Washington, DC – May 13, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The National Association of Realtors® has awarded four state and local Realtor® associations with $15,000 through its Diversity Initiative Grants Program. Award recipients were announced at the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C., this week.
NAR’s Diversity Initiative Grants Program provides associations with grants up to $5,000 twice a year for activities that reinforce the role of Realtors® as leaders in our country’s increasingly diverse communities and that extend the benefits of home ownership.
“NAR strives to preserve and expand housing opportunities and the Diversity Initiative Grants Program is one way Realtors® are working together to extend those opportunities to every American,” said NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I. “These grants not only help home owners in communities across the country, but they also promote cultural diversity among local and state Realtor® associations.”
Part of NAR’s Equal Opportunity and Cultural Diversity program, the Diversity Initiative Grants began in 2004 to help fund outreach efforts to minority consumers and bring more diversity into Realtor® association membership and leadership. NAR’s Equal Opportunity and Cultural Diversity program also offers education, grants, partnerships and events for Realtors®.
The 2011 first-round Diversity Initiative Grants recipients are:
Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® (Lemoyne, Penn.): $5,000 to develop a peer-to-peer network with members of the local minority real estate organizations.
Southland Regional Association of Realtors® (Van Nuys, Calif.): $2,500 to support an effort at raising the profile of the value of diversity.
Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association (Charlotte, N.C.): $2,500 to fund a “Spanish for Real Estate Professional” course.
New Jersey Association of Realtors® (Edison, N.J.): $5,000 to host an “International Summit” by bringing together representatives from the local multicultural real estate professional organizations.
Applications for the next round of grants are due October 7, 2011. For additional information, visit http://www.realtor.org/diversitysupport.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section.
Contact:
Leanne Jernigan 202/383-1290
