Windermere Real Estate raises $30 million for low-income and homeless families

Agents with Windermere Real Estate have almost doubled their fundraising efforts over the past two years to reach a $30 million goal of giving for the company’s non-profit arm, the Windermere Foundation, this week.

The foundation supports non-profit agencies that provide services to low-income and homeless families and is funded largely by Windermere’s 7,000 agents, who donate a portion of every commission to the non-profit.

“When we set out last year to reach $30 million in donations by the end of the 2015, we knew it was an ambitious goal because it meant raising $4 million in two years, which was almost double what we had ever raised before,” said O.B. Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate.

“But not only did our agents, owners and staff do that, they exceeded it by reaching our goal over three months early,” he added.

Agents ran fundraising events, increased their giving and brought on new donors to reach the goal early.

Last year, Windermere closed more than 77,000 sides, totaling more than $27 billion.

“Just imagine how many more families these funds will help,” said Jacobi. “How many more kids will be able to eat school lunches. How many more families will have milk in the fridge and food on the table. And how many more people will have their most basic needs met and the dignity that goes with it.’

The Windermere Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. “Giving back to the community is one of our core values and a fundamental part of who we are and have been since 1972,” said Jacobi.

“If at any point during the past 26 years you have bought or sold a home using a Windermere agent, you, too, are part of the Windermere Foundation, and you, too, have helped make a positive difference in the lives of your neighbors in need,” he said.

Email Gill South.