Charitable act wins – Winnipeg Free Press

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Daman's Red River Group, a Winnipeg-based real estate consulting, appraisal and property management firm, has donated 10 percent of the company's stock to Habitat for Humanity Manitoba as a legacy gift for the nonprofit's continued work. community.

The move made sense, but Gordon Daman expects the return to have the same effect on the Red River Band as Habitat for Humanity did for Manitoba.

“The Legacy Award was a philanthropic decision by the partners to simply say, 'Thank you for 25 years to the community at large,'” said Daman, the organization's president and founding partner. “We've had a long-standing relationship with Habitat because as our charity of choice, it was really the only option of all the charities we could put together.”

The award is a win-win for both parties, as Habitat will now receive shares valued at $137,000, which will provide a portion of the funding each year, while Red River Group will add an established organization to its list of shareholders, bringing some stability to the small company. business and the trust of its client base.

“Having this voice at the table is critical to the long-term sustainability of our firm, and we really hope it's an example that other professional firms look to,” Daman said.

“From a business perspective, some companies take what you call a localized approach — thinking about profits today and today only — and there are some businesses that follow the honeybee; they believe it's okay to forego short-term efficiency for the long-term opportunity to build sustainable operations and community value, and that's what Red River is all about.”

Red River Group has evaluated every Habitat home built outside of Winnipeg and has provided more than $20,000 in consulting services over the past 10 years.

Under the Legacy Award agreement, Red River Group will continue to provide free evaluation and consulting services for new construction off the Perimeter Highway and existing projects in Winnipeg. For new projects in the Perimeter, Habitat receives a 25 percent discount on new project services and 15 hours of free project development consulting per month – valued at more than $50,000 per year.

Habitat's model builds homes and sells them to low-income families at a discount, with no down payment required and no interest on 15-year mortgages of no more than 27 percent of the family's net monthly income.

“There's certainly no shortage of eligible families in Winnipeg. So, for us, there are many inputs into our system, but cash flow is one of them. That's why every amount counts,” said Jamie Hall, CEO of Habitat for Manitoba.

Habitat for Humanity often has to figure out how much money it can raise and, subsequently, how many homes it can build each year.

“It's going to be something that depends on the success of Red River Group, but looking at their budgets and planning, we can say, 'This is a piece of funding that we can count on,'” Hall said.

In 2023, Habitat built 20 homes and served 29 families across the province. The nonprofit estimates it will build at least 24 homes in Manitoba and Kenora this year, including 15 at 900 Pandora Avenue in Winnipeg, which will be completed in the spring.

The construction of Transcona will build 55 houses by 2027 and accommodate approximately 275 people. If funding is approved, the project could be completed by the end of 2025, Hall said.

He also noted that if funding is approved, Habitat could add 10 more homes to its plan this year.

Daman pointed to a similar and even larger gesture by local entrepreneur Miriam Bergen to the 2022 Winnipeg Foundation. Bergen, who owns Appleton Holdings, a private company that operates under the name Edison Properties, has already committed $500 million to charity. death.

It is the largest single gift to a Canadian charity.

“It's a little bit different — I'm not saying that others haven't done it, but as we found out, it was a little bit different. We took part in donating part of the company to charity,” said Daman.

“As we look to long-term sustainability for the common good, we hope this will be a living example of how the business and non-profit community, especially charities, can come together. Do good together for the long-term viability of the common good for society as a whole.”

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Joshua Frey-Sam
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