Stronger Together: How Local Associations and the Housing Foundation Are Changing Lives Across North Carolina
In 2026, Matching and Give Back grants are helping REALTORS® build homes, feed children and support neighbors from the mountains to the coast.
From a new village for Hurricane Helene survivors in Burke County to weekend meals for hungry children in Catawba County, REALTORS® are showing up for their communities, and the NC REALTORS® Housing Foundation is right there with them. Here is how local associations are putting their 2026 Matching and Give Back grants to work across North Carolina.
MATCHING GRANTS: DOUBLING THE IMPACT
When a local association contributes to an organization in its community, the Foundation matches that gift up to $4,000, doubling its impact.
Burke County Board of REALTORS® + Open Hearts Place
Association Executive: Beth Hensley
In Burke County, more than 40% of the people who work there cannot afford to live there. Hurricane Helene made a hard situation harder: FEMA reports 41 homes in the county were damaged beyond repair and 86 more suffered major damage. Open Hearts Place is answering with the Hildebran Switch Community, a planned 44-home village on six donated acres in Hildebran. The grant supports the first two homes, built specifically for families displaced by Helene. Built with offsite construction methods, the homes go up faster, cost less and use less energy. Two families get a resilient place to call home, and a much larger community gets its start.
Cape Fear REALTORS® + Welcome Home Angel
Association Executive: Janet Kane
Mia is a four-year-old in Brunswick County who has autism, developmental delays and seizures. She is active and nonverbal, and climbing, stairs and running from the house put her at risk. Cape Fear REALTORS® committed $2,500 to sponsor an AdaptAble project for Mia through Welcome Home Angel, and the matching grant helps finish the job. Plans include a low-to-the-floor bed, padded flooring, safe storage and sensory supports such as a crash pad, swing, sensory wall and weighted blanket. The result will be a safer, calmer home that supports Mia’s therapy and daily routines and helps her family care for her.
Carteret County Association of REALTORS® + Crystal Coast Habitat for Humanity
Association Executive: Stephanie Deans
This partnership builds homes and future tradespeople at the same time. Crystal Coast Habitat’s Construction Camp for Teens is a 10-week summer program for youth ages 15 to 18. Working alongside Habitat staff and volunteers, campers learn hands-on construction skills while building wheelchair ramps, storage sheds and picnic tables for local Habitat homeowners. Families get safer, more accessible homes, and the community gains a new generation of skilled, service-minded young people.
Catawba Valley Association of REALTORS® + The Corner Table
Association Executive: Beth Hensley
For many children, school meals are the most reliable food they get. The Corner Table’s Backpack Program makes sure weekends are not hungry ones. Each week during the school year, the program sends home about 1,600 bags of nutritious, shelf-stable food with students at more than 40 schools across Catawba County. Grant funds will buy food to keep those backpacks full.
Central Carolina Association of REALTORS® + Esther’s Heart for Transformation Ministry
Association Executive: Dakeita Vanderburg
Concord-based Esther’s Heart works to remove hunger as a barrier to health, learning and stability. Since 2011, its Backpacks of Hope program has provided more than 90,000 weekend meal backpacks to food-insecure students in Cabarrus County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. Since January 2021, Love Feast on the Streets has served more than 8,400 hot meals to unhoused neighbors, meeting them where they are with dignity. Grant funds will cover food, packing supplies and delivery as the ministry expands Backpacks of Hope to two more schools and Love Feast to two new Cabarrus County locations.
Coastal Plains Association of REALTORS® + Rebuilding Together Pitt County
Association Executive: Misty Miller
Sometimes the most important upgrade is the simplest one. Rebuilding Together Pitt County’s Safe@Home program provides free critical repairs and accessibility upgrades for elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners, starting with a 25-point in-home safety assessment. With this grant, any home found without working fire safety equipment gets smoke detectors and fire extinguishers on the spot. It is a fast, practical fix for a hazard that can cost lives.
Greensboro Regional REALTORS® Association + Community Housing Solutions of Guilford
Association Executive: Mike Barr
For 18 years, Greensboro REALTORS® have rolled up their sleeves for Realtors R Rebuilding. This year, GRRA’s $4,000 contribution, matched by the Foundation, covers materials, licensed trade work and project management for critical repairs on a low-income homeowner’s house. Over two to three days, more than 50 GRRA members will volunteer to build an access ramp, repair a deck, install handrails and paint. Community Housing Solutions leads the construction and makes sure every repair meets code, helping the homeowner stay safely in their home.
