The philanthropic efforts of EXIT Associates across the U.S. and Canada are amplified by the Spirit of EXIT Charitable Program. National charities as well as local non-profits benefit from the support of real estate professionals who live and work in the communities they serve.
A portion of every transaction fee received by EXIT Realty Corp. International is applied to its charitable fund. Through the Spirit of EXIT Dollar-for-Dollar Charitable Program, EXIT Associates can raise money for local, approved, registered charities and apply to have those funds matched from the company’s pool of funds. To-date, EXIT has allocated more than $7 million to charity.
“Part of the application process involves explaining why a particular charity was chosen and some of the stories are very personal,” explains Susan Harrison, Senior Vice President with EXIT Realty who oversees the program. “We have agents whose children face life threatening illnesses who want to raise money for medical research. We have agents who tell us that at one point in their lives they were food-insecure, and a particular food bank was the reason they ate. Other agents deeply relate to the needs of veterans and others still to animal welfare. One of the things I love best about our program is that everyone relates to a different need that tugs at their heart, and it might be different than another agent in their office or an office across the country. Our program supports what our people care about at their core.”
EXIT saw a 24.6% increase in the number of initiatives in 2022 over 2021. In 2022, over half the Spirit of EXIT initiatives supported non-profits working to benefit children and communities. Examples of the non-profits in each of the categories include:
- Animals 4.7% – Sale Ranch Animal Sanctuary
- Cancer 5.8% – Pink Cans 4 Cancer
- Children 28% – Children’s Advocacy Center of Van Zandt County
- Community Support 25.5% – Haven House homeless shelter
- Habitat 8.1% – Habitat for Humanity. EXIT’s history with Habitat for Humanity dates back to 2004. Habitat for Humanity is categorized separately because of the number of Spirit of EXIT applications received benefiting the non-profit.
- Medical Research 5.8% – United MSD Foundation
- Medical Support 16.3% – Carlton Place & District Memorial Hospital Foundation
“The last two sentences of EXIT’s mission statement are, ‘EXIT empowers people to live their why. Real estate is our how,’” says Susan. “This is their why.”
