Issues MobilizationV

The Issues Mobilization Grant provides financial assistance to state and local REALTOR® Associations to support effective advocacy campaigns on public policy issues. Issues Mobilization Grants may not be applied for, nor may any portion of an awarded grant be used for, any activities related directly or indirectly to candidate elections*or legal action, or for any campaign activities that have been completed.

STATE & LOCAL ISSUE POLLING REQUEST FORM
 ISSUES MOBILIZATION APPLICATION
ISSUES MOBILIZATION GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
ADD BANK INFORMATION/PAYEE TO YOUR APPLICATIONS

Before submitting an application for an Issues Mobilization Grant, associations are encouraged to discuss issue campaigns with Campaign Services staff.  Staff can assist you in developing a campaign strategy and suggest tools to use, including: polling, direct mail, phone calls, grassroots mobilization, advertising (online, print, radio & TV), and websites/social media.  All of these services are provided by NAR through our contract consultants at a discounted cost.  Staff is also available to assist with legal compliance issues associated with Issues Mobilization Grant applications.

Review the campaigns funded by an Issues Mobilization Grant to get an idea of the type of campaigns funded in the past.

* The Independent Expenditure Program provides each state with funds that they can use to support candidates for political office who support REALTORS® and the real estate industry.

Issues Mobilization Resources

Questions? Contact John Winston at 202-383-1235.

Application Process & Criteria

State and local REALTOR® Associations must complete and submit an Issues Mobilization Grant Application.  Before submitting a draft application, review the Guidance Document detailing Application requirements and procedures. NAR staff will review the application, discuss it with you and request additional information if necessary. Applications that do not adhere to the Guidance Document or do not include the required information, including a budget, signatures, etc., will not be considered for review by the State and Local Issues Mobilization Support Committee.

Once an application is finalized, the Committee will review it during one of their scheduled meetings.  Monthly Committee meetings are held in-person during the two annual meetings and the REALTOR® Party Training Conference, and otherwise via teleconference.  Applicants must make a presentation and be available to answer questions from the Committee during the meeting.

Additional information is applicable to requests of $100,000 or less and to requests greater than $500,000:

Applications $100,000 or Less

A grant application of $100,000 or less that is submitted to NAR by Monday at 5:00pm Eastern Time is considered that week through a Consent Agenda process, first by the Advisory Group and then by the full Committee.  The Advisory Group votes on whether to recommend full Committee approval, and the full Committee votes on whether to award the requested grant. The Committee will make their decision on the grant application by 5:00pm Eastern Time on the Friday of that week. If any Advisory Group or full Committee member objects to approval of a grant application, that application is removed from the Consent Agenda and considered by the full Committee at the next scheduled monthly meeting.

Applications Greater than $500,000

A grant application greater than $500,000 approved by the Committee must also be reviewed and approved by: NAR’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors, when the application is considered at meetings held during NAR governance meetings; NAR’s Leadership Team, when the application is considered at a Committee teleconference meeting or at the meeting held during the REALTOR® Party Training Conference. NOTE: review of an application by NAR’s Leadership Team may take several weeks to schedule.

Grant Application Requirements

All grant applications must meet the following Contribution Standards that equate to a percentage of the amount requested from NAR:

  • Applications of $25,000 or less: Minimum 10% association contribution;
  • Applications between $25,000 and $250,000: Minimum 25% association contribution;
  • Applications between $250,000 and $750,000: Minimum 50% association contribution;
  • Applications between $750,000 and $2 million: Minimum 100% association contribution;
  • Applications greater than $2 million: Minimum 200% association contribution

Both financial and non-financial (in-kind) contributions may apply toward meeting the requirement. The Committee may waive the Contribution Standards on a case-by-case basis with a 2/3 majority vote, but such application approvals require subsequent approval by the NAR Leadership Team.

Committee Actions & Notification of Decisions

After reviewing and discussing an application, the Committeewill take one of the following actions:

  1. Approve the request in full.
  2. Grant a portion of the funding request.
  3. Approve all or a portion of the funding request provided special conditions are met.
  4. Postpone a decision until the Committee receives and evaluates additional information.
  5. Deny the request.

In making a decision, the Committee considers the following criteria:

  • Importance of the public policy issue
  • Scope of impact of the public policy issue
  • REALTOR®involvement in the public policy issue
  • Winnability of the public policy issue
  • Extent of community support for the REALTOR®position

Applicants are notified by NAR staff regarding the outcome of the Committee, Leadership Team or Board of Directors decision shortly after their decision is made.

Funding and Reporting

For approved requests, NAR staff will coordinate disbursement of funds with grant recipients. When legally permitted, NAR will disburse grant payments through submission of vendor invoices to NAR. Upon completion of the campaign, grant recipients must submit a Post-Campaign Report to NAR staff describing the issue campaign, support provided and outcome.

In situations where a payment-by-invoice approach is not possible or practical, NAR will make a lump-sum payment. Upon completion of campaigns in which lump-sum payments are made, grant recipients must submit, along with a Post-Campaign Report, an accounting of fund expenditures and return any unused funds to NAR staff.