What can real estate professionals do to help communities become wonderful places to live and work?
The Community Development Advocacy (CDA) program, formerly called Community Outreach, is the National Association of REALTORS®’ answer to that question.
It provides local and state REALTOR® associations with tools and funding for activities related to housing opportunity, smart growth, placemaking, rural outreach and fair housing.
The program, which turns 25 this year, was celebrated during a morning session at Advocacy Week in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
“Today, we are launching NAR’s ‘Building Better Communities’ campaign to showcase our community development advocacy all year long to NAR members and state and local associations,” NAR 2026 Vice President of Advocacy Asa Fleming said. “REALTOR® associations are using our grants and resources to influence housing policy, advance fair housing, promote smart growth, revitalize downtowns and strengthen rural communities.”
Fleming, who has more than 15 years of experience serving on and chairing local planning commissions and boards in Wake County, N.C., added that what makes the grant programs powerful is “how associations use these tools to build credibility, partnerships and lasting policy outcomes.”
Session attendees packed the Grand Hyatt ballroom to hear how local and state teams have leveraged NAR’s program to show elected leaders and the public that real estate professionals care deeply about helping their neighborhoods prosper.
Community Development Advocacy in Action
“Boone County, this one was a real fun one,” recalled Neeley Erickson, government affairs director at Illinois REALTORS®.
She explained how between 2000 and 2006, Boone was the third fastest-growing county in the state and the 86th fastest-growing in the country.
To rein in that growth, the county instituted an impact fee on developers meant to disincentivize sprawl. Erickson says the county is only allowed to use the money for “creating new expansion” and can’t use it on things like remodels or staff benefits or salaries.
As the years went by, Boone’s population dropped, while surrounding communities’ grew. Still, the county continued to collect the fee despite no population growth, which Erickson explained added to stagnation in real estate and construction activity.
“They already had room in their schools, so they couldn’t build a new school,” Erickson said. “They didn’t need to build any new parks because they already had plenty of parks, because their population wasn’t exploding. So, what were…
Read More: Real Estate Leaders Provide More Than $33 Million and 25 Years of Community
