HELPING SOCIETY and volunteering time and resources are not just a passing fad.

Some brokers might view building in time for their agents’ charitable work as an added pressure that distracts from the brokerage’s goals. As clients and consumers become increasingly aware of local philanthropy, more brokers view giving back as an opportunity to not only help a mission but to simultaneously shape their businesses’ brand.

Introducing the NVAR Cares new honor: the NVAR Spirit Award. Starting in 2019, this new award, proposed and approved at the August 2018 NVAR Board of Directors meeting, is open to brokerage candidates of all sizes.

“The idea for the NVAR Spirit Award came from actually reviewing the seven applications we had received for the 2018 Hero Award,” said Susan Mekenney, a founding member of the NVAR Cares Committee. “I was amazed at the number of brokers who had already instituted a giving program in their companies. I thought it would make sense to honor a brokerage as well as an individual agent. Having brokers with a community heart would lend itself to developing agents with giving hearts.”

Criteria will enable all brokerages to self-nominate or be nominated.

Said 2018 NVAR Cares Chair Marriah Unruh, “After discussing how to select a winner, we agreed that criteria will not be based on bottom-line funds raised but rather the effort, by members, that went into the brokerage’s charitable outreach.”

She explained that even for brokerages with limited resources, opportunities could arise that enable agents to have an impact on their neighbors or in society.

For more information, email jlandsman@nvar.com.