Abstract:
A method for facilitating donations to a charitable organization in which a first financial transaction involving property is linked to a second financial transaction involving a charitable donation. A fundraising program facilitates the transactions which directly contribute to affiliated charitable organizations. A property seller aligns with the fundraising program to list their property and selects a charitable organization to receive the donation. The fundraising program affiliates agent/brokers to sell the listed property. All fees and transactions are regulated through a title company at closing. The title company funds a commission to the agent/broker, a referral fee to the fundraising program, a nominal administrative fee to the fundraising program, and a percentage of the property&#39;s sale price to the charitable organization.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to methods for making charitable donations. The present invention relates more specifically to methods for facilitating charitable donations which are linked to independent financial transactions. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Although many charitable organizations do an excellent job of helping those in need, these organizations have historically suffered from various funding problems. Some of the reasons for these funding difficulties are related to poorly developed efforts to inform the community about opportunities to contribute to the charity, inadequate strategies to encourage such contributions, inconvenient donation vehicles, unreliable collection methods, and distribution delays. 
     Some effort has been made in the past to devise creative alternatives to promote charitable giving. These efforts have generally been directed to organizing and expediting the donation process. In general, these methods simply assist the donor in the contribution process or enable the donor to control various aspects of the contribution. These charitable donation methods are not typically integrated with other financial transactions. Some of these past efforts are reflected in issued U.S. Patents which include the following: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,575, issued to Mull entitled Systems and Methods for Charitable Donating describes an electronic donor-directed charitable donation system designed specifically for the Internet, whereby the donor can direct the disposition of the donation. Specific needs are identified by the charitable organization and the donor can give money to be applied for those specific needs. The system also has a listing of participating merchants that provide goods and services needed by the charitable organization which can be purchased by the institution with a system debit card. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,573 issued to Shade et al. entitled System and Method for Charitable Giving likewise describes an Internet-based method which enables selective three-party charitable donations. The host operates the web site or other support services and the donor visits the web site and selects a donation amount and a recipient. The host transmits the gift to the recipient along with a unique code which enables the recipient to redeem the gift by visiting the host web site and selecting a charity from a list of available charitable options. The gift is then sent to the selected donee charity by the host. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,041, issued to Canney entitled Method of Charitable Giving/Investing describes a method of systematically tying investing with giving by designing a fee structure within an investment whereby part of the fee is automatically transferred to a donor-advised account within a charitable community foundation. A charitable liaison will usually introduce a donor to this process of giving/investing. In addition, the donor will often have an investment advisor. Both the liaison and advisor will receive a part of the fee associated with the investment. The charitable giving may be associated with an investment such as a mutual fund or with a consumer purchase in a credit/debit card context. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,919 issued to Hovakimian entitled Credit/Charge Card System Enabling Purchasers to Contribute to Selected Charities describes a method which enables a credit cardholder to make a donation to a cardholder-selected charity any time he makes a purchase using the credit card. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,682 issued to Burke entitled Funds Distribution System Connected with Point of Sale Transactions describes an automated way for sales establishments to extend point of sale cash transactions to allow consumers to save, change, or transfer discretionary funds into saving or donating accounts managed by a central clearinghouse. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,547, issued to Ziarno entitled Method of Fund-raising with a Keyless Contribution and Gift Commitment Management Device describes a way to simplify and induce contributions by prospective givers. Keyless, electronic contribution devices are dispersed through a crowd of prospective givers for immediate entry of data regarding the giver. U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,998, also issued to Ziarno entitled Fund-raising Terminal and Method for Accepting Monetary Contributions by Use of an Information Bearing Card describes a way to induce and facilitate the solicitation and contribution of a large number of individuals at fund-raising events using card records such as credit and debit cards. 
     There are also business methods for managing real estate brokerage referrals, computing comparative values of real estate, and securitizing and trading real estate brokerage options. None of these methods which are related to real estate transactions are also connected to charitable donations. 
