Welcome to 20% Down, a real estate venture that combines home purchasing and local philanthropy.

What is 20% Down?

In residential real estate, it’s a common misconception that people must commit a minimum downpayment of 20% to purchase a home. Although 20% down is a worthwhile start, people don’t need to make that large of an initial investment to achieve homeownership. In fact, it’s very common for folks to submit a more affordable down payment towards their housing goals.

But at this point in my career, my interest is making an initial investment in my community. I can no longer afford to hope that my community will improve on its own, and I must commit to helping others achieve their long-term goals.

In 2022, I will donate 20% of my real estate profits from each property I sell to a local non-profit of my choosing.

In short, I created 20% Down to make a worthwhile investment in my community.

I’m 20% Down.

More than money

Throughout my professional experiences, I’ve learned that money is never enough. True progress, fulfillment, and success requires much more than financial backing.

In addition to monetary donations from home sales, I will also raise awareness and volunteer my time as a part of the 20% Down program.

Why... What are the goals of 20% Down?

The mission of 20% Down is to financially contribute to and raise awareness for a worthy, local non-profit enterprise, while setting an example of local philanthropy and service for others to follow.

Breaking down my mission statement, I specifically intend to:

Raise money for a worthy cause that will directly, positively impact people in my community.
Increase awareness of the nonprofit's mission, community services, and local successes.
Engage in service by volunteering my time and skills to the local nonprofit throughout the year.
Demonstrate a successful model of philanthropy for other real estate agents and small business owners by demonstrating that business improves via systematic generosity.
Encourage positive participation in one's own community.

How can you support 20% Down

Follow 20% Down and its mission on social media
Attend volunteer opportunities with me throughout the year
Refer my real estate services to family and friends

The easiest way to support 20% Down is by following my activities on social media, and I encourage you to engage with the content I post! Part of my mission is to increase awareness, and more interaction with my social media posts means more folks see the content. Your likes, thumbs up, and comments directly help others' awareness of the nonprofits my 20% Down program supports.

Drumroll Please... St. Vincent de Paul’s Food Pantry!

20% Down will support the St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry during 2022! The social services offered by St. Vincent de Paul are vast, and equally impressive. The Madison St. Vincent de Paul organization provides:

No cost Food Pantry
Charitable pharmacy (first of its kind in Wisconsin)
Clothing, furniture, and household good donations
Housing programs for low income and transitional needs
Storage facility for those experiencing homelessness
Energy assistance program
And more...

In fact, St. Vincent de Paul is a non-profit organization I know very well. Throughout my college years, I spent each summer working at St. Vincent de Paul. I worked in the trucking department, picking up donated goods from personal residences, businesses, and drop boxes to continually restock the goods being sold at their Dane County thrift stores. My coworkers (Todd, Aron, Clark, and even Mikey) taught me the pride of hardwork and the value of our jobs that expanded well past the weekly paycheck.

Fast forward a few years, and I worked throughout different departments at Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company, an ice cream manufacturer in Madison WI. One of the core lessons instilled in me has been “safe quality food.” The ability to produce safe food is assumed by most people, even taken for granted, but the actual practice of doing so is enormous (shoutout Dave, Eric, Alyssa, and the gang!). I wanted to highlight my appreciation of quality food by working with a nonprofit that has the same ambition, attention to detail, and internal processes to ensure their success of providing safe food for their community.

For more information regarding Madison St. Vincent de Paul and their mission, check out their website:

St. Vincent de Paul’s Food Pantry

What you can expect from my social media:

First and foremost, I’m skeptical of how most businesses (especially real estate agents) use social media. I’m sure you’re familiar... an industry that pushes volume, touches, and persistence to no end.

My social media guidelines are as follows:

Few - Fewer posts are better than too many. The goal is for followers to feel interested and excited about new content, instead of it feeling forced and pre-scheduled.
Fun - I will try to make content entertaining and dynamic, not the same message repackaged. Personally, I want to have fun, so you will absolutely see pictures of wild wallpaper and magnificent millwork from houses I’ve shown clients... amongst other things, I’m sure ;)
Focused - Many of my posts will be designed to increase awareness of the good things that 20% Down, and the non-profit it’s supporting, accomplish in the community. Exposure to good creates more good.

Specifically, I’ve created business accounts for my real estate ventures on Facebook and Instagram, and also plan on sharing the efforts of 20% Down on LinkedIn. I would be very appreciative for anyone who follows me at the accounts below:

Facebook Instagram Linkedin

My Team Deserves Credit

The real estate team I work for, Pure Integrity Homes, is flat-out special. I originally met the team by purchasing two homes with them (along with selling one), but I didn’t realize how impactful they would be on my business philosophy until I started working for them.

On the first day of joining the team, they showed me the adjacent chart, which their leadership actively uses to guide all business decisions.

PIH has literally mapped out their business principles, visually communicating their priorities, and practicing what they preach. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by like-minded, relationship-focused professionals.

To learn more about the incredible real estate team I work with, please visit our website or follow us on social media:
Facebook Instagram

Website:
Pure Integrity Homes

And to read more about my real estate philosophy, check out my bio at:

About Me

Looking forward to 2023...

If 20% Down is successful in its mission, I will continue the project into the future focusing on a different, equally worthwhile non-profit organization each year. Let’s not concern ourselves with 2023 quite yet... there’s a lot of good work to accomplish through 20% Down in 2022!

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