Windermere Redmond Blog March 29, 2018

Windermere by the Numbers

For the past 29 years, the Windermere Foundation has been helping those in need in our communities through donations to local organizations that provide services to low-income and homeless families. In 2017, the Windermere Foundation raised over $2.4 million in donations, bringing the total to over $35 million raised since we started this effort in 1989. The following infographic details exactly how these funds were dispersed in 2017 and the types of organizations that benefited from them. For more information please visit windermere.com/foundation.

 

This post originally appeared on the Windermere.com Blog.

Windermere Redmond Blog February 1, 2018

Windermere Foundation

18018_FoundationSocialMedia_F.png

The Windermere Foundation had another banner year in 2017, raising even more than it did the prior year thanks to the continued support of Windermere franchise owners, agents, staff, and the community. Over $2.4 million was raised in 2017, which is an increase of eight percent over the previous year. This brings our total to over $35.5 million raised since the start of the Windermere Foundation in 1989.

A portion of the money raised last year is thanks to our agents who each make a donation to the Windermere Foundation from every commission they earn. Additional donations from Windermere agents, the community, and fundraisers made up 66% of the money collected in 2017. These funds enable our offices to support local non-profits that provide much-needed services to low-income and homeless families in their communities.

SUMMARY OF FUNDS, GRANTS & DONATIONS IN 2017 

  • Organizations served: 472
  • Number of individual grants fulfilled: 644
  • Average grant amount: $2,964.04
  • Average donation to the Windermere Foundation: $116.08

FUNDING BREAKDOWN

  • Total amount disbursed in 2017:               $2,249,357.14
  • Total disbursed through grants:                 $1,908,843.54
  • Scholarships:                                                     5%
  • Youth/Child Programs:                                   33%
  • Emergency Assistance:                                   24%
  • Shelter:                                                             11%
  • School Assistance:                                            5%
  • Education/Counseling:                                   12%
  • Administrative Expenses:                                 2%
  • Fundraising Expenses:                                      8%

So how are Windermere Foundation funds used? Windermere offices decide for themselves how to distribute the money in their local community. Our offices have helped support school lunch and afterschool programs, housing assistance for homeless families, food banks, homeless shelters, and non-profits that provide basic necessities, such as shoes, clothing, toiletries, and blankets to families in need.

A very notable day in 2017 for the Windermere Foundation was November 15, when a record-breaking $253,782 was given in a single day. A total of 35 non-profit organizations benefitted from that day’s donations, including Attain Housing in Kirkland, WA, which received $56,000 from the Windermere Real Estate East, Inc. group of offices. Other organizations that received donations were Boys and Girls Club of Contra Costa in Walnut Creek, CA, and the Shady Cove School in Shady Cove, Oregon.

2017 also marked the second year of our #tacklehomelessness campaign with the Seattle Seahawks, in which Windermere committed to donating $100 for every Seahawks home game defensive tackle to YouthCare, a non-profit organization that provides critical services to homeless youth. While the Seahawks didn’t make it to the playoffs this year, they did help us raise $31,800. When added to last year’s $35,000, that’s a total donation of $66,800. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide additional support to homeless youth thanks to the Seahawks, YouthCare, and the #tacklehomelessness campaign.

 

Thanks to our agents, offices, and everyone who supports the Windermere Foundation, we are able to continue to make a difference in the lives of many families in our local communities. If you’d like to help support programs in your community, please click the Donate button.

 

To learn more about the Windermere Foundation, visit http://www.windermere.com/foundation.

#TackleHomelessnessWindermere Redmond Blog December 8, 2017

Windermere’s Winter Drive Collects over 3,000 Items for Homeless Youth

We've Got You Covered Redmond 2017

As part of Windermere’s #tacklehomelessness campaign with the Seattle Seahawks, 37 Windermere offices* in King and Snohomish Counties collected new hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, and warm socks for Windermere’s “We’ve Got You Covered” winter drive. The recipient of these donations was YouthCare, a Seattle-based non-profit that provides critical services and support to homeless youth throughout the Puget Sound area.