     While various attempts have been made in the past to provide methods to organize and expedite charitable giving, none of these methods are designed to integrate the charitable donation process with a real estate transaction. There would be distinct advantages to linking charitable donations to funds generated from the sale of real property. Specifically, the seller could designate the charity to receive the funds, the amount of a donation from such a transaction could be sizable, the donor already anticipates significant financial expenditures relating to such a major transaction, and the donor is likely to prefer a charitable organization be the recipient of such funds rather than a third party real estate company or salesperson. However, the requirements for structuring such a relationship between property owners/sellers and third party real estate companies and charitable organizations are simply not met by any method described in the prior art. 
     It would therefore be desirable to have a method whereby a property owner could contribute to a charitable organization, market and sell their property cost-effectively, and potentially receive tax benefits from such a transaction. It would further be desirable to have a charity benefit from the established financial practices involved in the sale of real estate, with such a transaction providing an ideal donation vehicle with a highly reliable method of collection. It would also be desirable to have a charitable donation method whereby such donations were encouraged through their connection to one of the most important financial transactions entered into by most individuals: the sale of real property. Additionally, it would be beneficial to link a charitable donation to a real estate transaction because of the familiar nature of such a common transaction which typically involves the exchange of large amounts of money. A method which linked charitable donation to a real estate transaction would encourage the donation of relatively large sums in a manner which is likely to be perceived as both appealing and financially sound. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method which integrates the charitable donation process with a real estate transaction. The present method links the relationship between property owners/sellers and third party real estate companies with non-profit charitable organizations. This objective is accomplished through a charitable fund-raising program which facilitates real estate-related transactions that directly contribute to non-profit charitable organizations. The fund-raising program fosters cooperation and collaboration between property sellers and non-profit charitable organizations. 
     In the present invention, a property owner/seller and a third-party real estate company are linked to strategically create a unique and innovative business method designed to facilitate potentially tax-deductible contributions to non-profit organizations and, at the same time, create an avenue to provide property sellers a more cost effective way to market their property and simultaneously potentially provide them a tax savings. The types of property which could be sold using the method of the present invention include both unimproved and improved residential and commercial properties. 
     In a typical traditional real estate transaction, a property owner/seller chooses to list their property for sale with a real estate agent/broker and associated real estate company. When their property is sold, the seller must pay a commission equal to six percent of the property&#39;s sales price at closing. Three percent of the commission is typically paid to the listing agent and three percent of the commission is typically paid to the selling agent. If the listing agent sells the property, they receive the entire commission, i.e., six percent. 
     In the preferred method of the present invention, a property owner/seller aligns their property with the fundraising program to list their property for sale, as opposed to a real estate company. In this preferred method, the property owner/seller pays only a three percent commission to a real estate company assigned through the fundraising program. Additionally, the property seller, instead of paying a further three percent listing commission to a third-party real estate company, agrees to give a potentially tax-deductible donation to one of the non-profit charities aligned with the fundraising program. The donation amount is potentially tax deductible and is based on a sum equal to one percent of the property&#39;s selling price. Finally, the property owner/seller pays a nominal administrative fee to the fundraising program to apply towards its listing and transaction related costs. Thus, the total cost to the property seller is a three percent brokerage commission fee to the selling realtor/broker, a one percent donation to the cooperating charity and a nominal administrative fee to the fundraising program. 
     Both the traditional real estate company and the fundraising program of the present invention obtain property listings, i.e., the exclusive right to represent the property seller with the sales transaction of their property. In this respect, the fundraising program does compete with most real estate companies in the market. However, the goals for obtaining such a listing may be diverse. For example, a traditional real estate company may list a property for a typical/competitive commission fee. In some markets this amount may be six percent. After the sale, the listing company, if the property was sold by a third party agent/broker, will typically retain one-half of the commission fee paid by the property seller or three percent of the total sale price, as the listing agent. The entire fee (six percent) is paid to the listing agent/broker who in turn pays the buyers agent/broker (selling side) its half or three percent of the commission fee. 
     In contrast, in the present invention, the fundraising program would not charge the property seller a listing fee, instead the property seller would pay only a three percent buyers agent/broker (selling side) commission payable directly to the outside agent/broker (through the title company) who represented the buyer who purchased the property. This is a major difference between the basic business method of the present invention and a traditional real estate company. After listing a property for sale, a traditional company will receive calls from individuals generated by Internet-related searches or drive-by traffic. In addition, they may receive calls from real estate agents/brokers representing potential buyers. If a potential buyer does not have agent/broker representation, the listing company will attempt to recruit the potential buyer as one of their customers in order to capitalize on the opportunity to generate a buyer&#39;s side commission or revenue. This is yet another substantial difference between the business methods of the fundraising program of the present invention and a traditional real estate company. 
