Q. How can Donation Realty give away so much of its profits to charities?
A. Donation Realty has only one shareholder, our owner Brian Sloan. That is what he wants to do. We don’t have to generate profits for a private equity firm, thousands of individual shareholders or anything like that.
Brian started Donation Realty with the clear intentions of creating a top-notch real estate company and giving back to the community at a whole new level. That is why he established Donation Realty as a benefit corporation and why he wants it to remain that way forever.
Q. What is a benefit corporation?
A. A benefit corporation is a form of corporate entity recognized by the State of Illinois and about 22 other states. Donation Realty is proud to be a benefit corporation. This form of corporation allows businesses to provide a general public benefit instead of just operating to maximize profits. One of the ways Donation Realty does so is by donating a large percentage of its profits to local charities and organizations - $2,000 every time someone buys a home with us.
Q. What if I consider myself to be my favorite charity, can I just have the money?
A. No...Sorry, but that simply is not our business model. Donations only go to IRS-approved 501c-3 charities and IRS-approved tax-exempt organizations.
Q. Since you are giving away a lot of your profit, are you cutting back on services?
A. Absolutely not! We will put our level of service up against anybody’s. We are a full-service company and pride ourselves on providing exceptional service to all of our clients every step of the way.
Q. Do you offer the same services as all of the other real estate companies?
A. We offer many of the same services as the other great real estate companies in our marketplace and feel we do it every bit as well or better.
Q. Do you charge more than other real estate companies?
A. Commissions are always negotiable and vary from company to company. We think you will find us to be very competitive and offering the best value in our marketplace.
Q. Can I have Donation Realty donate the $2,000 to my kid's school?
A. Yes, as long as it is an IRS-approved 501c-3 charity or tax-exempt organization. Many schools are.