Greetings from CommissionDonation.com

[ghounem]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a Real Estate Broker in CT/NY and wanted to share a great story I had:

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 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:

CommissionDonation.com

[lindabassitt]

Hello and welcome, good luck in your cause. Happy Holidays

[ghounem]

Hello and welcome, good luck in your cause. Happy Holidays

Thank you very much, you too

I'm learning that it's easier said than done, because I think it is a really great idea, I thought it would be huge overnight, it's going to take a lot of work to help more people be helped, but I like it, it's even enjoyable with just the prospect of helping :-)

Since starting the site, I learned that there are some sites that do this for online items:

maatiam.com
yellowbrickmall.com
benevolink.com
igive.com
goodshop.com
giveness.com
idofoundation.com

when a buyer buys a product from those sites (average $100 sales item), a percentage goes to the charity of their choice.

I feel CommissionDonation.com would give much more to charity because instead of a $100 sales item, it could be a $1 million dollar home sale.

so intead of $6 going to charity as igive.com averages, it would be $6,000 through the pledges on CommissionDonation.com

Our site is brand new (less than a month old) and many of those online charity malls have been up for half a decade, ours is a different and new model because it deals with offline sales people rather than online stores such as target.com

In over 5 years, igive.com raised 2 million for charity, I think we can do that in less than 2 years, but it would need more than just a few companies making the pledge to charities as we have now.

thanks

Mohamed

[BlogLuvinTom]

I think you have a good cause but really do not like how you have introduced it. I am not a fan of the whole third person presentational post. Smells bad to me.

[ghounem]

I think you have a good cause but really do not like how you have introduced it. I am not a fan of the whole third person presentational post. Smells bad to me.

Like shrimp, eggs, cheese, bread... they smell bad but are great tasting :-)
Your welcome to volunteer as my press secretary since your more familiar with forum etiquette... I would offer you a salary but the cause is for charity and any money goes directly from the realtors to the charities.

If you'd rather not volunteer for me, then do so for a good local charity, and if you don't have time to volunteer, then offer to give a part of your commission to charity to your next buyers.

best regards,

Mohamed

CommissionDonation.com