     The fundraising program of the present invention does not represent potential property buyers. Instead, the fundraising program assigns a third party traditional real estate agent to each property it lists and then refers all the potential property buyers to the assigned third party real estate company. The third party real estate company will then show the property listed with the fundraising program in hope of generating a sale for its client, the property buyer. In the event that the potential property buyer is not interested in making an offer to buy the fundraising program home, the third party assigned agent/broker then has the opportunity to recruit the potential buyer as its client, to show and sell any property available in the marketplace. 
     Finally, a key fundamental difference between the fundraising program of the present invention and traditional real estate companies is that the fundraising program is not a real estate company in principle and mission. The fundraising program is a facilitator of charitable donations specifically for non-profit charitable organizations. Its primary purpose is to act as a tool for fundraising for charities and promoting the well being of the community and society. 
     There are some traditional real estate companies across the country that may, from time to time, donate a portion (usually a nominal amount of their commissions), to charity as a marketing tool. In some cases, the real estate company will contribute the donation in the name of the home seller, but in most cases, the potential tax advantage benefit will be taken by the real estate company. However, these companies are not similar in their design, mission or business method to that of the fundraising program of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a flowchart of a first preferred method of implementing the process according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart representing the flow of money through the process according to the first preferred method of the present invention shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a second preferred method of implementing the process according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart representing the flow of money through the process according to the second preferred method of the present invention shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a third preferred method of implementing the process according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart representing the flow of money through the process according to the third preferred method of the present invention shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the method of the present invention, three general scenarios are possible with respect to the fundraising program aligned agents/brokers and properties. Reference is made first to  FIG. 1  for a brief description of Scenario I, a first preferred method  10  according to the present invention. In the first scenario, an agent/broker is aligned with the fundraising program and sells a property which is listed by the fundraising program to a buyer who is referred by the program. 
     In a typical Scenario I process, the fundraising program receives a call from a property owner/seller. During this contact, the program concept and procedures are explained to the seller. The seller is given an information package containing typical data forms, disclosure information, a seller&#39;s property condition addendum, and a charitable donation pledge form. An agent/broker aligned with the fundraising program then meets with the seller to collect the signed paperwork, and perform other typical tasks including: presenting a listing agreement for signature, inspecting the property, photographing the property, and setting up signage. After the appropriate documents are signed, the agent is assigned, the data is input into a multiple listing service system and added to the program website, and the property seller is sent the contact information for the assigned agent. 
     If the property seller has a preferred agent that is not aligned with the fundraising program, an interview with the non-aligned agent is set up for possible alignment with the fundraising program. Calls from potential property buyers are referred to the assigned agent/broker and all property showings are scheduled through the fundraising program. The property seller funds a nominal administrative fee to the fundraising program and pledges one percent of the sales price to their chosen aligned charity. 
     As discussed above and shown particularly in  FIG. 1 , the property seller is aligned with the fundraising program at Step  12 . The seller selects one of the non-profit charitable organizations which is aligned with the fundraising program at Step  14 . This organization will receive a pledged one percent of the sales price at closing if the seller&#39;s property is sold. 
     The property listing services are established at Step  16  as described above. When an inquiry is received from a potential buyer at Step  18 , a determination is made as to whether the buyer is program-referred at Step  20 . If not then at Step  22 , the procedures of Scenario III as shown in  FIG. 5  are followed as described below. If the buyer is program-referred (i.e., learned about the program property through one of the marketing efforts of the program), the buyer is then referred to the assigned agent/broker for that piece of property at Step  24 . 
