Fair Housing Month, REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, REALTOR® Party Success Stories and More View e-mail in browser April 14, 2016 REALTOR® PARTY | for REALTORS® | RPAC | for ASSOCIATIONS     Fair Housing Month   Fair Housing For All As we celebrate Fair Housing Month, we not only not only honor the 48th anniversary of the passing of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, but reflect on the importance of every person in America to have access to the same housing choices and economic possibilities. This year’s theme—Fair Housing For All—is a reminder of what housing really means to us. READ More         Fair Housing Is In Your Hands Nearly 50 years since the federal ban on housing discrimination, upholding the law’s spirit remains a challenge. Here’s how to be a fair housing leader.  READ More     By The Numbers   160 The number of entries from children at the Boys & Girls Club of Cecil County who submitted entries to the Maryland Association of REALTORS®’ Annual Fair Housing Poster contest.  After submitting a poster to the contest, the children and their families are invited to a pizza and cookie reception at the Cecil County Board of REALTORS®. The Maryland association has been working with the Boys & Girls Club for approximately 10 years. READ MORE   82.3% The number of REALTORS® currently registered to vote.  Our goal is to get to 90%.  Register to vote today or visit the REALTOR® Action Center’s Voter Registration Map to access voter registration information in your state. If you’re not registered to vote, you cannot vote for candidates who support REALTOR® issues or in favor of public policies that promote home ownership.  REGISTER TODAY   48 The number of years since the Fair Housing Act was passed the week following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968. The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting, buying or securing financing for any housing. The prohibitions specifically cover discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability and the presence of children. FAIR HOUSING RESOURCES   REALTORS® At Work   Highlighted here are a few of the many REALTOR® Party success stories across the nation. These and others are cataloged in the Success Stories section of the REALTOR® Action Center.   Member-to-Member Outreach Educates on the Benefits of RPAC Phone-a-Friend for RPAC is well on its way to ensure that no member can say, “I was never asked” or “I don't know what RPAC does.” Leveraging the power of member-to-member outreach by contacting non-investing members, educating him or her on RPAC and asking for an investment, more than 5,200 phone calls have been made across the country. READ More   Illinois REALTORS® Localize and Diversify Nation FPC Program The Illinois REALTORS® have taken the concept of NAR’s Federal Political Coordinator (FPC) program and run with it, building FPC support teams of 150 REALTORS® to cover the 18 House Representatives and two Senators of the state legislature.  Each FPC serves as the human face on the issues that affect the real estate industry and let Members of Congress know that the choices they make affect the lives of their constituents back home.  READ More   Small in Size, Mighty in Impact: The Greater Mason City Board of REALTORS® The 82-member Greater Mason City Board of REALTORS® in northern Iowa has prided itself on its community involvement, recently applying for a Placemaking Micro-grant. To formalize its program, the association developed a Core Standards Committee and Community Outreach Task Force consisting of a handful of REALTORS® and its one-and-a-half staff members, who have ramped up the group’s already robust tradition of community service to an impressive pitch. READ More   Resources & Opportunities     Appraisers Aren’t Home Inspectors, NAR Tells FHA Changes to FHA’s single-family mortgage handbook is instructing appraisers to test and report on how well appliances are working when they’re preparing an appraisal for a house that would be financed with an FHA-insured mortgage. These and other changes are raising concerns among appraisers, and some are opting not to do FHA appraisals or are raising their prices. NAR’s efforts to get FHA to clarify its changes is a top story in The Voice for Real Estate, NAR’s news video. Another story look at NAR’s work with the Federal Trade Commission to prevent real estate professionals from unwittingly helping scammers rob home buyers of their closing money. WATCH   Share Boys & Girls Club Stories with NAR Now that NAR and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) have joined forces to make a difference in communities across America, we want to learn how the REALTOR® family is getting involved and making a difference. Associations and members should send their engagement stories to narbgca@realtors.org. Some stories will be featured on the NAR/BGCA website, providing inspiration for others to get involved with their local Club. The website also has a toolkit on how to get started, a sample press release and photos of involvement in action. For more information, contact Karen Bebart at 312-329-8359. READ MORE   REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, May 9-14, 2016 The REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo is where NAR members take an active role to advance the real estate industry, public policy and the association. REALTORS® come to Washington, DC, for special issues forums, committee meetings, legislative activities and the industry trade show. REGISTER TODAY New 2016 REALTOR® Party Resource Guide Is Available Check out the 2016 REALTOR® Party Association Resource Guide. Get brief descriptions of each REALTOR® Party Association Resource including grants, campaign services, RPAC and grassroots tools and more.  It’s all available for you to download as a PDF. DOWNLOAD   Join the REALTOR® Party Online Are you posting, liking, tweeting or pinning?  So is the REALTOR® Party.  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube to get the latest news, information and resources.     Send us examples of how your association put NAR’s REALTOR® Party resources to work to implement a successful advocacy or community outreach program. Email your stories to: realtorparty@realtors.org See more than 100 stories documenting how REALTOR® associations around the country put REALTOR Party Resources to work at the REALTOR® Party Success Stories page. This newsletter replaces the NAR Weekly Report for this week and the second week of every month. The REALTOR® Party News will publish next on May 12, 2016. If you missed a previous edition check out the REALTOR® Party News Archive. Headquarters: 430 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 DC Office: 500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-2020 | 1-800-874-6500      This message was sent to . 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