A new report from “The New York Times” examines the American Property Owners Alliance created by NAR, a non-profit organization ostensibly dedicated to property rights, which has largely given to Republican causes.
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The National Association of Realtors has a nonprofit advocacy organization whose use appears to be partial, putting it in questionable territory with the Internal Revenue Service, according to a new report by The New York Times.
The Times The report takes a brief look at the spending by the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC), one of the largest political committees in the country, and the in-depth look at NAR’s little-known nonprofit called the American Property Owners Alliance (APOA).
RPAC spending is nonpartisan, half going to Democrats and half to Republicans, The Times report. The American Property Owners Alliance, on the other hand, tends to lean heavily on Republican causes, most of which have no stated interest in real estate or real estate, according to the report and Inman’s review of publicly available tax returns.
This was the second report in less than a month in which advocates suggested that spending by NAR or an affiliate could be scrutinized by the IRS for not complying with nonprofit requirements. NAR disputed several points made in the report in a lengthy response.
Last month, The New York Times also reported that NAR’s large spending on benefits and fees paid to leadership members could jeopardize NAR’s tax-exempt status.
The American Property Owners Alliance is sponsored exclusively by NAR. Since its creation in 2020, it has spent $12.8 million in grants. About 78 percent of those grants went to Republican-aligned PACs “and groups with conservative agendas,” the report said.
The report comes at a time when the NAR is reviewing its spending and revenue — which comes largely from membership fees — as it seeks to settle its $418 million settlement to settle lawsuits filed by real estate agents.
The Times wrote that it obtained a recording of an October call in which NAR Chief Financial Officer John Pierpoint told attendees that the organization expects $15.9 million in revenue next year and that it expects to send 40 percent of that to APOA.
APOA said in a statement The Times to “act in a manner consistent with that of a section 501(c) (4) organization,” the report noted. The group added that the grants were analyzed by The Times “advance APOA’s agenda and, although not specific to program work, promote property owners’ interests and rights.”
501c4 nonprofits are representative organizations with greater political involvement than 501c3 nonprofits. But they still have to participate in political activities that are relevant to their stated duties.
Only one group that received money from APOA, Americans for Tax Reform, is clearly focused on land rights. APOA awarded that group $25,000.
In a lengthy response, NAR disputed several points in the report.
It denied the suggestion that APOA was a secret organization, highlighted its grants to left-leaning organizations, and said its grants were publicly available.
“NAR and APOA disclose all necessary costs associated with advocacy in full compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements—which is how the NYT got access to this data in the first place,” a NAR spokesperson said in a statement, which the group created to debunk what it called “Myths of NYT.”
“APOA is not involved in politics as defined by the IRS,” an NAR spokesperson said in a statement.
The single largest recipient of grants from APOA was a group called One Nation, which is affiliated with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. That group contributes to the Senate Leadership Fund, which is dedicated to getting Republicans elected to the Senate.
The McConnell overlap doesn’t stop there. APOA reported that it has hired a recruitment firm known as PhronesisDC. The company’s president is a former tax and financial services adviser to McConnell, according to his bio.
The documents show that APOA gave $3 million to House Majority Forward, a super PAC focused on electing Democrats to the House.
The Times The report suggested that NAR is aware of its upcoming report on APOA and that Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Suzanne Bouhia sent a message to NAR leadership informing them of the upcoming report.
Bouhia’s email said the report would make a “false claim that NAR is a coalition with a right-wing agenda,” according to the report. “We will continue to fight for ourselves.”
Email Taylor Anderson
Editor’s Note: This story was updated with a response from NAR that came after the article was originally published.