Over 3,000 items were collected during the four-week drive, which included some 737 pairs of socks, 391 hats, 467 pairs of gloves/mittens, 111 scarves, and an assortment of other accessories and cash donations. Two agents out of the Mill Creek, WA office even made 32 scarves by hand for the Winter Drive. We are thankful for these generous donations which will go a long way towards helping keep homeless youth warmer this winter season.

The folks at YouthCare were all very thankful to receive the delivery of eight bins full of donated items. And to make the day even more exciting, Blitz, the Seahawks mascot, was on site to oversee the delivery of the items to YouthCare!

Brittny Nielsen, Communications and New Media Specialist said, “We were thrilled to see our friends from Windermere and Gentle Giant dropping off a semi-truck full of donations for homeless youth this season. Having Blitz from the Seahawks show up to help us celebrate was icing on the cake! This crucial donation from Windermere brightens the holidays for youth in need. We’re so grateful!”

 

 

 

All of us at Windermere are very grateful to Gentle Giant Moving Company, who partnered with us on this drive, and generously donated their time and trucks to pick up all of the donated items from our offices and deliver them to YouthCare.

Thank you to our participating offices, the Seahawks, and all those who donated, for making Windermere’s Winter Drive a success!

 

 

 

*Participating Windermere offices

BellevueBellevue CommonsBellevue SouthBellevue WestBurienChelanIssaquahKirkland CentralKirkland Yarrow BayLynnwoodMaple ValleyMercer IslandMill CreekMonroeProperty Management – BellevueProperty Management – EdmondsProperty Management – SouthRedmondSeattle-BallardSeattle-Capitol HillSeattle-EastlakeSeattle-Green LakeSeattle-GreenwoodSeattle-LakeviewSeattle-Madison ParkSeattle-MagnoliaSeattle-Mount BakerSeattle-NorthgateSeattle-NorthwestSeattle-Queen AnneSeattle-Sand PointSeattle-Wall StreetSeattle-WedgwoodSeattle-West SeattleServices-MarketingSnohomishWoodinville

This article originally appeared on the Windermere.com blog.

#TackleHomelessnessWindermere Redmond Blog November 14, 2017

Windermere Foundation Donates to Pantry Packs To Feed Hungry School Children

Windermere Redmond brokers Tricia Ebert & Lara Brown had the pleasure of volunteering their time last week with Pantry Packs, a community driven program that provides healthy food for hungry kids to take home over the weekend and school breaks. Through charitable donations and volunteer support, Pantry Packs is able to feed more than 800 Lake Washington School District children who are identified by counselors as being “food insecure” and often come to school hungry on Mondays. Each month 40-50 volunteers come together to “pack the packs” then volunteer drivers deliver the packs to more than 40 participating schools. Each week school coordinators are able then to distribute the packs to hungry children in grades preschool all the way through high school. In addition to packing the packs, Tricia and Lara were honored to grant an additional $3,700 to the Pantry Packs cause on behalf of the Windermere Foundation.

Pantry Packs Founders

Windermere Redmond Agents & Windermere Foundation Representatives Tricia Ebert & Lara Brown with Pantry Packs Founders

Our Redmond brokers would like to thank their clients for enabling the Foundation to grant funds to local non-profits throughout the Eastside and beyond. For the past 28 years, the Windermere Foundation has donated a portion of the proceeds from every home  purchased or sold towards supporting low-income and homeless families in our communities. Together, we can create opportunities for a brighter future for low-income children and families in our neighborhoods. Your support really does make a difference! We sincerely appreciate your business and are grateful to be a part of the Redmond community.

 

For more information on Pantry Packs and how you can get involved, please visit:
http://www.lwsf.org/pantrypacks.html

 

Windermere Foundation Raised

Windermere Redmond Blog October 31, 2017

Windermere Foundation Has Raised over $1,500,000 So Far This Year!