Mid Carolina Regional Association of REALTORS® + Habitat for Humanity of the NC Sandhills
Association Executive: Sheree Higgins
Habitat for Humanity of the NC Sandhills builds and preserves affordable homes in Moore, Hoke and Richmond counties. Partner families put in sweat equity, complete homeowner education and buy their homes with affordable mortgages: a hand up, not a handout. The grant helps purchase building materials and supplies and supports critical repairs that let seniors and people with disabilities stay safely in their homes.
Neuse River Region Association of REALTORS® + Craven County Habitat for Humanity
Association Executive: Whitney Woodall
Craven County Habitat has helped dozens of local families become homeowners, but demand still outpaces resources, and qualified families remain on a waiting list. The grant helps offset construction costs and supports homebuyer education and financial literacy classes. That means more hardworking Craven County families moving into safe, affordable homes they own.
Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® + Raleigh Area Land Trust
Association Executive: Danielle Clermont
In Wake County, housing costs keep outpacing incomes. Raleigh Area Land Trust (RALT) keeps homes affordable for good. RALT sells homes to buyers earning 50% to 80% of area median income and holds the land in trust through a 99-year, renewable ground lease. When a home resells, its price stays affordable for the next family. RALT homeowners also receive financial education, maintenance and repair support, and ongoing guidance. The grant strengthens RALT’s work to create and preserve permanently affordable homes for generations to come.
GIVE BACK GRANTS: REALTORS® IN ACTION
Give Back Grants put REALTORS® to work side by side in their own communities. Each $2,000 grant powers a local association’s REALTOR® Giving Days project, turning members’ time and energy into real help for neighbors.
Catawba Valley Association of REALTORS® + The Corner Table
Association Executive: Beth Hensley
Catawba Valley is all in for The Corner Table. The association is pairing its Matching Grant with a Give Back project for the same Backpack Program, so even more Catawba County children have food to eat when school is out for the weekend.
Mid Carolina Regional Association of REALTORS® + Southern Pines Elementary School
Association Executive: Sheree Higgins
Students at Southern Pines Elementary School do not have a drinking fountain near their playground. Mid Carolina is changing that. The Give Back grant covers a new fountain, plumbing materials, site preparation and installation, giving students, staff and visitors easy access to clean water. Planned with school staff and local contractors, the project should take about three days to complete.
Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® + The Women’s Center
Association Executive: Danielle Clermont
The Women’s Center helps unhoused women on their journey toward stability with shelter, food and essential resources. Raleigh Regional members are assembling care kits filled with travel tissues, deodorant, nail clippers, lip balm, bandages and electrolyte powder. Each kit is more than a bag of supplies. It is a tangible expression of care and dignity for women working to rebuild their lives.
Union County Association of REALTORS® + Three Community Projects
Association Executive: Bryan Morales
Union County is spreading its Give Back grant across three projects:
- Teacher care: Teachers at Title I schools often spend their own money on supplies. UCAR is creating a coffee bar in the teachers’ lounge of a local Title I school, giving every staff member a gift and holding a supply drive to stock the school’s supply closet.
- Union County Community Shelter: Members will plan, shop for, cook and serve four meals at the shelter this year, meeting an immediate need with compassion.
- Angel Tree: The UCAR Board is adopting children from the local Angel Tree, then challenging business partners, member firms and affiliates to do the same and nominate others. The goal is to make sure every child on Union County’s Angel Trees is adopted this holiday season.
YOUR ASSOCIATION CAN BE NEXT
Every one of these projects started with a local association that saw a need and decided to act. With the Housing Foundation as a partner, that commitment goes further: a contribution is doubled, a service day is fully funded, and more North Carolinians find a safe place to call home.
So far in 2026, the Foundation has awarded $42,140 through these two programs:
- Matching Grants: $34,140
- Give Back Grants: $8,000
Both programs are open to all 43 NC REALTORS® local associations, which together serve all 100 North Carolina counties.
Thank you to every association leader, member and volunteer who made these partnerships possible. Your work is changing lives in every corner of the state.
Applications for 2026 Matching Grants and Give Back Grants are open through December 2, 2026. Learn more and apply at ncrealtorshf.org. To support the Foundation’s work, text NCRHF to 243725.