MISSION STATEMENT: SMDRA REALTORS® Care Foundation supports and engages in charitable, civic, humanitarian activities and programs designed to improve quality of life/home ownership in neighborhoods within our communities.

VISION:  CARE –
C – Community/ A – Aid / R – Relief / E – Engagement

OBJECTIVES:

1. A tax-deductible method for members to contribute to SMDRA’s charitable endeavors.
2. To provide support to SMDRA’s communities.
3. To assist qualified SMDRA members due to extraordinary crisis or critical health issues to ensure they can remain a REALTOR® or Affiliate member.

The SMDRA Board of Directors approved the formation of a SMDRA Foundation at their Board meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2023.  The foundation will benefit SMDRA members by helping them to remain a REALTOR^® while in extreme crisis and benefit existing 501(c)3 organizations, approved by the Charities Committee and the Board of Directors, that assist with housing related endeavors to raise the quality of home life for individuals and families in our community housing needs. 

The fund type and structure is an Award Fund and set up as an endowment which is where the principal of $25,000 is preserved in perpetuity. The Member Relief portion of the Foundation is set up as a “Scholarship Fund” which is the term required by the IRS; but will be referred to as Member Relief of the Foundation.  The initial funding came from the balance of Member Relief $20,494.46 and the remining amounts will be funded from Foundation donations and Legacy members.

The framework of the Foundation was based on a Foundation Working Group that met on January 3, 2023, with CAR Foundation Representative, Amy McDermott.  The Working Group reviewed information of the CAR Foundation Charitable Funds, administered through the Colorado Association of REALTORS Foundation, to benefit SMDRA and its members. 

The SMDRA REALTORS® Care Foundation supports Colorado nonprofit organizations that:

• Advance safe and attainable housing programs for Colorado residents
• Promote educational programs that encourage and support homeownership.
• Align with the SMDRA Foundation’s strategic priorities for its grantmaking.

Funding requests must be a written application to be considered by the SMDRA REALTORS® Care Grant Committee.  Funding decisions will be based on program support only, inclusive of program-related expenses such as salaries and overhead expenses. Distributions shall be made through a defined application process and only to public charities as defined in Section 170(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code (i.e., churches, schools, hospitals, government entities, and publicly supported 501(c)3 organizations.

Grants that are given are matched to an organization’s need, capabilities, opportunities, scale of impact, and the program’s fit with the Foundation’s priorities, as well as the organization’s historic pattern of support from other institutional donors, its developmental stage, and the Foundation’s overall availability of funds.  The Foundation prefers to encourage organizations to develop a broad base of support, thus will not make grants that represent 100% of a project’s budget.

ELIGIBILITY

• Must be a Colorado-based nonprofit organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization with a determination letter dated within the last five years
• Show programmatic evidence of a demonstrated commitment to the SMDRA REALTORS® Care Foundation’s mission and vision.
• Organization may not have received SMDRA Foundation grant support during the Foundation’s most recent grant year (prior calendar year).  Organizations funded in the most recent grant year are eligible to reapply after skipping a year.
• No distribution from the Funds shall be made to satisfy a written pledge or legal obligation of the Donor or any other person, and neither the donor nor any other person may receive any benefit or privilege (such as gifts or tickets to events) in return for a distribution from the Fund.
• The donor, or any person or committee properly designated by the Donor, may make recommendations to the Foundation regarding the distribution of the funds in accordance with the Fund Type Structure and Application Process.

The SMDRA REALTORS® Care Foundation, through the Awards Fund, will not award grants to:

• Individuals
• Organizations affiliated with a current director, officer, or staff member of the Foundation.
• Organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, age, sex, disability, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or national or ethnic origin.