 

Thanks to the generosity of Windermere agents and the community, the Windermere Foundation collected over $1,537,000 in donations through the third quarter of 2017. This is an increase of nine percent compared to this time last year! Individual contributions and fundraisers accounted for 62 percent of the donations, while 38 percent came from donations through Windermere agent commissions. So far, we have raised a total of $34,643,324 in donations since 1989.

 

Each Windermere office has its own Windermere Foundation fund account that they use to make donations to organizations in their communities. Year to date, a total of $1,179,202 has been disbursed to non-profit organizations dedicated to providing services to low-income and homeless families throughout the Western U.S.

 

One organization that has been the recipient of Windermere Foundation funds is SafeHouse of the Desert. Safehouse of the Desert provides a “safe” residential environment for children between the ages of 11 to17 years of age. These young people are the victims of physical and emotional abuse, homeless runaways, victims of human trafficking, emotionally unstable home environments and various other unsafe situations. The facility shelters the children from perpetrators and offers education, therapy, artistic expression, coupled with training for future jobs, skills and coaching in being responsible and making wise choices.

 

The 16 Windermere Homes & Estates offices  in Southern California (Alpine, Big Bear, Del Mar, Escondido, Fallbrook, La Jolla, Palm Desert, Palm Valley, Plaza at Aviara, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Bernardo-The Plaza, Santaluz, Scripps Ranch, South Carlsbad-Aviara, Temecula, and Trilogy) pooled their funds together and donated $5,000 for SafeHouse’s emergency shelter. They presented the donation check to SafeHouse on October 11, where they also spent the day cleaning, landscaping, organizing storage rooms, and providing breakfast and lunch at Harrison House, the 15-unit complex located behind the shelter and houses its transitional living program.

 

When asked why they chose this organization to help, Selina Sullivan, Regional Administrator for Windermere Homes & Estates said, “We recognize that the youth of today represents the future adults of tomorrow. Asking ourselves what we would want that future to look like, we realized that by contributing to this organization, we were impacting that future and contributing to the welfare of ALL children. In a world that is often covered in darkness, we wanted to serve as a beacon for others and to contribute to future generations.”

 

Generous donations to the Windermere Foundation over the years have enabled Windermere offices to continue to support local non-profits like SafeHouse of the Desert. If you’d like to help support programs for low-income and homeless families in your community, please click on the Donate button.

 

To learn more about the Windermere Foundation, visit http://www.windermere.com/foundation.

This post was originally published on the Windermere Blog.

Windermere Redmond Blog May 3, 2017

Schedule Your Early Donation to GiveBIG to the Windermere Foundation!

 On Wednesday, May 10, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time, the Windermere Foundation is participating in Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG, a one-day online giving event to raise funds for nonprofit organizations serving the greater Seattle area.

Advanced giving has already begun. You can schedule your donation at any point between now and before midnight on May 10. (Your donation won’t be processed until May 10.) For early giving only, donors will need to create a simple profile that includes their name, email and a password. Click here to GiveBIG for the Windermere Foundation!

All the money raised through the GiveBIG program will benefit nonprofits in the King County region, specifically providing emergency services for low-income and homeless families through our grant program and some of our nonprofit partners.

No matter what you give, it will make a BIG difference in the lives of low-income and homeless families in your communities!

We hope you will support us on May 10. Thank you for your generosity and support!

This post originally appeared on Windermere Weekly.

Windermere Redmond Blog February 2, 2017

Windermere Foundation Raises $2,246,829 in 2016

The Windermere Foundation had another banner year in 2016, thanks to the continued support of Windermere franchise owners, agents, staff, and the community. Over $2.2 million was raised in 2016, which is an increase of seven percent over the previous year. This brings our total to over $33 million raised since the start of the Windermere Foundation in 1989.

A large amount of the money raised last year is thanks to our agents who each make a donation from every commission they earn. These funds enable our offices to support local non-profits that provide much-needed services to low-income and homeless families in their communities.


