A new New York Times report examines the NAR-founded American Property Owners Alliance, ostensibly a property rights nonprofit that has contributed significantly to the Republican cause. .
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The National Association of Realtors has a nonprofit advocacy group whose spending appears to be partisan and has drawn suspicion from the Internal Revenue Service, according to a new report in the New York Times.
The Times report briefly discusses spending by the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC), one of the largest political action committees in the country, as well as a little-known organization called the American Property Owners Alliance (APOA). We also take a closer look at NAR nonprofit spending, which has not been reported. .
RPAC’s spending will be neutral, with half going to Democrats and half going to Republicans, the Times reported. The American Alliance of Property Owners, on the other hand, tends to lean heavily toward Republican ideals, with most expressing no interest in housing or real estate, according to an Inman review of reports and publicly available tax forms. According to the
This is the second report in less than a month in which attorneys have indicated that spending by NAR or NAR affiliates could be scrutinized by the IRS for not complying with nonprofit requirements. did.
Last month, the New York Times also reported that NAR’s lavish spending on perks and scholarships for members of its leadership could put its tax-exempt status at risk.
The American Property Owners Alliance is funded exclusively by NAR. Since its founding in 2020, it has spent $12.8 million in grants. About 78% of those grants went to Republican-aligned PACs and “conservative policy groups,” the report said.
The report analyzes NAR’s spending and revenue (generated primarily from membership dues) as it seeks to pay out a $418 million contract to resolve lawsuits brought by home sellers. Announced at the right time.
The newspaper reported that John Pierpoint, NAR’s chief financial officer, told attendees that NAR expects to have $15.9 million in net revenue next year and expects to remit 40% of that to APOA. He wrote that he had obtained a recording of the October conference call in which he spoke.
APOA said in a statement to the Times that it “acted in a manner consistent with the actions of Section 501(c)(4) advocacy organizations,” the report noted. The group added that the grants analyzed by the Times “further APOA’s own agenda and, while not direct programmatic activities, advance the interests and rights of property owners.”
501c4 nonprofits are advocacy organizations that have a greater ability to be politically engaged than 501c3 nonprofits. However, they must still participate in political activities consistent with their stated mission.
Only one organization that received funding from APOA, Americans for Tax Reform, explicitly focuses on property rights. APOA donated $25,000 to the group.
The single largest recipient of APOA funding was a group called One Nation, which is affiliated with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The group donates to the Senate Leadership Fund, which is dedicated to electing Republicans to the Senate.
The overlap with McConnell doesn’t end there. APOA reported that it had hired a lobbying firm known as PhronesisDC. The firm’s president is a former tax and financial services adviser to Mr. McConnell, according to his bio.
APOA donated $3 million to House Majority Forward, a super PAC focused on electing House Democrats, according to documents.
The Times reports that NAR is aware that a report on APOA is imminent and that Chief Marketing Communications Officer Suzanne Bouhier sent a message to NAR leadership alerting them to the upcoming report. Suggests.
Buhia’s email said the report could make “false claims that NAR is a partisan organization with right-leaning policies,” according to the report. “We will continue to fight back.”
NAR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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