NAR Awards Diversity Grants to Support Local and State Initiatives

WASHINGTON , May 14, 2008

The National Association of REALTORS® today awarded $72,795 to 17 local and state REALTORS® associations through the Diversity Initiative Grant Program.

The Diversity Initiative Grant Program provides grants to help fund outreach efforts to minority consumers and bring more diversity into REALTORS® association membership and leadership. The awards were announced during NAR’s Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here through Saturday.

“REALTORS® build communities and know that for many families homeownership is a stepping stone to building long-term wealth,” said NAR President Dick Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif. “These grants help REALTORS® associations and their members develop activities, partnerships and skills to better serve the growing multicultural market and help prospective buyers find the home of their dreams.”

NAR established the Diversity Initiative Grant Program in 2004 to provide financial support for REALTOR® association programs and activities that position REALTORS® as leaders in our country’s increasingly diverse communities and extends the benefits of homeownership to more Americans. Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded twice a year to local and state REALTORS® associations.

The 2008 Diversity Initiative Grant award winners are:

Bay East Association of REALTORS(Pleasanton, Calif.): $5,000 to support a “Bay Area Multi-Cultural Real Estate Summit” in partnership with other local REALTORS associations. The summit will enhance the ability of REALTORS to better understand and meet the homeownership needs of this increasingly diverse market.

Billings Association of REALTORS® (Billings, Mont.) $1,550 to support a direct mail campaign targeted toward Native Americans about existing homeownership programs.

Charlotte Regional REALTORS® Association (Charlotte, N.C.): $5,000 to fund three community outreach efforts that will expand the presence of the association’s Diversity Council in the local community.

Council of Residential Specialists (Chicago, Ill.): $2,736 to support efforts to incorporate NAR’s Diversity in Leadership initiative within the CRS structure.

Greater Syracuse Association of REALTORS® (Liverpool, N.Y.): $3,000 to support a Fair Housing symposium in cooperation with the local Fair Housing Council. The program will help educate REALTORS® members and create a better relationship between the REALTORS® association and the FHC.

Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS® (Harrisburg, Pa.): $3,000 to raise awareness of cultural diversity among the association’s leaders.

Seattle-King County Association of REALTORS® (Bellevue, Wash.): $5,000 to hold a diversity forum to help educate REALTORS® members about the multicultural markets in their service area.

Washington Association of REALTORS® (Olympia, Wash.): $5,000 to support the creation of a community foundation.

While at the Midyear Meetings, REALTORS® also had an opportunity to attend NAR’s “At Home with Diversity” training sessions. The decade-old program educates REALTORS® about being sensitive to and aggressive in meeting the homeownership needs of a diverse society; thousands have completed the course.

For additional information on the At Home with Diversity course or to download a Diversity Initiative Grant application, visit www.realtor.org/diversity. Applications for the next round of grants are due October 3, 2008.

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.

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