Over the past year, Harcourts franchise offices across Australia have granted $311,652 to 38 charities through the Harcourts Foundation. In this series of articles, we look back on some of the grants made and how they impacted our communities.

In August, large parts of Australia were under a severe drought and the call went out nationally to come to the assistance of farmers and their farms.  The network of Harcourts franchises came together to pledge $21,566 to the Australian Red Cross Farmer DroughtAppeal programs.

Through the combined generosity of Australians, the Red Cross Help Aussie Farmers Appeal raised $10.5m in just one month.

By coordinating the grant through its Harcourts Foundation,  100% of the money raised went directly to the charitable effort.

“Our foundation was created for such a purpose, caring for the community, and it was an honour to be able to provide this grant.” said Marcus Williams, Harcourts Group Australia CEO.  “Each of our state operations offices coordinated and came together to make a very quick and meaningful donation.”

The Australian Red Cross is a voluntary aid organisation that seeks to build capacity and resilience in individuals and communities to reduce vulnerability and maximise life opportunities.

Australian Red Cross will deliver a Drought Community Support Program to build resilience and capacity amongst individuals, families and communities who are impacted by the severe drought currently affecting NSW, QLD and other areas. Recognising that drought has a long term, insidious and complex impact, and that it has now reached a crisis point in many parts of NSW and QLD (but also other areas) the proposed program will focus on social recovery. Along the same principles of other disaster recovery programs, Red Cross will put in place community recovery officers, who will work with local people, agencies, business and government to develop plans that support the already heavily tested resilience of rural communities and enable them to take control of their own resilience.

Harcourts franchise owners in each state nominate and support the organisations that impact the community. Additionally, Harcourts corporate team members who salary sacrifice to the Foundation are given the chance to nominate a specific charity for a grant as part of an initiative called ‘Corporate Choice Grants’, while the Landmark Harcourts and Mortgage Express networks also designate grant recipients.

Since The Harcourts Foundation’s first donation in 2008, over $5 million has been raised. That translates to 686 charities supported, 311 communities impacted, and 933 grants made through Harcourts offices in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the USA.

About The Harcourts Foundation
The Harcourts Foundation was created in 2008 to personify a fundamental and significant part of what the name ‘Harcourts’ stands for in the hearts and minds of the communities the Harcourts business serves. At Harcourts we aim to change lives and make dreams come true – the work of The Harcourts Foundation is a continuation of this. Harcourts has been a part of our communities since founder JB Harcourt opened the door to his first real estate office in Wellington, New Zealand in 1888. Over time, our offices and people have generously created a history of giving through sponsoring and supporting thousands of people in need. Being caring members of our local communities ensures a better quality of life for everyone.