1. Your Involvement in the REALTOR® Party
REALTOR® Party Member Involvement Committee
Thank you for inviting me today. Thank you for this time to address the [group name] about the REALTOR Party and how we as REALTORS® can Build a Culture of Advocacy.
Introduce yourself – where are you from, how long in real estate.
Thank Leadership and association staff for their work --
State and local President
Federal Political Coordinators and their team
State and local Association Executive
Government Affairs Director

2. Building a Culture of Advocacy
I am a REALTOR, just like you. I list and sell real estate every day.
I am also a member of the REALTOR Party Member Involvement Committee or RPMIC.
Our Committee’s purpose is to “Encourage grassroots member participation by implementing strategies and programs that increase member involvement in all areas of the REALTOR Party – vote, act, and invest – and build a culture of advocacy throughout the REALTOR Party.” One of the ways in which the Committee accomplishes this is by promoting the REALTOR® Party resources available to state and local associations, which YOU make up. That’s why I am here today.
We want you to be involved. 
Why?
You are a leader in this REALTOR community. Being a REALTOR makes you powerful. Because you know the community, you know the neighborhoods, you know a lot of people, and you know other REALTORS and homeowners.
So, I want to ask you today, Will you stand with me to Vote, Act, and Invest in the REALTOR Party?

3. The REALTOR® Party Needs Every Member
What does that mean?
Well, it’s doing what you do everyday… we ALL have to be involved, we ALL have to be engaged and we ALL have to be ACTIVE!
You’ve seen the REALTOR Party mantra – VOTE, ACT, INVEST. Well, that means ALL of us…not just me or the state president or the RPAC chair. It doesn’t mean: some of us should vote or a couple of us should invest or whoever has time should act. It is a call for action to ALL of us.
It’s our business and livelihood that is at risk, and it’s the American Dream also at risk.
We need EVERY REALTOR to be involved at the local, state and federal level. REALTORS must promote and protect home ownership and investment in real estate.

4. Core Standards - 6 categories
Code of Ethics 
Advocacy
Consumer Outreach
Unification Efforts and Support of the REALTOR Organization
Technology
Financial Solvency
As many of you know, NAR’s Board of Directors approved mandatory core standards for all REALTOR Associations in May2014.
The purpose of the new standards is to raise the bar and ensure high-quality services for REALTORS. By June 30th of each year each local and state association must certify compliance and this compliance must be certified each subsequent year as well.
So, what is in the Core Standards? Well, it is divided into 6 categories:
Code of Ethics 
Advocacy
Consumer Outreach
Unification Efforts and Support of the REALTOR Organization
Technology
Financial Solvency
For the purpose of our discussion, I want to focus on Advocacy. For the first time associations at all levels will need to engage in advocacy efforts in order to maintain their charter.
The Standards state that “Each association shall demonstrate advocacy engagement.”
This is a rather vague directive from the Board of Directors and advocacy engagement can take on many forms but for RPMIC members this is where my role is crucial.

5. REALTOR ® Party Resource Guide www.realtoractioncenter.com/cpaguide
Just about every resource available from the REALTOR Party demonstrates advocacy engagement and can be counted toward meeting the association’s Core Standards. These resources can be found in the REALTOR Party Resource Guide. Even in the Certification Form -- that each association will use to determine whether they have complied with these new standards -- there is a section that lists REALTOR Party Resources and allows the board to check off which ones they have utilized.
Some examples include:
Conduct Candidate Independent Expenditure Races
Request and use Candidate Polling & Research
Issues Mobilization Program
REALTOR Party Hub for Call for Action or other Advocacy Engagement
Broker Involvement Program
Voter Registration Initiative (members)
Advocating for public policy in other ways
These grants and campaign services are available to all states. And, I’m here to make sure you’re aware of these programs and point you in the right direction so you can apply for one.
You can find more information about the REALTOR Party tools and resources on the Realtor Action Center website –

6. REALTOR® Party Tracker www.realtoractioncenter.com/realtorpartytracker
And right now, you can go to the REALTOR Party Tracker and find out what programs your state and locals used in past years, and also see what programs and grants other states have utilized.
[RPMIC member – please check the Tracker online to see what programs your state and locals has utilized. Are there success stories from your state or locals?]

