Big Giving

The donations from Windermere’s North Idaho offices have now topped seven figures.

BY HALEY SHAPLEY

BY THE END OF 2018, WINDERMERE COEUR d’Alene Realty had raised $969,559—and 10 cents, to be precise—for the Windermere Foundation in support of their mission to give back to the communities Windermere serves.

By the end of 2019, they’d passed the $1 million mark in giving since adopting the Windermere Foundation’s goals in 1996. And they’re showing no signs of slowing down.

“One of our core philosophies is to give back to our community, and being part of the Windermere Foundation is a great way of doing it,” says Richard Jurvelin, the Foundation representative.

The North Idaho group—which has offices in Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, and Post Falls—raises funds a variety of ways. Every time a Windermere agent sells a home, a portion of the commission goes to the nonprofit Windermere Foundation, and about a quarter of Windermere Coeur d’Alene’s budget comes from those agent transactions. They also receive donations from community members and regularly get a grant from the local Kiwanis Club.

The lion’s share of the donations, though— more than 50 percent—comes through three annual fundraisers.

The largest is a fundraiser they do for their Boots and Socks program, organized annually by Windermere Coeur d’Alene Realty to provide kids in need with warm footwear. In 2019, they received—and fulfilled—more than 750 requests.

The office also works with Bras on Dudes, a local charitable group that raises money through a fashion show and live auction. They give the proceeds to the Windermere Foundation to help local cancer patients.

The third major fundraiser is a holiday festival for all the agents, complete with a raffle that brought in more than $5,000 this past year.

Jurvelin says that although he’s the official Foundation representative, everyone in the offices is involved. Each of the three locations has three reps who meet every other month to discuss the donation requests they receive. Once they vet those, they bring the requests to the rest of the company. That way, everyone is invested and has a say in the causes being supported.

“We get our company involved with it, and everyone votes,” Jurvelin says. “We don’t give money out until we get a confirmation from everyone.”

Over the past three years, Windermere Coeur D’Alene Realty has handed out 32 grants. Some of the recipients include Safe Passage, an organization that assists victims of domestic and sexual violence; Family Promise of North Idaho, which aims to shelter, feed, and provide solutions to families dealing with homelessness; and Panhandle Health Agency’s Nurse-Family Partnership, a program that pairs first-time moms with a registered nurse who offers guidance and support from pregnancy through a child’s second birthday.

Learn more about the Windermere Foundation at windermerefoundation.com.