REALTOR Grant and Mentoring Program Seeks Nominations

REALTOR® Magazine's Good Neighbor Society is seeking entries for Volunteering Works, a program that matches Realtors® who would like to expand their community service outreach with a mentor and grant money. Mentors are part of the Good Neighbor Society, past recipients of the magazine's annual Good Neighbor Award for volunteerism.

For the second year, the Good Neighbor Society is soliciting applications from Realtors® who work on small-scale charitable efforts that have great potential for growth. Five applicants will be selected to receive a year of one-on-one mentoring from a member of the Good Neighbor Society and a $1,000 grant as seed money to help implement improvements to his or her community program.

"Realtors® build communities and the Volunteering Works program is a wonderful way to inspire more Realtors® to volunteer throughout the country," said National Association of Realtors® President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz. "Mentors pass along valuable knowledge to individuals who have the passion to help others, allowing them to overcome the everyday challenges of getting a charitable effort off the ground."

Recipients will be selected based on their dedication to the community through volunteer work and the potential for their charitable work to be expanded with the help of an expert mentor. Ideal candidates will also be able to spell out specific challenges they would like to address and have specific goals for the future of their community service project. Applicants must be NAR members.

Mentors for Volunteering Works will be members of the Good Neighbor Society. Good Neighbor Award winners spend an average of more than 20 hours a week on volunteer work and have built and led some of the most effective charitable organizations in the country. Since 2000, there have been nearly 100 winners and honorable mention recipients of the Good Neighbor Award.

"Realtor® mentors will share their insights and help motivate other Realtors® to action," said Craig Conant, Good Neighbor Society Advisory Council chair and 2001 winner of REALTOR® Magazine's Good Neighbor Award. "Mentors will provide guidance and advice on things like setting up an effective board of directors, establishing the appropriate nonprofit status, improving fundraising success and recruiting volunteers."

"So many Realtors® across the country are active in their communities," said Frank Sibley, REALTOR® Magazine publisher. "The wonderful thing about this mentoring program is that it will help Realtors® reach out to even more people to make a real difference. This is an exciting opportunity for Realtors® to learn from some of the country's the most successful volunteers, the Good Neighbor Award winners."

For a Volunteering Works entry form, go to www.realtor.org/gna. The entry deadline is February 19, 2010. Recipients will be notified in April.

The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Chicago, January 07, 2010

# # #