RASM REALTORS® Charitable Foundation Announces Grants to Local Charities

The REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2023-2024 grants from the RASM REALTORS® Charitable Foundation (RRCF). The Foundation is on a mission to make a greater impact in the two-county region by supporting local charities with a focus on housing and shelter. Earlier this year, the Foundation launched a Grants Task Force to help identify these community organizations and encourage them to participate in a brand-new grant program. 

In the state of Florida, over 1.2 million low-income households pay more than half their income towards housing. Florida also has the third-largest homeless population in the United States, with over 27,000 individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and over 90,000 students without a permanent place to live. As housing experts, RASM and the RRCF recognize the crucial role that housing plays in people's lives and are dedicated to supporting non-profit organizations that create homeownership opportunities and help bring stability to those in need.

Since its founding in 2020, the RASM REALTORS® Charitable Foundation has donated more than $108,000 to local housing-related charitable organizations that are actively fighting housing insecurity and homelessness. That number has increased significantly through the new grant initiative, awarding more than $37,300 to seven organizations this month. The 2023-2024 grant recipients are:

• Everyday Blessings, Inc. Springboard
  • The mission of Everyday Blessings, Inc. is to provide high quality care for children and young adults in the foster care system. This grant will help support young adults aging out of foster care with bedroom and bathroom essentials including but not limited to bed frames, mattresses, sheets, comforters, dressers, small desks, full sets of towels and bath mats, shower curtains, etc. along with items for the common area that they share with their roommate(s) including silverware, kitchen utensils, cook and bakeware, dining room tables and chairs, couches, etc. 

• Habitat for Humanity Sarasota
  • The mission of Habitat Sarasota is to partner with God and the community to provide decent affordable housing for people in need so they can build better lives for their families. This grant will partially fund construction costs for a new, three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-family home. 

• HOPE Family Services
  • HOPE’s mission is to promote safety, strength, and well-being for those affected by domestic violence in Manatee County, Florida. This grant will assist in providing Emergency Safe Shelter for survivors and their children. The shelter not only includes a safe place to reside but also basic necessities such as food and clothing, as well as, counseling for adults and children, case management, advocacy, legal support, and referrals to other service organizations in the community.

• Manatee Children’s Services
  • Manatee Children’s Services (MCS) is a Child Advocacy Center with the mission “to advocate for and provide the resources, skills, and shelter to alleviate abuse through prevention and intervention for all children and their families.” This grant will support a beautification project to the roofline of their Emergency Shelter, a place of respite for up to 18 foster children removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. This facility operates not only as a crisis shelter but also as a hurricane shelter for Manatee Children's Services' two long-term group homes in the community. 

• Salvation Army of Manatee County
  • Locally, the Salvation Army in Manatee County focuses on meeting basic human needs such as food and shelter. They have a dinner program Monday-Friday, serving close to 200 people each evening as well as a shelter program that provides a safe place to sleep for up to 150 men, women, and children. This grant will support these shelter operations as they work to expand their program.

• Salvation Army Sarasota
  • Guided by the words "Doing the Most Good," the Salvation Army has a goal to feed, clothe, comfort, and care for those in need through efforts to rebuild broken homes and broken lives, and by incorporating ways out for those who suffer from addiction, leading them to recovery. This grant will help support the funds they need to replace broken metal lockers within the shelter.
    
    
• Second Heart Homes
  • Second Heart Homes provides housing and critical support services to homeless adults with mental illnesses. Their mission is to revive the dignity of the homeless and mental health population through housing, support, and love. This grant will support the purchase of supplies for move-in packages for their clients.

Manatee County Habitat for Humanity was also guaranteed to receive a grant with proceeds coming directly from the upcoming Golf Tournament hosted by the Commercial Real Estate Alliance. 

These organizations are making a significant impact in our local communities, and the grants awarded will further their missions and contribute to the well-being of local residents. As part of our ongoing commitment to the Sarasota and Manatee region, RASM and the RASM REALTORS® Charitable Foundation will continue to support these organizations and those like them and work toward a future where everyone in the community has a safe and stable place to call home.

The RASM REALTORS® Charitable Foundation is the charitable arm of RASM, committed to providing essential funding to individuals and not-for-profit organizations in the Sarasota and Manatee region that enhance the quality of life in our community.