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REALTOR® Party of the Future PAG Recommendations

REALTOR® Party Mission Statement

The REALTOR® Party is a powerful alliance of REALTORS® and REALTOR® Associations working to advance public policies and candidates that build strong communities, protect property interests and promote a vibrant business environment.

The PAG’s Mission & Members

In early 2017, NAR President Bill Brown appointed a PAG to analyze the first five years of the REALTOR® Party Initiative and to recommend ways to make the resources provided to state and local associations more efficient and effective. Thank you to the 21 PAG members who worked hard to produce these recommendations:

  • Leslie Rouda Smith, Chair (TX)
  • Jim Liptak, Vice Chair (HI)
  • Randall Blankenship (NC)
  • Laura Crowther (SC)
  • Bill Martin (FL)
  • John Flor (WI)
  • Mike Ford (AR)
  • Kathy Fowler (OK)
  • Nathan Gorton (WA)
  • Greg Herb (PA)
  • Christine Hansen (FL)
  • Lisa Hollister (MS)
  • Tiffany Meyer (OH)
  • Tracy Kasper (ID)
  • Tim Lund (MT)
  • Kenny Parcell (UT)
  • Charlie Oppler (NJ)
  • Kevin Sears (MA)
  • John Sebree (MO)
  • Nick Solis (CA)
  • Margo Wheeler (WA)

A Great Initiative

Across the board, the REALTOR® Party Initiative is seen as an incredibly successful and worthwhile undertaking. Over the years, an increasing number of state and local associations - big and small - have tapped in to the REALTOR® Party resources and put them to good use.

Number of REALTOR® Party Programs by Year

Since 2012, more than 1,000 state and local associations have used REALTOR® Party programs more than 16,500 times, ranging from candidate and issue campaigns to RPAC fundraising efforts and community outreach programs.

For Example:

  • The 63-member Southwest Missouri Board used a REALTOR® Party grant to help elect their REALTOR® Champion to the school board by one vote.
  • The 7,200-member Iowa Association used REALTOR® Party resources to pass the First-time Home Buyer Savings Account measure.
  • The 800-member Medina County Board in Ohio used REALTOR® Party Housing Opportunity and Placemaking Grants to build gardens for low income citizens, providing housing for disabled veterans and improving bike paths.

Room for Improvement

While the initiative has been successful, the PAG found room for improvement, especially in:

  • Customizing the resources for different sized associations,
  • Simplifying the offerings,
  • Improving communications and marketing and
  • Developing better ways to measure success.

New Programs and Enhancements

The PAG recommends adding 19 new REALTOR® programs and enhancing 14 current ones. Here are just a few of them:

New Program Examples:

  • State Staff Key Coordinator Program to assist associations in navigating the available programs
  • Rural Outreach Initiative to tailor community outreach for rural associations
  • Urban Outreach Initiative to tailor community outreach for associations in urban settings
  • Federal Political Coordinator Advocacy Academy to provide intense and interactive training for new FPCs

Enhancement Examples:

  • REALTORS® Addressing Homelessness to enhance the Housing Opportunity Program
  • Guarding Against Natural Disasters to enhance the Smart Growth Program
  • Federal Political Coordinator Recognition – an “honor roll” to recognize FPCs and their teams for exceptional work
  • Broker Involvement Program expansion to boost engagement in NAR advocacy efforts

Federal Advocacy Too

The PAG is also recommending added funding to increase NAR’s ability to promote federal issues through the Federal Issues Advocacy Program and would increase our federal independent expenditure program from 8-10 U.S. House races per election cycle to include more U.S. Senate races, as well.

Timing and Cost

Of course, these new and enhanced programs come with a price tag, which will be examined rigorously through our association’s budgeting process. In the interest of transparency, we are presenting these recommendations to all of the REALTOR® Party Committees at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Additionally, the PAG recommendations will be discussed at the November REALTOR® Party Training Conference in San Antonio, TX. No funding requests, allocation shifting or dues increases will be discussed at the Finance Committee or Board of Directors this month. Rather, these discussions will be held in March 2018 at the Budget Review sessions with the goal of putting a proposal before the Board of Directors for approval in May 2018. Any proposed increase in REALTOR® Party spending will be considered along with all of the other needs for enhanced products and services for our members and prioritized by the Budget Review Team participants.

Visit REALTORParty.com to learn more about the REALTOR® Party.

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