a nominee’s achievements. Instead, describe something the nominee did that illustrates how kind or dedicated he or she is.
3. Don’t be modest. If you are uncomfortable talking about your achievements, have someone else write the essay portion for you and/or provide detailed testimonials. Testimonials from someone you’ve helped are particularly valuable.
4. The best way to illustrate the impact you have made is to describe results. What happened as a result of you being a volunteer? How is the community, or the people you helped, better off because you were there? What did you do for the nonprofit that was different, new or better than what existed before?

5. Focus on your accomplishments, not the organization’s in general. The judges need to evaluate the impact that the nominee has personally made. Don’t make the mistake of only emphasizing how much good the organization has done; instead, focus on what the nominee has done for the organization.
6. Leadership is part of the judging criteria. What did you do to lead others or set an example? Did you create a new program? Motivate more people to volunteer? Find a new way to raise money? Persuade your nonprofit to do something new or different that turned out well?

WHO SHOULD WRITE A TESTIMONIAL LETTER?
Testimonial letters should be from people who have knowledge about your volunteer work. The most effective letters are usually from someone you (or your nonprofit) has helped, even if they do not know you personally. Other examples of writers include fellow volunteers, someone from the nonprofit (or partner nonprofits), friends and family, state or local real estate board staff, members of the community, or community leaders.

CAN I SEND A VIDEO WITH MY APPLICATION?
You can send DVDs or links to videos. However, with the amount of materials the judges need to review, we can’t guarantee audio-visual materials will get full attention. If you feel the content of a video is truly important and not covered elsewhere in your application, please consider sending a written transcript or description of the video.

WHEN WILL THE WINNERS BE ANNOUNCED?
The winner will be announced at the 2021 Diamond Circle Awards on April 30, 2021.

WHAT DO THE WINNERS RECEIVE?
One winner will each receive a $500 grant for their charity.

CAN I EMAIL MY APPLICATION?
We are going paperless this year, so you can complete the nomination form HERE. The online nomination form allows for supporting materials to be uploaded to ensure that you have tour supporting material completed before beginning the application process. Otherwise, email your supporting materials to Michelle Smith at michelle@smdra.com. We must receive your application and all attachments by the deadline March 5, 2021.

FURTHER QUESTIONS?
Please call Michelle Smith at 303-895-3377 or email at michelle@smdra.com