Geb Masterson, a real estate agent for Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty in Westerly, has created a program called Houses-4-Good that will allow his clients to distribute, among six charities, a financial donation from him representing 10% of his sales commission.
Masterson, who this year has sold more than $20 million in real estate, said he expects the contributions could total in the tens of thousands. The six charities he has identified are: the Westerly Land Trust, Stand Up For Animals, the Jonnycake Center of Westerly, The Chorus of Westerly, the WARM Center and the East Beach Association. Masterson spoke to the Providence Business News about his project.
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PBN: What is Houses-4-Good?
MASTERSON: It’s my way of giving back. Most Realtors have had a career prior to real estate. I’ve been doing marketing and sales all my life. I’ve always loved to tie in marketing and sales with charity programs because it really does seem to be a win-win for everybody. I almost call it conscientious consumption because Americans seem to have this love affair with buying things, whether it is a pair of sneakers, a car or even a house. A house is probably people’s largest purchase. Why not tie that back in and give something back to the local community? Houses-4-Good is a way for me to give back 10% of my future earnings to these local charities in the Westerly area.
PBN: Which real estate companies or Realtors are involved?
MASTERSON: It’s really just me. My company, Mott & Chace Sotheby’s [International Realty], is totally behind it. They love the idea. But because we are all independent contractors, they can’t really tell other people [to do this].
PBN: When did this begin?
MASTERSON: As of last week, any future business I have, 10% will go to the client, whether the client is a buyer or a seller. They’ll have a list of the five or six different charities, and then they’ll check it off.
PBN: Where will the money go?
MASTERSON: The first one to jump on board was the Westerly Land Trust. I wanted to try to spread out the charities among different categories. The second one was an animal rights organization, Stand Up For Animals. It’s right here in Westerly. Most of these are in Westerly, just because most of my work is here. After the year goes, I might expand it to [more than the original six]. The Jonnycake Center is in town here. They provide clothing, family assistance for people who are in need. One of the things that spurred my wife and I on is that we’ve gone through some hard times in the past couple of years. Without family support, community support, we would have been in a real bad spot. In the current economy, with COVID … there are going to be more people hurting.
PBN: Why did you want to do this?
MASTERSON: We’ve been blessed. We’ve had plenty of ups and downs in our lives, but we came out of them, thanks to family and friends. And we’ve got our health. And so many people don’t. I think if more people just gave back a little bit, we’d all be in a much better place.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at MacDonald@PBN.com.
