Local real estate professionals show over half a million signs of dedication

Signs can be considered affirmative indicators of one's traits and many are recognized as what it takes to be a successful individual. It is common to read about "The 3 Signs of Success," "The 5 Signs of Commitment," or the "The 7 Signs of a Philanthropist." But what about when those signs add up to over a half million? That remarkable example exists in the Fallbrook/Bonsall community.

The affiliates of Coldwell Banker Village Properties, led by Chris and Lisa Hasvold, have now exceeded the half million dollar mark in monetary contributions to worthy, local causes, through the company's community fund.

"We exceeded a half million dollars in giving at the end of 2015," said Chris Hasvold, who explained that the fund was launched in 1986, before the company became a Coldwell Banker franchise.

"A portion of every sale our office makes goes automatically into the fund," explained Hasvold. "The agents form a committee to field the donation requests and decide who gets the money. It is totally agent-driven." There are 32 agents that power the fund with their efforts.

When the company underwent change years ago to the Coldwell Banker franchise, Hasvold said the agents were given the option to continue the fund or not.

"They told me, 'No, this is who we are and what we do,'" he said. "We have actually have had agents come to our company because they appreciate that it is locally owned and we live here and support our community."

Just because the company has its community fund, it doesn't mean that individual agents don't choose to provide further monetary support or volunteer hours to charities of their choice. "This is just what we do as a company," said Hasvold.

The company's affiliates have long recognized that Fallbrook is greatly powered by volunteer organizations that accomplish the goal of bettering life for those who live here. And efforts take not only volunteer manpower, but money.

"Because it's a small town and most everything gets done by volunteerism here, we were always being approached by groups looking for funds," said Hasvold. "Because we have locally-based organizations, they don't usually have the capability to raise funds on a national level."

"We thought that establishing a community fund was a way to serve this need," said Hasvold. "The idea was to create continuous cash flow to provide benefits all year long."

Provide benefits all year long, it does. And the number of organizations that has been helped by the Coldwell Banker Village Properties Community Fund are too numerous to list here. Just a few examples include:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of North County
• Fallbrook Food Pantry
• Fallbrook Animal Sanctuary
• Fallbrook Youth Baseball
• Fallbrook Student of the Month Program
• Fallbrook/Bonsall Little League
• Fallbrook Beautification Alliance
• REINS
• Fallbrook Pop Warner
• Fallbrook Land Conservancy
• Fallbrook Senior Center
• Fallbrook Football Boosters

His real estate agents' commitment remains strong, Hasvold said, and contributions in 2016 will continue to provide opportunities for non-profits to apply for funds needed to make a positive difference in the community.

Hasvold said everyone affiliated with the company is proud they have collectively contributed over a half million dollars to help the community. It's a true sign that these hard-working agents do care about their town.

"That's just who we are," said Hasvold. "The idea in establishing the fund was... the community supports us, we need to support the community. We will always do that."

To submit a request for funding consideration, organizations should send an email including the amount being requested and the purpose the funds will be used for to [email protected].