Five Community Organizations Receive Massachusetts Association of REALTORS Charitable Grants

CCIAOR was able to assist five local housing non-profit organizations in accessing $7,500 worth of grants from the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) Charitable Foundation. The MAR Charitable Foundation awards grants to 501c3 organizations that REALTOR® members work with to help those in need throughout Massachusetts. In order to be eligible to receive funds, the non-profit organization must work with a local Cape Cod or Islands-area REALTOR®. Most grants are given to organizations working in the housing or housing-related fields. These grants are made available to local organizations through CCIAOR, who facilitates the application process.

“REALTORS® are good neighbors who support the communities in which they live and work in a myriad of ways.” Notes CCIAOR CEO Ryan Castle. “The MAR Charitable Grants program is a tangible way that the REALTOR® community shows how much its members love and care about the places they call home.”

For more information on the MAR Charitable Grants program, please visit the Massachusetts Association of REALTOR® Charitable Foundation website.

Belonging to Each Other (BTEO) provides transitional housing during the cold-weather months and case management services (year-round) to individuals in Falmouth who are experiencing homelessness. BTEO rents two residences in the winter – one for men and one for women – and provides assistance to their clients with obtaining more permanent housing, health coverage, food stamps and social security / SSI / veterans benefits and employment. On average, BTEO provides temporary housing to 28 individuals per year. Funds donated to BTEO will go towards supporting their housing and case management initiatives. The Belonging to Each Other grant submission was supported by the Falmouth office of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services / Robert Paul Properties.

The Nantucket Rental Assistance Program (NRAP) offers short-term rental assistance to low-moderate income residents primarily living in housing provided by the private sector. As there are no homeless shelters on Nantucket, the program is the only stop gap for persons having to leave the island. NRAP supports community housing by assisting low-moderate income families secure and pay for year-round affordable housing in the current housing market. This approach keeps year-round rentals available and helps tenants maintain housing on Nantucket where the number of affordable rental units is dramatically below the number determined in the Housing Needs Assessment and other Housing Survey data. The NRAP is administered by the Nantucket Interfaith Council and is supported by CCIAOR member brokerage William Raveis – Nantucket. Separately from the MAR Grant program, CCIAOR members on Nantucket raised and donated $15,000 to Assist Nantucket in 2020.

Champ Homes is a faith-based, nondenominational 501©3 charity that provides supportive, sober, transitional housing to single men and women age 18 and older on Cape Cod, many of whom are challenged by mental, physical, and emotional disabilities or are recovering from addiction. Funds from the MAR Charitable Grant will go towards The Champ Homes Program, which can house up to 51 men or women at any given time. The Champ Homes application was supported by CCIAOR member Laura Usher of William Raveis Real Estate, who serves on the Champ Homes board of directors.

Founded in 1983, the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center (CIVOC) mission is to provide comprehensive, life sustaining services and programs to veterans and their families. CIVOC delivers service-enriched housing and all-inclusive supportive programs to ensure veterans achieve a lasting reintegration into the families and communities for which they have sacrificed. CIVOC provides service-enriched Housing, professional Mental Health support, and sustainable options to combat Food Insecurity. The organization manages 15 serviced-enriched housing units that include a robust case management program, with additional affordable housing projects currently in development. Funds from the grant will be allocated towards CIVOC’s homelessness prevention and transitional housing programs. The CIVOC grant application was supported by Julie Robillard of the CCIAOR staff.

The mission of The Lily House is to provide 24/7 hospice-level continuum of care in a peaceful, compassionate, and contemplative environment where terminally ill residents can live and die with dignity, comfort, and grace while being cared for with love. The Lily House is a community home for living and dying, where community members receive 24/7 community-based compassionate care in a home environment. The program serves approximately 100 residents per year, along with their families. The Lily House’s grant application was supported by CCIAOR members Jac and Carol Augat of Kinlin Grover Real Estate.