Renee Fox has always had a desire to give her time, talent, and treasure to help others. As a business owner, her passion to help individuals and non-profits in Central Texas led her to create a corporate policy and business strategy around it. As a result, Fox Realty collectively, and consistently, donates 20 percent of all commissions to charity.
THE DESIRE
Born in South Africa and raised in England, this Georgetown wife and has been in the United States for 22 years and has always had a mutual love for business and volunteering. “My priority was to have a business while staying at home,” she says. “I didn’t want to work 80 hours a week, and when a friend introduced me to real estate, I knew I could manage my business from home and watch my children grow up.”
After seven years as a Realtor, Renee founded her own brokerage with a mission to train agents to be knowledgeable and do right by their clients. Today, Fox Realty focuses on residential, land, and ranch sales and she is excited to see her luxury brand of Fox Realty booming as well, which enables her to give back even more. “It is a lot of responsibility to be the boss. Before, I had grown accustomed to being able to give my time to help the community, but this brokerage is a wonderful vehicle for me to give back financially.”
HOW IT WORKS
Most brokerages split sales commissions, at different percentages, with their agents. Those fees cover the cost of office space, advertising, and the broker’s salary. As part of Renee’s upside-down business plan, agents work from home and she takes a salary only from her own sales. She then donates 20 percent of her own commissions as well.
Unlike a typical fundraiser, in which an organization gives what it can to a charity, Fox Realty reaches out every few months and asks non-profits what they need, then sets about making a plan to raise that amount.
“We have a sense of community responsibility,” she says, “It is not about tithing. While Christian values are a driving force for me, this is separate from what I give to my church. I honestly believe if you do business out of a city, you should give back to that city. We have agents from Bastrop to Georgetown and Leander and we choose non-profits in all those cities.”
WHO BENEFITS
When she began her new plan, Renee and her agents chose non-profits that aligned with their personal passions. She says, “We are always interested in housing and children, which represent a large spectrum of needs. We supported groups who combat homelessness in the typical sense, but also helped people leaving foster care or transitioning from long-term incarceration.”
Over time, the group received many requests for help so they created the Community Transformation Foundation and a board to help decide where their donations would have the greatest impact. Most recently, they donated $16,000 to the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center for their room makeover program, which provides new rooms for children who have been victims of abuse. Renee says that was a good marriage of their two primary passions.
She adds that while they focus efforts in the Austin metropolitan area, the board also makes every effort to give to one international charity on an annual basis.
Renee says all the agents at Fox Realty are fully behind the mission. “When we interview new agents, we want to know that they have a heart to understand this business model. They understand they are giving up office space to enable the company to put the money to something more useful than a brick and mortar. We know they may be giving up an opportunity to work for a big brand, but they all have a heart for and are rooted in giving back to their communities while building a successful business. It is wonderful that we all share a common goal.”
In addition to sharing their commissions, Renee gives her administrative staff monthly opportunities to volunteer while still on the clock.
She is pleased that her philanthropy provides her an opportunity to meet and work with new people. “Some may feel cynical about a business that gives back, but we are just helping people because it means so much to us. We do get new, incidental clients, but the benefits to us are in our hearts.”
2021 SCHOLARSHIP
During September and October, agents combined their commissions to fund a scholarship through the Foundation. The Board is taking applications from any who are first-generation college students. “We want to support anyone who is first in their family,” Renee says, “from all demographics and ages who are the first to go on to post-secondary education. Whether their plan is a Bachelor’s, tech or cosmetology certificate, or an Associate’s degree, we will be accepting applications for the remainder of the calendar year and award a scholarship for the Spring semester.” Click for more.