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About the Commission Donation Network
Danbury, CT- Two weeks before
Christmas, Mohamed Ghounem, the owner of Nationwide Realty, received an
email from a volunteer at the local women's help center. The email asked
if Ghounem could help a single Mom with 2 kids find an apartment.
Ghounem was inspired by the
emailer's volunteerism and also sensed an opportunity. "If I can have
the volunteer send me all the potential renters, I would gladly give the
women's help center half my commission for each referral" said Ghounem.
For every $1,000 per month rental
with a one year lease, Realtors usually get a $500 commission, this
would be a donation of $250 to the women's help center per client. In a
matter of minutes, the idea kept growing and it's potential to help
charities and sales people with all products and services alike around
the world became Ghounem's goal. Ghounem got so excited about the idea,
he created the website
www.CommissionDonation.com
"I have had a similar idea on a
smaller scale years ago, thinking I would go to my local minister and
offer money to the local Islamic Center when they refer a new or
existing family in the area to me, and that idea was from hearing of a
Realtor in Virginia doing that successfully." Ghounem did not follow
through with the idea back then "the idea was marinating and finally
sprouted with the volunteer's email" he said after seeing first hand
that charities can actually be a large source of referrals.
"In this declining market, sales
people would love referrals from charities and the charities would love
their donations." Priests, Pastors, Rabbis, and Ministers are often
asked to recommend various professionals, now their house of worship can
get money back for that recommendation to help support their various
holy services.
After acquiring the website,
Ghounem googgled the phrase "commission donation" and was pleasantly
surprised that another real estate company owner (Gerald Leonard) on the
other side of the nation in California had started giving half his
commission to charity a year ago.
"The broker in California wanted
other Realtors to follow his lead, I would love for all commission based
sales people around the world to give a part of their commission for
charity. For example, if Brad Pitt gets a movie role, a part of his pay
(commission) goes to charity, everyone is a salesperson, everyone has
love in them, and everyone would want help if they needed it." Ghounem
is the first to create a global commission donation network where
charities, salespeople, and buyers can find each other for free.
Having started an international
charity (Jews for Allah) that got world wide media attention and noted
in the New York Times, and authored half a dozen books that were
translated into 4 languages, and founded and franchised a nationwide
Real Estate company that tripled in size despite other brokerages
closing down in this market, Ghounem has always had global aspirations
despite adversities.
"I have always enjoyed either
pioneering new ideas or taking a good one and making it better, the
commission donation network is the first idea that I felt was bigger
than me. I have felt great since starting it and everyone I shared it
with says they love it" Ghounem excitedly said. Being the season of
giving, Ghounem hopes this idea will make it onto CNN, so millions of
sales people and buyers will include their favorite charities in their
transactions.
With just real estate sales
commission alone at $55 Billion this year, even 1% of that Can Be
Hundreds of Millions of Dollars to Help the young or old, the poor or
sick, we can even help cure a disease together.
"The site is a cross between
(network for good) and (commission junction), where buyers can find
sales people of all products and services who donate a part of their
commission to charity." Ghounem feels that giving to charity is both a
marketing tool for the sales people, a tax deduction for the buyer and a
loving act that is a reward on it's own for both parties. "Saying your
on the Commission Donation network can help various service and product
providers win contracts with large corporations who also enjoy giving to
charity for the rewards and tax benefits."
After some soul searching, Ghounem
decided to make the site free and open for all sales people from all
companies, including local competing brokerages. "The goal of the
commission donation network is to spread the wealth as much as possible
to the charities, it would hinder that effort if I monopolized
territories or showed favoritism. Making the site similar to craigslist
where people world wide can place their ad for free is the best way for
buyers, sales people, and charities to find each other"
Most cultures teach the same thing
Ghounem concluded: "what comes around goes around, pay it forward, good
begets good karma, the love you give is the love you get, happiness
comes from giving, I wish love for everyone who is a part of the
commission donation network, especially the ones who feed the starving,
home the homeless, and save lives with their commission donation"
"I love helping people and I love
what I sell, this helps bring the best of both worlds together to other
sales people like me, the best thing about it is that it does not cost
anyone anything extra, the buyers get the same product or service at the
same price they were going to get anyway and buyers get a tax deduction
for doing nothing other than using a charitable salesperson instead of
an agent who keeps all their commission. The salespeople give the same
referral fee for a client they would have gladly given anyway, the only
difference, the referral fee goes to a mutually agreed upon charity
instead of another agent who keeps all their commission" Ghounem added.
on the web:
www.CommissionDonation.com
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