SUMMARY OF FUNDS, GRANTS & DONATIONS IN 2016

  • Organizations served: 410
  • Number of individual grants fulfilled: 664
  • Average grant amount: $2,581
  • Average donation to the Windermere Foundation: $122.05

FUNDING BREAKDOWN

  • Total funds provided in 2016: $1,951,878.78
  • Scholarships: 4.79%
  • Youth/Child Programs: 32.65%
  • Emergency Assistance: 25.67%
  • Shelter: 12.85%
  • School Assistance: 6.76%
  • Education/Counseling: 5.10%
  • Administrative Expenses: 2.74%
  • Fundraising Expenses: 9.44%

So how are funds used? Windermere offices get to decide how to distribute the funds their agents raise so that they may help organizations in their communities. Our offices have helped to fund school lunch and afterschool programs, supported non-profits that provide housing assistance to homeless families, donated to food banks, purchased school supplies, provided meals and gifts for families in need over the holidays, fulfilled wishes for children through Make-A-Wish programs, and purchased shoes, clothing, blankets and other items to help keep families warm during the winter months.

This year was also marked by a new partnership between Windermere and the Seattle Seahawks to help #tacklehomelessness. During the 2016 football season, Windermere donated $100 for every Seahawks home game tackle to YouthCare, a non-profit organization that provides essential services to homeless youth. At the end of the season, the #tacklehomelessness campaign raised $35,000, which is being used to help fund YouthCare’s transitional housing program.

Thanks to our agents, offices, and everyone who supports the Windermere Foundation, we are able to continue to make a difference in the lives of many families in our local communities. And not just during the holidays, but throughout the year. If you’d like to help support programs in your community, please click on the Donate button.

To learn more about the Windermere Foundation, visit http://www.windermere.com/foundation.

This article originally appeared on the Windermere.com blog.

 

#TackleHomelessnessWindermere Redmond Blog January 31, 2017

Windermere Donates $35,000 To Help #TackleHomelessness

Windermere Donates $35,000 To Help #TackleHomelessness

The regular football season is officially over, and while the Seahawks didn’t make it to the Super Bowl this year, they did take home the title of NFC West champs. We can think of a number of reasons to be proud of the Seahawks, but the biggest one for us is the $35,000 they helped us raise to #tacklehomelessness.

As the Official Real Estate Company of the Seattle Seahawks, Windermere and the Seahawks decided to partner on a cause that is important to our community. The result was our #tacklehomelessness campaign which saw Windermere donating $100 for every Seahawks home game tackle during the 2016 season. An additional donation was made in honor of Bobby Wagner, the NFL leader in tackles this season, for each of his 167 tackles. All of these tackles added up to an impressive $35,000.

The recipient of the $35,000 donation is YouthCare, a non-profit organization that provides essential services to homeless youth. The money raised will help fund YouthCare’s Residential Care Programs, which provide both housing and tailored support services to youth transitioning from homelessness to stability and independence.

Our partnership with the Seahawks and YouthCare fits perfectly with the mission of the Windermere Foundation, which is to support low-income and homeless families in the communities where we have offices. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide additional support to homeless youth in our area thanks to the Seahawks, YouthCare and the #tacklehomelessness campaign.

See you next season and GO HAWKS!

This article originally appeared on the Windermere.com blog.

#TackleHomelessness November 3, 2016

Windermere Foundation Dollars at Work: 2016 Summer Report

 

 

We are excited to announce that as of third quarter of this year, the Windermere Foundation has collected $1.4 million in donations, which means we are well on our way to reaching our goal of raising $2 million by year’s end! Individual contributions and fundraisers accounted for 58 percent of the donations, while 42 percent came from donations through Windermere agent sales transactions. In total, we have raised over $32 million since the Windermere Foundation was started back in 1989.

 

Windermere/Seahawks #Tacklehomelessness Campaign

We recently made the announcement that Windermere is now the Official Real Estate Company of the Seattle Seahawks. And at the center of this partnership is a new #tacklehomelessness campaign in which the Windermere Foundation will donate $100 for every Seahawks home-game tackle during the 2016 season. On the receiving end of these donations is YouthCare, a Seattle-based non-profit organization that has been providing services and support to homeless youth for more than 40 years.

