New Charitable Fundraising Program for Southern Californian Donors
If your donors live in Southern California, be advised there is a new fundraising program your nonprofit should explore. The Agent FactCheck Charitable Giving Program gives $1000 to $5000 per donation. The best part is that it is a no-cost fundraising program. This means 100% of the money goes to the nonprofit and costs nothing out of pocket to fundraise.
Sadly, on average only 39.5% of the total dollars collected by for-cost fundraisers in California goes to the nonprofit and cause for which it is intended. This means that more than half of the funds raised are used to pay expenses and fees to make the fundraiser happen. Although these added costs are legit and normal, they greatly reduce the amount of funds that actually goes to the nonprofit itself. When some donors realize how little of their donations actually goes to their intended nonprofit when using for-cost fundraisers, they simply don’t participate, and the nonprofit misses out. Some will prefer to make direct contributions to the nonprofit, knowing 100% goes to the charity and its cause. The no-cost factor is an added benefit with the Agent FactCheck Charitable Program because the nonprofit does not have to spend money to make money. And, donors can be confident that their donations are going 100% to the nonprofit and its cause; not outside professional fundraising services.
Kenneth Robillard, the founder of Agent FactCheck, is a former nonprofit board member and witnessed firsthand the challenges small and large nonprofits face and the difficulties and crazy costs involved with fundraising. This experience motivated him to come up with this no-cost fundraising program. His vision was to help nonprofits in reaching their fundraising goals without spending money to do so. Mr. Robillard states, “For struggling nonprofits, every dollar spent getting the donations eats into funds that would have been used to help its cause. Our program was specifically designed as a no-cost fundraiser that was easy to use for both donors and nonprofits.”
How Agent FactCheck Charitable Fundraising Program Works?
It is very simple. When a donor is thinking of selling or buying a property, whether it be residential, commercial, or for investment, and the donor uses the free public service provided by Agent FactCheck to select and hire their Realtor®, a donation is paid to the nonprofit of the donor-client’s choosing. Individual donations range from $1000 to $5000 per transaction, depending on the home’s selling price. This is an easy program to use as the nonprofit does not have to sign up or register to receive the donation. The donor-client needs only provide the name and contact information of the nonprofit when they sign up, and Agent FactCheck handles the rest.
Why Fundraise Via Real Estate Transactions?
It is estimated that on average, a person who lives in the United States will move 11.7 times in their lifetime. Agent FactCheck’s program allows nonprofits to tap into this trend and raise funds every time a donor buys or sells a home. Many individuals who buy or sell homes are donors, or potential donors, and would benefit from the agent referral service provided by Agent FactCheck. This program opens a new opportunity for people to donate to their favorite nonprofit at no cost to them because Agent FactCheck is a free public service. Fundraising via the real estate transaction can provide a significant source of revenue for many nonprofits, not to mention how it helps the donor-client hire a top-producing professional agent. Individual donors provide more than 80% of the money received by charities in the United States, according to the Better Business Bureau. This funding program is a great way to encourage more people to join the donor ranks.
What Does Agent FactCheck Do for Donors?
Agent FactCheck is a free real estate consumer service. They’re most known for assisting would-be real estate clients to find and hire local top-rated Realtors®. Their program uses data-driven research to identify top-rated real estate agents in every area in Southern California. They also interview every agent who meets the stringent standards they set and personally select the best agent for each client. The most important benefit for donor-clients is that the Realtors® referred to them are among the best in the business. This is a win for the donor-client and a win for the nonprofit.
If Agent FactCheck is a free public service, where does the donated money come from? As a referring broker, Agent FactCheck is paid a referral fee drawn from the commission earned by the referred agent’s broker. The profit from this referral fee is split 50/50 with the designated nonprofit. There are no costs for the nonprofit and no forms to fill out. When the escrow closes, a check is issued by the escrow company and sent directly to the nonprofit.
How does the Charitable Fundraising Program Fit in Agent FactCheck Services?
Client referrals between real estate brokers is a common practice. When a client is referred from one broker to another, a referral fee is paid subject to the client closing escrow. Agent FactCheck is the referring broker in this scenario. When a donor-client buys or sells a home via this program, the profit from the referral fee is split with the designated nonprofit. This charitable giving program also provides a benefit to Agent FactCheck.
Agent referral programs spend a good portion of their revenue on costly advertising and marketing. Agent FactCheck does not. Rather than spending money in this manner, Agent FactCheck would rather divert these funds to charitable nonprofit organizations. Instead of costly marketing campaigns, they depend on word-of-mouth and in-house efforts by the nonprofits. Mr. Robillard says, “We could expand our agent referral program quicker and further using standard marketing efforts however that isn’t our goal. Ours is to provide expert guidance to real estate consumers while at the same time create a perpetual source of funding for nonprofits. We hope to inspire other companies to do something similar.”
The only condition is that the donor-client must complete the real estate transaction using the Realtor® referred to them by Agent FactCheck. When escrow closes and the sale is final, a donation check is written by the escrow company and sent directly to the designated nonprofit. There is full transparency with no delays and no red tape. And, there are no restrictions on how the money can be spent by the nonprofit unless the donor-client specifically directs how it’s to be spent.
How Can Nonprofits Participate?
Nonprofits simply need to use their mailing lists to get the word out to their donors and potential donors reminding them that when they are going to buy or sell a property to consider using Agent FactCheck. When they do, a donation will be made in their name to the organization. There are no forms to complete and nothing to sign. The donor-client need only advise Agent FactCheck which nonprofit they wish to receive the donated funds. The only requirement for the nonprofit is that it must be registered IRC 501(c)(3).
Financial Transparency of Donations
To keep it as ethical and transparent as possible, donations will never go into Agent FactCheck’s bank account. The donation check is written right from escrow and sent directly to the nonprofit. This eliminates any worry of embezzlement or donations getting delayed by complicated accounting practices.
Is This Nonprofit Charitable Fundraising Program Available Only in Southern California?
At the time of this writing, the Agent FactCheck Charitable Giving Program is active in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Diego County, and San Bernadino County. They plan to be operational in all of California, Nevada, and Arizona by the end of 2021. The properties involved in the real estate transactions must be located in these areas. There are no restrictions on where designated nonprofits may be located.
References
Guide to Charitable Giving for Donors by State of California
https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/charities/publications/CharitiesSolicitation.pdf
BBB.org
https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/category/non-profit-organizations/accredited
