It’s that time of year when most people feel a little more grateful for what they have and are more generous to others. For many real estate agents in the US and Canada, this means giving back to the communities in which they live and work every day.
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From volunteering service hours to donating commissions and more, companies aren’t holding back from giving money to others who are less fortunate, even during a year of economic uncertainty.
Take a look at the ways some companies are spreading the joy of the season by giving back to their communities.
Fur and toy drives
Brown Harris Stevens has long hosted coat drives during the holidays, and this year the company’s Connecticut outpost is hosting one in partnership with The Junkluggers. All six Connecticut offices are accepting donations through January.
The company’s New York City region is also accepting coat donations through December 31 in partnership with New York Cares. The coat donation bins are located in the offices of Brown Harris Stevens East Side, Midtown, West Side, Union Square, Tribeca, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Park Slope 7th Ave and Riverdale. Digital monetary donations can also be made at New York Cares website.
Agents from Palm Beach-based Brown Harris Stevens also donated toys to pediatric oncology patients at Palm Beach Children’s Hospital during the company’s annual holiday luncheon this year.
Over the past five years Coldwell banker Warburg has held a coat collection for One Warm Coat, which distributes them to families in need. The brokerage also supports the nonprofit Sanctuary for Families, which creates vacation packages with basic supplies and toys for children.
Lots of offices in The Agency host annual Toys for Tots drives at their local markets and often offer opportunities for photos with Santa. The LA Agency also supported the Union Rescue Mission by donating holiday decorations and volunteering to serve hot chocolate and snacks at a luncheon event earlier this holiday season.
On Giving Tuesday, the company hosted its first-ever Giveback Homes Build Day in Hilton Head, South Carolina, where team members directly contributed to building new homes for families in need.
A few Real Estate One Group-affiliated offices organize donation drives for the holidays. Realty One Group Focus is hosting a sock donation drive for homeless and foster children in Philadelphia, as well as a holiday toy drive.
Realty One Group Esteem and Fountain Mortgage teamed up earlier this month in Kansas City to support Toys for Tots and local food bank, A Turning Point. Realty One Group Complete created vacation packages for children in the company’s community and raised an additional $1,000 to support these children.
Realty One Group Terminus is in the middle of an annual food drive that runs through December 30. Realty One Group Next Level hosted a Cookie and Cocoa with Santa event on December 20, during which the company will collect toys for Chaos & Kindness.
Donations from the Commission
The agents of Amalfi estatesa boutique brokerage based in the Palisades community of Los Angeles, routinely gives 10 percent of every commission earned to charity. This year that translated to $277,000.
The company partners with seven non-profit organizations and customers can choose which charity the donation from their home sale will go to. This year, Amalfi Estates founder Anthony Marguleas also co-founded 1Pali, a community initiative supporting residents affected by the Palisades Fire in January 2025.
This year, Compass made it easier for agents to donate to the company’s charity organization, Compass takes careby including a way to donate directly through the Compass platform. Every time agents close a transaction and submit their commission form in Business Tracker, they can now specify how much they want to give to Compass’s 501(c)(3) at a time.
Run campaigns
Redfin collaborated with Rocket this year to match $236,385 in team member donations and a match from Rocket’s Community Fund to community food banks. The donation will provide 951,842 meals to people in need in the cities where the company’s employees live and work.
Magneticthe company founded last February by New York veterinarian Scott Harris is supporting an initiative called Back on my feet all year round. The program, which operates in 16 cities across the country, seeks to break cycles of poverty, providing members with access to support services and workshops from the day they enter a homeless shelter or rehabilitation center until they graduate. They can also join fitness communities that commit to running or walking two to three times a week.
Every year in October, Douglas Elliman hosts ‘Elliman gives back’ a weekend-long event dedicated to serving the local communities in which the company operates. Offices across the country support organizations such as food banks, SPCA affiliates, children’s research hospitals and more. Individual officers have also continued to organize a number of volunteer activities and charity events since the week of Thanksgiving, which will be documented at Elliman Insider during the entire holiday period.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate partners with Covenant House, which provides shelter, food and support to youth experiencing homelessness or human trafficking survivors. The company’s fundraising campaign began on December 15 and includes a silent auction.
NextHome celebrates Luke Day every June 15 in honor of the company’s mascot, a French bulldog named Luke. On this day, everyone in the company takes time to step away from work and support charities in their local markets, including food banks, animal shelters, schools and non-profit organizations. The company said that although this day of service takes place in the spring, the spirit resurfaces around the holidays when brokers and agents show up to serve their local communities.
For example, NextHome Tri-Covenant Realty in Lawton, Oklahoma, has committed $40,000 this year to scholarship programs at the Lawton-Fort Sill 9th and 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Chapter, and has secured 99 pledges of $100 to go to a local homeless shelter (they expect to exceed the 100 pledge goal by Christmas).
Almost all agents involved Red Oak Real Estate contributes a portion of their commissions each year to the brokerage’s nonprofit organization, the Red Oak Opportunity Foundation (ROOF). This year, the brokerage allocated more than $130,000 in donations to 29 local charities (including YES Nature to Neighborhoods, Destiny Arts Center and the Rising Sun Center for Opportunity), as well as an international school in Nairobi, Kenya.
Although not broker specific, the New York State Residential Real Estate Council (RRC) worked with the American Red Cross this year to create a Brokers virtual blood drivewhich first started in September and runs through December 31st.
On December 19 Howard Hannah hosted its annual business holiday luncheon to benefit the Howard Hanna Children’s Free Care Fundwhich supports pediatric hospital care in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the brokerage is headquartered. Howard Hanna’s offices in the company’s markets, which span 14 states, will also plan individual community events to raise money for their local children’s hospitals. The brokerage’s agents and employees have raised more than $23 million for the Children’s Free Care Fund since its founding in 1988.
Corcoran Group internal non-profit organization, Corcoran takes care of ithas supported more than 50 nonprofits in New York City, the East End and South Florida by 2025 to support causes including cancer and juvenile diabetes research, homelessness and family services, LGBTQ+ advocacy and more. The nonprofit has raised a total of more than $5 million since its launch.
This year, the brokerage’s offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn also donated more than 550 coats during an annual coat drive the organization hosts.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England/New York/Hudson Valley Real Estate This year, $230,403 was raised for the Sunshine Kids Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports children with cancer and their families. The entire BHHS network supports the organization, but this particular region has been the largest contributor to the network over the past two years, hosting 40 different fundraising events in 2025.
The Hudson Valley office also adopted a family through Angels of Life, a charity that supports families with children facing life-threatening illnesses. The company’s Cheshire office also hosted its second annual toy drive last weekend to benefit Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and the Women and Families Center.
The RE/MAX Hallmark group of companies supports its communities through the franchise’s nonprofit organization, Hallmark Giving. Since 1993, the nonprofit has raised more than $2 million for local and international charities, largely supporting housing stability and food security efforts.
Real New York Co-founder and co-CEO Robert Rahmanian gives back year-round to the Maccabee Foundation, a charity founded by his grandfather to provide scholarships and financial assistance to Israeli veterans leaving the military. He also organizes the annual Maccabee Foundation Charity Poker Tournament, a fundraising event that, as he puts it, “combines philanthropy with real estate networking.”
Email Lillian Dickerson
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