     If a contract for sale of the program property occurs at Step  28 , the title company closes and funds the sale at Step  32 . The funds are distributed at Step  36  such that the aligned seller  38  receives the proceeds from the sale of the property minus the usual closing costs and the monies paid to the fundraising program, the charitable organization, and the assigned agent/broker. The fundraising program  40  receives a nominal administrative fee, the charitable organization  42  receives one percent of the sales price of the property, and the assigned agent/broker  44  receives a three percent commission. 
     If a contract for sale of the program property does not occur, the assigned agent/broker then has the opportunity to recruit the potential buyer as its client, to show and sell any property available in the marketplace, by following alternate Scenario II as directed in Step  26 . If a contract for sale occurs with such a property, the alternate procedures of Scenario II as shown in  FIG. 3  are followed as described below. If no contract occurs, then the relationship terminates (see  FIG. 3 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 2  (representing the flow of funds in Scenario I), the buyer and/or mortgage company  50  pay the total sales price (TSP) and closing costs  52  to the title company or escrow agent  54 . All fees and transactions are regulated through the title company at the time of closing. The TSP portion  56  goes to the seller at closing  58 , from which the various fees are distributed. The title company funds a commission equal to three percent (total commission paid to assigned agent/broker, i.e. TCP) of the TSP  66  to the assigned agent/broker  74 , who in turn pays 25% of the TCP as a referral fee  76  due to the fundraising program  70 . The charitable organization  72  receives the pledged one percent of the TSP  64 . A nominal administrative fee  62  is paid to the fundraising program  70 . The seller  68  then receives the remaining balance  60  from the TSP less other customary closing costs. 
     In the second method  80  of Scenario II of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the assigned agent/broker attempts to sell a third party property, not listed by the fundraising program, to a fundraising program referred client. If a contract for sale occurs for such a property at Step  84 , all fees and transactions are regulated through the title company at the time of closing at Step  88 . If no sale occurs, then the relationship terminates at Step  86 . The title company distributes the funds at closing at Step  90 . The non-aligned seller  92  receives the proceeds from the sale of the property minus the usual closing costs, the assigned agent/broker  94  receives a three percent commission, and the fundraising program  96  receives a referral fee. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4  (representing the flow of funds in Scenario II), the buyer and/or mortgage company  100  pay the total sales price (TSP) and closing costs  102  to the title company or escrow agent  104 . All fees and transactions are regulated through the title company at the time of closing. The TSP  106  goes to the non-aligned seller at closing  108 , from which the various fees are distributed. The title company funds a commission equal to three percent (total commission paid to assigned agent/broker, i.e. TCP) of the TSP  112  to the assigned agent/broker  118 , who in turn pays 25% of the TCP as a referral fee  124  due to the fundraising program  130 . 
     The seller&#39;s agent/broker  120  receives a commission equal to three percent of the TSP  114 , unless the assigned agent/broker  118  was also the seller&#39;s agent/broker. In cases in which the assigned agent/broker sells their own listing, the assigned agent/broker  122  receives a commission of six percent of the total sales price (TSP)  116  less a 25% referral fee  128  due to the fundraising program  130 . The title company or assigned agent/broker funds a referral fee equal to 25% of the total commission paid (TCP) to the assigned agent/broker  128  to the fundraising program  130 . The non-aligned seller  132  then receives the remaining balance  110  from the TSP less other customary closing costs. 
     Under the third method  160  of Scenario III of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 5 , a third party agent/broker who is not affiliated with the fundraising program sells a property which is listed by the fundraising program. If a contract for sale occurs for such a property at Step  164 , all fees and transactions are regulated through the title company at the time of closing at Step  168 . If no sale occurs, then the relationship terminates at Step  166 . Since all fees and transactions are regulated through the title company at the time of closing, the title company distributes the funds at Step  170 . The aligned seller  172  receives the proceeds from the sale of the property minus the usual closing costs and the monies paid to the third party agent/broker  178 , the fundraising program  174 , and the charitable organization  176 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6  (representing the flow of funds in Scenario III), the buyer and/or mortgage company  180  pay the total sales price (TSP) and closing costs  182  to the title company or escrow agent  184 . All fees and transactions are regulated through the title company at the time of closing. The TSP  186  goes to the aligned seller  188  at closing, from which the various fees are distributed. The title company funds a commission equal to three percent (total commission paid to third party agent/broker, i.e., TCP) of the TSP  196  to the third party agent/broker  204 . The title company funds a nominal administrative fee  192  to the fundraising program  200 . The charitable organization  202  receives the pledged one percent of the TSP  194 . The aligned seller  198  then receives the remaining balance  190  from the TSP less other customary closing costs. 
     The highlights of the three scenarios of the present invention are listed in Table I below, along with comparisons to the methodology of a traditional real estate company. Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with a number of preferred methods, those skilled in the art will recognize further alterations of the process described that still fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims that follow. 
     
