Chicago-based real estate brokerage Baird & Warner is donating $150,000 to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund through its charitable arm Good Will Network, in partnership with the Stephen W. and Susan M. Baird Foundation. The fund is a joint effort launched by the Chicago Community Trust and the city of Chicago and United Way of Metro Chicago, aimed at helping local nonprofits.
“Doing things the right way is as much a part of the Baird & Warner legacy as it is our future,” said Stephen Baird, the CEO and president of the fifth-generation, family-owned firm.
Stephen Baird
“Since our firm’s founding 165 years ago this past weekend, we’ve always believed our fundamental job was to help people,” Baird added. “This has taken many different forms over the years — from working with someone to buy their first home to sharing tips about the best schools in their neighborhood — but the goal has been the same, to make our clients’ lives easier. And now, more than ever, our clients and community need us.”
The donated funds will assist various agencies that are helping families access basic needs — like emergency food and supplies, mortgage and utility assistance and direct financial assistance due to unemployment — as the global pandemic hits Chicago.
Baird & Warner is one of the oldest real estate brokerages in the country and one of the few that’s been around since the Great Depression — along with multiple recessions.
“Navigating this time of uncertainty can feel daunting, but I’ve never been more confident in our industry’s collective resilience,” Baird said. “The dream of homeownership has withstood the test of time, and will continue to do so. It’s our job to keep that dream alive and within reach for everyone. We’re all in this together — and we will endure.”