7. CFA’s and Core Standards
“Every association will demonstrate significant participation in NAR Calls for Action . . .”
Also, as part of the requirements within the new Core Standards, Locals and States are going to be required to promote the Call for Action among their members. This promotion can be on the association’s website, in an , or posted on social networking sites, in a newsletter, or even at a state or local REALTOR meeting. Locals and States will also have to show that they promoted the Call for Action and provide proof to their state and to NAR.

8. Increase Call for Action Participation Rate Above 20%
Responding to Calls for Action is one of our strongest ways to reach Congress and make REALTOR voices heard.
The national goal this year that a state must minimally achieve an average response rate of 20 percent on NAR federal Calls for Action.

9. Core Standard Criteria
Please check the methods used to acquire significant participation and upload at least one example:
Promoted on Association Website
Promoted in Association newsletter
Promoted by separate
Promoted using social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Other digital materials
Other printed materials
(Note: State associations will monitor local association participation through the REALTOR® Action Center Response Reports on
To meet this core standard, this list shows what associations can do to meet the core standard.

10. Call For Actions Reports www.realtoractioncenter.com/cfareports
Shows response rates for all calls for action from Community and Political Affairs
Shows combined response rates as well as individual rates per CFA
Initial view shows response rate by state
Detailed view shows response rates by individual association

11. REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts
Mobile continues to be the best place to reach our members, which is why it’s a 2016 President’s Cup goal.
Are you signed up for the text alerts? Are your agents?
During the Patent Reform CFA the first text NAR sent asking subscribers to take action, within 5 minutes of the text being sent, over 11,000 REALTOR advocates clicked the link. In all, over 40% of our RPMA subscribers took action on Patents and those 40% made up 16.5% of all action takers.
THIS is political power in the palm of our hands.
Currently, we have nearly 86,000 REALTORS subscribed to our text messaging platform – Realtor Party Mobile Alerts and sign ups are increasing every day as we work to promote this new tool amongst state and local associations. In addition to national calls for action, we have begun working with state associations to push calls for action out to subscribers.
It’s so easy to get; you can do it right now. Just take out your phone and text REALTOR to
[RPMIC – look up your state goal:

12. IMMEDIATE Results Call for Action
As of April 1, 2016
IMMEDIATE Results Call for Action
We’ve gained over 12,000 new text subscribers since the beginning of the year! Please keep promoting.
REALTORS can text “REALTOR” to

13. Communication Tools
Social Media is a useful tool to help educate members about the issues.
NAR saw a significant increase in Facebook and Twitter posts once they began using the social share buttons on the Call for Action s and website.
As of 1/1/2016:
Twitter:
38, 175 followers (increase of 7,807 in 2015)
Men: 53%
Women: 47%
Not Identified: <1%
Top State: California
Facebook:
46,245 fans (increase of 3,114 in 2015)
Men: 38%
Women: 61%
Not Identified: 1%

14. Vote – Make sure you’re registered Act – Text “REALTOR” to 30644
Remember:
Vote – Make sure you’re registered
Act –
Text “REALTOR” to 30644
Respond to Calls for Action
Invest in RPAC
When you go back to your office, I hope you ask each of your colleagues to put a “check” next to each one of these:
Remember to:
Vote
Act
Join the REALTOR Party Mobile Alerts – text REALTOR to 30644
Respond to Calls for Action
Invest in RPAC – and if you already have, consider increasing your investment.

15. Our Best Asset is…
It’s a concerted effort to make the most of our grassroots strength and get all of us involved. The REALTOR Party pulls together more than 40 advocacy and community involvement programs and makes them easy for REALTORS and REALTOR Associations to use.
My job as your RPMIC member is to get our association leaders to tap into and make the most of those REALTOR Party Resources.
In order for the REALTOR Party to live up to its potential, we ALL have to be involved, we ALL have to be engaged and we ALL have to be ACTIVE!

16. Thank You! Contact me: Name, RPMIC Email Contact NAR:
Erin Murphy, Grassroots Team
Our participation and action matter for our organization. It matters for our profession. It matters for our future.
Thank you for being here today. I’m proud to work together with you to make the REALTOR Party as effective as possible. If you have any questions, please contact me or Erin Murphy at NAR.