RPAC Phone Bank, Legislative & Regulatory Year in Review, REALTOR® Party Success Stories and More View e-mail in browser January 14, 2016 REALTOR® PARTY | for REALTORS® | RPAC | for ASSOCIATIONS     Making Member-to-Member Outreach, RPAC a Priority “I’ve never heard of RPAC.” “I was never asked to invest.”  We hear this from our members all the time when asking them about the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC).  Our goal this year is to change that with the Phone-a-Friend for RPAC: The National Volunteer Phone Bank Initiative. READ More   From the Nation’s Capital   2015 Legislative & Regulatory Year in Review During the 114th Congress, NAR’s legislative and regulatory agenda continued to focus on creating a fundamentally sound and robust U.S. real estate market while protecting the business interests of members, as well as consumers. NAR achieved several accomplishments and set the foundation for many important issues moving forward. READ More   By The Numbers   900,000 The number of consumers who participated in NAR’s first ever Consumer Call for Action. Consumers around the country sent letters to Congress or signed a petition urging lawmakers to oppose changes to the mortgage interest deduction through the HomeOwnershipMatters.Realtor website, the main hub of NAR’s Consumer Advocacy Outreach Program. VISIT THE SITE   300 The number of state and local REALTOR® Associations committed to participating in the Phone-a-Friend for RPAC: National Volunteer Phone Bank Initiative.  As one of the priorities of 2016 NAR President Tom Salomone, this program leverages the power of member-to-member outreach to contact non-investing members, educate him or her on RPAC and ask for an investment. REad More   77% The 2015 win rate of NAR’s State and Local Independent Expenditure Program, which provides funding to help influence voter opinion to elect REALTOR® Champions to public office.  In this election year, advocacy is of the utmost importance, and the REALTOR® Party is here to help with the Candidate Training Academy and Best Practices for Choosing REALTOR® Champions Course in 2016. LEARN MORE   Success Stories   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.   Las Vegas REALTORS® Bet on Smart Growth, Win Big in Sahara/Decatur The working families and millennials of Las Vegas’ Sahara/Decatur neighborhood were not privy to the development opportunities, glitz and glam of The Strip. The Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® (GLVAR) created a three-part plan—using Smart Growth training and Action Grants to bring community and government partners together to brainstorm smart growth solutions; holding a Better Block event; and creating a marketing pack for potential developers—to elevate the livability and economic promise of the neighborhood. REad More   Everything is Bigger in Texas, Including Efforts to Pass Proposition 1 The Texas Association of REALTORS® pulled all the stops to ensure that Proposition 1 would pass. The ballot measure amended the state constitution, increasing the homestead exemption and banning real estate transfer tax on all real estate sales. The Issues Mobilization Program, targeted outreach and a comprehensive website helped the 100,000-member association educate its members and the public on the ballot measure and ensure its success.  REad More   Land Use Analysis Helps Missouri REALTORS® Reshape Zoning Code Changes, Build Coalition The Columbia Board of REALTORS® immediately knew the proposed changes to area’s zoning code would threaten its private housing market, which is shaped by the state universities flagship campus. Information from the Land Use Initiative analysis allowed the 500-member association to create a coalition of local agencies, speaking with one voice, to influence changes to the proposed temporary zoning rules. REad More   Resources & Opportunities   President Signs Appropriations Bill into Law Congress passed and the President signed into law sweeping legislation of more than 2,000 pages to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2016. The new legislation will put an end to the series of stop-gap funding measures known as “continuing resolutions” that have funded the government since the start of FY 2016 on October 1, 2015. This new bill will expire in September 2016. READ MORE   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   Have You Gotten Our Text Messages? More than 70,000 REALTORS® from across the country have already signed up for REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts. Have you? Text REALTORS® to 30644 to sign up!  You’ll be among the first to know about NAR Calls for Action and more! READ MORE   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 February 11, 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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