Your help is needed NOW more than ever!

There have been countless natural disasters over the past year: earthquakes in Japan; tornadoes in Alabama, Missouri and New England; wildfires in Arizona and Texas; heavy rains and flooding in Illinois, Missouri and Vermont. Here in Connecticut, we still have to contend with the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and the rare winter storm Alfred.

The mission statement of the CAR Foundation is to “provide assistance in times of need.” Now that need is right here in our own state but we find ourselves with minimal resources to respond.

Please help replenish the fund and donate to the CAR Foundation today. Or, check out more ways to give.

About the Foundation

The Foundation was established at the request of the membership – the idea for the Foundation came from the business planning sessions in 2007 and 2008 – members wanted a 501(c)(3) corporation that could accept tax deductible contributions and respond quickly to a national disaster in Connecticut; similar to the manner in which the REALTORS® Relief Foundation functioned after Hurricane Katrina.

The Foundation formalizes the charitable efforts of the Association – in the past, CAR has responded generously when disaster struck (the 9/11 tragedy, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the gulf coast, the tornadoes in Kansas) and the Foundation is the natural progression of that tradition.

The Foundation is not CAR – the Connecticut Association of REALTORS® Foundation, Inc. was established in February 2009 as a separate entity, independent of CAR with a separate Board of Trustees.

• Click here for a copy of the CAR Foundation's IRS letter of determination.
• Click here for a copy of the CAR Foundation's 2009 Form 990.

The Gates Scholarship Fund is now part of the Foundation, but the way the money is used has not changed – the Gates Fund was transferred to the Foundation in 2009 and that money along with all future donations to the scholarship fund will only be used to award scholarships to the children of Connecticut REALTORS® – nothing has changed except that donations to the scholarship fund are now tax deductible. Over the past 35 years, the Fund has provided approximately $675,000 in scholarships.

The Foundation needs funding to fulfill its mission statement – in addition to awarding scholarships, the Foundation’s mission is to provide support to Connecticut REALTOR® members and their families, primarily, but also to the citizens of the State of Connecticut, in times of need or natural disaster (as defined by local, state and federal agencies) and it can make donations in response to national or international disasters. Due to minimal resources, the Foundation has limited its assistance (aside from scholarship awards) to making donations to disaster relief efforts.

The Foundation holds an annual Wine Tasting fundraiser each fall. Click here to check out photos from last year's Autumn Wine Tasting event.

The Association made the following donations in response to natural disasters in the United States and around the globe:

• $5,000 to the Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross to help CT residents who were displaced by Hurricane Irene and $5,000 to the REALTORS Relief Foundation to support relief efforts in VT after Hurricane Irene in 2011.

• $11,000 to Alabama after the devastating tornadoes in 2011.
  
  
• $4,000 to Habitat for Humanity International for Chile after the earthquake in 2010.
  
  
• $6,000 through the REALTOR® Relief Fund for Haiti through the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund in 2010.
  
  
• $5,000 to Georgia after floods and mudslides in 2009.
  
  
• $5,000 to Kansas after tornadoes in 2007.
  
  
• $5,000 to Southeast Asia after the Tsunami in 2005.
  
  
• $50,000 towards efforts to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. CAR and the local Boards from Connecticut also raised and donated an additional $70,850 to NAR’s Operation Home Delivery project. Additionally, 14 CAR members traveled to Mobile Alabama as part of the Global Village project, organized in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity International, to build homes for those hurt by Katrina.
  
  
• After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, NAR created the REALTORS® Housing Relief Fund to aid the dependent family members of those killed in the attacks. The fund raised monies to make three mortgage payments for victim’s families to help keep them in their homes. Connecticut worked with NAR and was a hub state for the fund as many victims resided in Connecticut.