Grroup of SIOR Foundation trustees SIOR Foubndation Bill Ginder (standing, center) and some of the 33 other foundation trustees who participated in this year’s phonathon.

WASHINGTON, DC—The SIOR Foundation’s annual phonathon campaign topped its fundraising goal to post the best results in a decade, says president Bill Ginder. The total of nearly $230,000 for the November campaign came from more than 820 donors, with 33 SIOR Foundation trustees making both onsite and offsite calls.

The nonprofit SIOR Foundation promotes and funds programs that advance the real estate profession through educational scholarships, sponsorship of guest lecturers and speakers, as well as critical research projects. It supports students enrolled in college undergraduate and graduate real estate studies.

“I am very pleased and humbled by the incredible effort our trustees put into this year’s Phonathon,” says Ginder, SVP/brokerage services and industrial properties specialist with Caldwell Cos. in Houston. says. “The participation level was as good as or better than any of our previous years and the fundraising results show it. Exceeding our original goal of $200,000 means that we can support more college students and the other programs we sponsor to fulfill the Foundation’s mission.”

Individual fundraising honors went to Peter Hanson, who brought in $35,650 from 21 donors. He retained the Peter Hanson Trophy, so named because the principal with New Jersey’s NAI James E. Hanson has been the perennial leading fundraiser for the Foundation.

Hanson is in fact so established as the annual campaign’s leading fundraiser that it also hands out an accolade known as the ABP (Anybody But Peter) MVP Award. It went to Aaron Barnard with Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq in Minneapolis, for raising $17,045 while also getting commitments from more SIORs (56) than anyone else in the campaign.

During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the foundation plans to grant over $220,000 in funds that will be distributed as matching scholarships with SIOR chapters and in programs such as the Student Real Estate Experience Program, SIOR Report Authors Grant, SIOR Speaker Grants and research grants. Participating colleges have included Saint Louis University, the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Connecticut, Clemson University, Northwestern University, York University in Toronto, UCLA, USC and the University of California, Berkeley.