The LGBTQ+ Alliance—A Leader During Pride Month, A Leader All Year
by Kim Morris
It’s Pride Month! We’d like to introduce you to the LGBTQ+ Alliance, a resource you can count on during Pride month and the rest of the year. Women’s Council of REALTORS® supports the Alliance and believes their mission and vision should be supported year-round. Creating inclusive space in the real estate industry is a goal for both our organizations and we encourage our members to take a look at the depth of resources the LGBTQ+ Alliance offers.
Launched in June 2020, the Alliance began accepting members in October 2020. They expanded into Canada throughout 2021. Today, the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance boasts 13 Chapter Delegate Regions in the United States, membership and Chapter Programs in Canada, and European expansion continuing throughout 2022. This organization is on its way to achieving its vision: to create a world free of housing discrimination.
Stated on the Alliance’s website, “The law allows discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in 27 states and this single fact is the WHY our mission and the services of LGBTQ+ real estate practitioners are so vital to the community.”
Education by way of inclusion takes center stage at the Alliance. Inclusion is a powerful foundation, one of the Alliance’s values—also including community, collaboration, equality + equity, transparency and pride—and you can see that throughout their website. Take a look at the Alliance’s About page. You’ll find not only a short video breaking down how they created the vision and values to build the Alliance (the video is an excellent starter if you’re considering how to organize your own community), but also definitions of important concepts to the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. The Alliance has created a space where there is a sharp focus on real estate as well as the larger LGBTQ+ community, creating a cross-pollination of learning and doing. In the “Founding The Alliance” video on the Alliance’s About page, Octavius Smiley-Humphries (Board of Directors, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council Chair) explains, “It’s not just OK to have a seat at the table. You have to have a voice and that voice has to be heard.”
According to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)—the largest advocacy organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunities and advancements for LGBT people—the LGBTQ+ community has an annual purchase power of over $1 trillion in the United States and an estimated $3.7 trillion globally.
This is a huge consumer force, and the Alliance offers many opportunities to learn more about and engage with that force. Visit the Events page to see upcoming meetings and networking opportunities. Visit their Education page for programming. The Alliance offers their Ally Certification course, with virtual dates available. See also their professional development video, “The Shifting Second Home Market.” Check out highlights from the 2021 National LGBTQ+ Housing Policy Symposium, which was held virtually.
In a few short years, ones that were wholly affected by COVID, the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance has grown into a robust, engaging, and vital organization in the real estate industry and the LGBTQ+ community. It harnesses the power of thousands of members, while offering connections and opportunities on a global stage. The Alliance offers many ways to become involved—corporate partnerships, brokerage members and partners, individual memberships, group memberships—and it opens a door to a huge sector of the real estate industry. Even their mission statement reaches beyond themselves to their wider community, and it’s worth concluding with that: “The LGBTQ+ Alliance celebrates diversity and inclusion in our members and allied partners.”
About the Contributor
Kim Morris is a Chicago-based freelance writer and editor with more than 25 years of writing experience.