Are you looking to use your real estate career as a platform for your philanthropic vision? Perhaps your team is looking for a meaningful way to give back. This was exactly the idea behind a recent Better Homes and Gardens campaign to crowdfund an 80-home El Salvadorian community. By partnering with the non-profit New Story, BHGRE is working to bring the dream of homeownership to hundreds of people in Ahuachapán, El Salvador, through the development of a crowd-funded community.
“This relationship is special,” says Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate President and CEO Sherry Chris. “This is not a brand giving a check to create houses for people in need and calling it day. This alliance is fueled by our brand, our brokers, affiliated agents, clients and beyond.”
So how does it work? Utilizing tools provided by New Story, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate franchisees and affiliated agents are able to set up personalized fundraising pages to contribute to a single family home or a portion of the community, which they can share on social media or through other marketing channels. Parties can make a 100 percent tax-deductible donation toward the construction of a Ahuachapán family’s home. Once $6,000 is raised, construction will begin on the house with the family’s help.
Donors can see precisely where their funds are going and track the progress of their fundraising. This gives members of the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate network a way to be directly and personally involved in the development of the community, with their own friends, family and sphere of influence adding to the achievement of this important goal.
“The creation of this community in El Salvador will be at the hands of each and every person who participates in fundraising efforts,” says Chris. “We also aren’t simply building houses –we are building futures and empowering families to create better lives for themselves along with a sustainable community.”
Currently, Ahuachapán residents live in dilapidated tent structures, making living conditions dangerous, resulting in harmful impacts on individual health and well-being. With life’s basic needs unmet, families are living in survival mode, precluding children from attending school and parents from holding and maintaining jobs to empower their financial future. During the construction of the community, all labor and materials will be sourced from the area, effectively creating jobs and injecting capital into the local economy.
“Together, we are committed to changing the way individual people can make a global impact,” says Brett Hagler, CEO and co-founder of New Story. “We want to share human stories through a digital, social experience to change the trajectory of the lives of deserving people around the world. Together we are able to develop a sense of pride and accomplishment for many in need. We aren’t just providing houses, but rather security from environmental threats and a haven so people can strive for a better future.”
The great thing about utilizing a platform like New Story instead of traditional crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter is that 100 percent of donations raised …read more
From:: Finance and Economy