The Board of Governors of the Alberta Real Estate Foundation approved $88,000 in our first round of Investment Grants of the year.

The Alberta Real Estate Foundation invests in real estate policy, research, practices, and education that strengthen Alberta’s communities. Under the Real Estate Act, whenever a consumer deposits money in trust through a real estate broker, property manager, or commercial broker, the interest earned on the deposit is accumulated and forwarded to the Foundation for reinvestment into Alberta’s communities. Individually, it is nickels and dimes, but across the province it all adds up! Since 1991, the Foundation has invested over $26.5 million in grants to over 665 initiatives across Alberta.

Join us in celebrating the Investment Grant projects approved at the March meeting that support and advance education, research, law reform, and other activities related to real estate in Real Estate Leadership, the Built Environment, and Land:

2022 Quantitative Consumer Research Project
By the Alberta Real Estate Association
This project builds on the Alberta Real Estate Association’s (AREA) 2016-2017 Standards of Professional Excellence report, supported by the Foundation. The 2016-2017 project allowed AREA to build meaningful metrics upon which to measure the Alberta consumer experience. Returning to the field five years later allows AREA to gain insight into how they have moved the needle on professional excellence in the real estate industry and how consumer expectations have shifted. AREA will engage a variety of industry stakeholders, including local Boards and Associations, brokerages, individual REALTORS®, and Alberta’s consumers to assist on this project. Results from this research will continue to inform and shape AREA’s formal and informal learning programs for members.

Meanwhile Lease Pilot Project
By cSPACE Projects and the Calgary Arts Development Authority
The Meanwhile Lease Pilot Project connects real estate professionals with interim tenants active in the creative economy. This process is de-risked for the real estate industry through vetting, tenant education, and management of City property tax exemption through this project. This pilot project mobilizes the use of under-utilized real estate inventory to the benefit of the real estate and arts sectors. Meanwhile leases leverage vacancies and lulls in property development. They are typically short-term and are often granted to local nonprofit or charitable groups, usually for a non-commercial purpose. Meanwhile leases will help the real estate industry and the creative economy as they recover from the pandemic.