Wednesday, February 19, 2025

For decades, the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) and you, our members, have been committed to making a difference in our communities through the REALTORS Care® program. 

From raising nearly $1.7 million for MS research to providing warmth and shelter to more than 500,000 people in need over 30 years of our Blanket Drive program, our Realtor community has always stepped up to support those in need. However, as the landscape of charitable giving evolves, so must our approach.

Today, we are proud to introduce our plan to establish a new REALTORS Care® community relief program that will officially launch in 2026. This new charitable initiative will be designed to provide financial relief to assist residents with their shelter needs in times of distress or emergency.

The goal of this program will be to help members of our community find shelter in their greatest times of need. We designed this approach based on consultation with members and research of other successful programs inside, and out, of our profession across North America. 

To sustainably fund this initiative, we are introducing two key funding streams:

  1. To establish a $1 per member a month REALTORS Care® contribution beginning in 2026. This change would put GVR in line with what other real estate boards around Canada have established, including in Toronto, Calgary, Victoria and others.
  2. To add a charitable fundraising focus to the annual Medallion Club Gala event by incorporating a donation fee for every Medallion ticket starting at our 2026 gala event.

The latter change would allow our membership to continue to celebrate excellence and industry success at the Medallion event while also raising funds to give back to the communities that you serve. 

Together, we project that these initiatives will generate between $200,000 and $300,000 annually and allow us to better position Greater Vancouver Realtors as community leaders. Over time, we think this charitable program will become a source of great pride for all members as we, year in and out, demonstrate our deep social commitment as professionals. 

Through this work, we will identify a variety of ways that members can publicly support, champion and promote your involvement in this initiative.

Administration of the program will be guided by a dedicated REALTORS Care® Selection Committee that follows best governing practices for charitable work of this kind. Ahead of our 2026 implementation, we will share guidelines and protocols that outline the selection process as well as how people or charities can apply for support.

With this transition, we will retire the REALTORS Care® Shelter and Blanket Drives later this year, which, despite past successes, have faced increasing challenges in sustaining engagement and fundraising in recent years. We recognize and honour the legacy of these initiatives and look forward to building on that strong foundation with our new approach.

This is an exciting evolution of our charitable efforts, and we invite each of you to help us build and grow this program. By uniting under a shared mission of community support, we not only strengthen our profession but also reinforce our values that make us community builders and conscientious corporate citizens.

Watch for more information on this initiative as the year progresses.

In the meantime, I would like to thank you for your ongoing generosity and commitment to making a difference. We look forward to embarking on this new journey together and we hope we can count on all members’ support as we take these actions on your behalf.

Sincerely,

Jeff King
CEO
Greater Vancouver REALTORS®