So far, the first two Seahawks home games have generated $5,700 in donations, but it’s still early, and we expect to raise upwards of $35,000 by the end of the season. These funds will help YouthCare provide services that help get youth off the streets and prepared for life—youth like Dana and Leslie.

 

Dana’s Story

Dana is 20 years old and has been living on the streets since she was 14 or 15. Dana was wary of accessing drop-in and other services due to family and personal trauma, and the failure of various systems to support her in her past. Once she learned that she was able to enroll in case management through YouthCare’s outreach services, she agreed to work with YouthCare’s Street Outreach Case Manager, Sam. Through Sam’s coaching and support, Dana has completed a housing assessment to get on the waitlist for available housing. Dana has a vision of herself beyond the streets, and she has Sam and YouthCare’s Outreach Team to walk that road beside her and offer the support she needs along the way.

 

Leslie’s Story

Leslie walked in the front door of YouthCare’s James W. Ray Orion Center, wet and cold from an early spring rainstorm, and asked for help. She had lived in Seattle her entire life, moving between her mother’s apartment and foster care, hoping always to be able to stay in one place for longer than a month. She had recently turned 18, and the friend’s couch she had been sleeping on was no longer available. Her education had been patched together over the years as she’d shuffled between schools, not connecting with any specific teacher—and she wanted to achieve her GED. She told the Orion Community Resource Specialist that she had met a YouthCare Outreach team member on the streets and came in to see how YouthCare could help.

 

The Community Resource Specialist sat down with her, completed an intake form and offered her food, water, dry clothes, and invited her to eat a hot lunch. Every day, YouthCare’s Orion Center offers a hot breakfast at 8:30 am, lunch at 12:30 pm, and dinner at 6:00 pm. Leslie stayed for lunch and then the cooking class in the afternoon, where she learned to cook falafel, pita bread, and tomato-cucumber salad. She stayed overnight at YouthCare’s Young Adult Shelter and was referred to YouthCare’s Barista Training Program, where she started an eight-week apprenticeship. Soon she was running the Orion Center Mock Café — an event hosted by graduating Barista program apprentices—and serving up complicated coffee orders with ease.

 

 

Thank you to everyone who supports the Windermere Foundation. Because of you, homeless youth like Dana and Leslie receive the services and support they need to get back on track with school, work, and life. If you’d like to help support programs in your community, please click on the Donate button.

 

This article originally appeared on the Windermere.com blog. To learn more about the Windermere Foundation, visit http://www.windermere.com/foundation.

 

#TackleHomelessness November 3, 2016

Seattle Seahawks and Windermere Real Estate Announce New Partnership

Windermere is the Official Real Estate company of the Seattle Seahawks

To say that Windermere has a lot of Seahawks fans would be an understatement. That’s why we are so excited to announce that we are now the “Official Real Estate Company of the Seattle Seahawks”!

At the center of this partnership with the Seahawks is a new #tacklehomelessness campaign in which the Windermere Foundation will donate $100 for every Seahawks tackle at home during the 2016 season. On the receiving end of these donations is YouthCare, a Seattle-based non-profit organization that has been providing services and support to homeless youth from across Puget Sound for more than 40 years. Since 1989, the Windermere Foundation has donated over $30 million to non-profits that support low-income and homeless families, so partnering with YouthCare and the Seahawks on the #tacklehomelessness campaign is a perfect fit for us.

“We are proud to partner with Windermere, an iconic and locally-based company with a deep commitment to this community,” said Seahawks Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Amy Sprangers. “Windermere’s brand and values align perfectly with our commitment to this region. It is wonderful that this partnership will make a positive impact on homeless youth throughout the Seattle area.”

If you’re not already excited about the upcoming Seahawks season, this video should do it.

Now say it with us . . . Go Hawks!

This article originally appeared on the Windermere.com blog.