AGENTS OF CHANGE
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world” – Gandhi
CATALIST was not the original plan. Broker/Owner, David Crawford, comes from a family of real estate professionals, and at first we were only discussing the idea of opening a real estate brokerage.
The original plan was to open the brokerage in Sarasota, grow it into a successful business, and eventually use the business to support causes that we believe in. The plan always included giving back and being a part of the community, but not the way that it is structured today.
In 2017 we made a conscious decision that “hoping” to give back once we were successful was simply not enough. There are too many people in need and, in a community as philanthropic as Sarasota, there are too many opportunities to give. We weren’t satisfied with the term “eventually”. We wanted to make an impact from the very beginning and we wanted our impact to be able to scale with the brokerage. We also wanted an opportunity to directly connect with the philanthropic community in Sarasota – people who think like we do, and believe in the power of giving.
After initially discussing grant programs, a type of philanthropy employed by many other businesses in Sarasota, we came to the conclusion that they tended to be too time consuming and restrictive for non-profits and to be effective they required more capital than we had. We considered other strategies as well, but nothing fit quite the way we had hoped. So after a few weeks of investigation we paused, consulted with a few mentors and decided it was time to create our own model.
“Our goal is to offer a new unrestricted funding stream to local non-profits and ensure that donations are made on a transactional level so that as we scale, so does our level of giving.” – David Crawford, Broker/Owner, Catalist Realty.
So how how does it work?… Prior to closing, each client is given the opportunity to select a non-profit to sponsor. If the client is not currently connected with a non-profit, Catalist will help to introduce them to local non-profit networks based on their values and interests.
“Many of our buyers will be moving to the the Gulf Coast from out of state. While they may have connections with non-profits in their prior communities, they may not have that same network here. We can help to make these connections and initiate the same sense of “community” and “family” that should exist wherever you live.”
All donations are taken out of our Broker’s Commission, meaning our agent’s and our client’s bottom line will never be affected.
Catalist Realty has institutionalized corporate philanthropy into our business model, and it is already making a difference. Recent donations to the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, Teen Court of Sarasota Inc., and Water.Org have been made with pending sales on the horizon to benefit other local organizations. Stay tuned to hear more about our non-profit partners and the inspiring stories behind each new donation.
Give us a call today at 941.777.2968 or reach us at INFO@CATALISTREALTY.COM