       
         
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Present Invention 
                 Traditional Real Estate Company 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Scenario I: 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Assigned Agent/Broker sells a property listed by 
                 Traditional Agent/Broker sells a home listed by their 
               
               
                 the fundraising program to a fundraising program 
                 managing Real Estate Company. 
               
               
                 referred buyer. 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 All fees and transactions are regulated through 
                 All fees and transactions are regulated through the 
               
               
                   
                 the title company at the time of closing. 
                 title company at the time of closing. 
               
               
                   
                 The title company will 
                 The title company will 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Fund a commission equal to 3% of the 
                 Fund a commission equal to 6% of the home&#39;s 
               
               
                   
                 property&#39;s sales price to assigned 
                 sales price to the listing Agent/Broker&#39;s 
               
               
                   
                 agent/broker (less a 25% referral fee 
                 company. 
               
               
                   
                 due to fundraising program), 
               
               
                   
                 Fund a referral fee equal to 25% of 
               
               
                   
                 the 3% commission paid to the 
               
               
                   
                 assigned agent/broker to fundraising 
               
               
                   
                 program, 
               
               
                   
                 Fund nominal administrative fee to 
               
               
                   
                 fundraising program, 
               
               
                   
                 Fund 1% to pledged aligned charity. 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Paid by Fundraising Program Property Seller: 
                 Paid by Home Seller: Total commission = 6% 
               
               
                 Total commission = 3% 
               
               
                 Total potential tax deductible donation = 1% 
               
               
                 Nominal Administrative Fee 
               
               
                 Scenario II: 
               
               
                 Assigned Agent/Broker sells a third party property, 
                 Traditional Agent/Broker sells a home listed by a third 
               
               
                 not listed by fundraising program, to a fundraising 
                 party traditional real estate company. 
               
               
                 program referred client. 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 All fees and transactions are regulated through 
                 All fees and transactions are regulated through the 
               
               
                   
                 the title company at time of closing. 
                 title company at time of closing. 
               
               
                   
                 The title company will 
                 The title company will 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Fund 3% (6% if the property is listed 
                 Fund 6% of the home&#39;s sales price to listing 
               
               
                   
                 by the assigned agent/broker) of the 
                 agent/broker 
               
               
                   
                 property&#39;s sales price to assigned 
                 The listing agent/broker funds 3% of the 
               
               
                   
                 agent/broker (less 25% referral fee 
                 home&#39;s sales price to selling agent/broker 
               
               
                   
                 due to fundraising program) 
               
               
                   
                 Title company or aligned agent/broker 
               
               
                   
                 shall fund a referral fee equal to 25% 
               
               
                   
                 of the commission received by the 
               
               
                   
                 assigned agent/broker to fundraising 
               
               
                   
                 program 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Paid by Property Seller (not fundraising 
                 Paid by Home Seller: Total commission = 6% 
               
               
                 program client): Total commission = 6% 
               
               
                 Scenario III: 
               
               
                 Third party Agent/Broker that is not affiliated with 
                 Traditional Agent/Broker sells a home listed by a third 
               
               
                 fundraising program sells a fundraising program 
                 party traditional real estate company. 
               
               
                 listed property. 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 All fees and transactions are regulated through 
                 All fees and transactions are regulated through the 
               
               
                   
                 the title company at the time of closing. 
                 title company at time of closing. 
               
               
                   
                 The title company will 
                 The title company will 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Fund a 3% commission fee to the 
                 Fund 6% of the home&#39;s sales price to listing 
               
               
                   
                 third party agent/broker 
                 agent/broker 
               
               
                   
                 Fund nominal administrative fee to 
                 The listing agent/broker funds 3% of the 
               
               
                   
                 fundraising program 
                 home&#39;s sales price to selling agent/broker 
               
               
                   
                 Fund 1% to pledged aligned charity. 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Paid by Fundraising Program Property Seller: 
                 Paid by Home Seller: Total commission = 6% 
               
               
                 Total commission = 3% 
               
               
                 Total potential tax deductible donation = 1% 
               
               
                 Nominal Administrative Fee