Building a Real Estate Philanthropy Dream, ASAP

For many, March 1st is the unofficial kick-off of the Spring homebuying season, but for The Real Estate Cafe it's even more significant for three reasons:

1.  Twelve years ago today, March 1, 1995, The Real Estate Cafe signed it's original lease at 221 Concord Ave, Cambridge, MA.  With that leap of faith,we became the nation's first internet-based, walk-in housing information center.  At the time, high speed T1 internet connections were rare and no one -- not even real estate agents -- could access the MLS on the internet.

2.  We'd like to use that anniversary to take another leap of faith:  we'd like to invite you to help relaunch the Million Dollar March.  Originally submitted to the MIT Ideas Competition in September 2003, the proposed Million Dollar March is:

A friendly, annual fund raising competition to demonstrate how local communities across the United States and other countries can use real estate related revenues and savings from e-commerce real estate transactions to provide shelter subsidies for AIDS orphans through ASAP:  AIDS Shelter Alliance Partners.

This year we may use innovative collaboration tools like a wiki or SecondLife.com to invite thousands of homebuyers and sellers, as well as real estate innovators, around the country to participate in the campaign by (1) contributing their own ideas, (2) organizing their own local fund raising campaigns, and (3) signing donation pledges (see PledgeBank idea starters below).

Alumni fund raising model
Download ASAPledge_Harvard091906v3.pdf

Citywide fund raising model
Download ASAPledge_City091606v7.pdf

3.  For our part, The Real Estate Cafe is using our 12th anniversary to announce our new menu of fees, our first rate increase in approximately a decade.  But don't let that discourage you:  if you agree to donate 10% of your rebate to non-profit organizations, you can lock into our longstanding rate of $100 per hour.  (A minimum of $1,000 must be distributed to one or more non-profit organizations serving AIDS orphans through ASAP:  AIDS Shelter Alliance Partners / Million Dollar March.)  Why focus on AIDS orphans?  Watch the rebroadcast of Oprah's special "Building a Dream" this Saturday, March 3, or read this blog post on six "megaforces" facing the global community.