Vision Statement

The Pasadena-Foothills Association of REALTORS® Charitable Foundation is a group of volunteers comprised of REALTORS® and Affiliate Members of the Pasadena-Foothills Association of REALTORS®. The Charitable Foundation creates and plans fundraising events in order to pursue its mission statement.

Mission Statement

The mission is to support local charities actively involved in our community through financial donations with a special emphasis on charities that have low administrative overhead and a focus on disadvantaged and needy populations; to foster tomorrow’s leaders by providing scholarships to graduating public high school students; and to promote public awareness of the positive impact that REALTORS® make within our community.

Getting to Know Us

In November 1907, forty-one of Pasadena’s real estate men met at the Shakespeare Club House to discuss the formation of a realty board in Pasadena to “promote good fellowship and fair dealing” in the industry. Within two months, the Pasadena Realty Board was established.

100 years later, the Pasadena Realty Board is now the expanded Pasadena-Foothills Association of REALTORS® (PFAR) with an industry-wide reputation of being one of the strongest real estate associations in the nation. Still promoting “good fellowship and fair dealing,” PFAR has expanded its mission to help improve the quality of life within the communities we serve.

In 1964 the Pasadena Star News wrote:

“Pasadena area REALTORS® in general have an amazing record of public service over and above contributions made to the public wealth in the normal pursuit of their business duties. It is open to question whether any other professional group has contributed more to civic, cultural and philanthropic activities than REALTORS®.”

PFAR’S charitable efforts expanded in the 1980s with a project known as CanTree, whereby members collected canned food during the holiday season for those in need. The CanTree drive quickly expanded to the point where over 50,000 cans were collected each year.

In 1992 PFAR decided it could make a greater contribution to the community by collecting money for local charities. The CanTree Committee was thus renamed the Community Services Committee and has raised over $820,000 since then. As the importance of the Committee’s fundraising efforts grew, the Association created the Pasadena-Foothills Association of REALTORS® Charitable Foundation – 501(c)(3) in 2006.

So where does the money we raise go? Our Foundation has no paid staff. Of course, we employ a CPA and an attorney to ensure books and records are correct, but all fundraising is achieved by volunteer members of PFAR. Each year we award scholarships to nine local students heading to college, and the remaining balance of money raised goes to charities in our community. You can find a list of our most recent recipients here.