Earlier this year, we asked our members to rate the job being done by the WRA. Nine out of 10 members rated us as excellent or good. These are exceptionally high marks, but they’re not unique for the WRA. We’ve asked this question for many years, and the results have been the same.
To me, these responses are understandable, but not because 90% of our members love everything we do. I think it’s because 90% of our members appreciate that we fight, and win, for them; and we do so by focusing on our core missions of advocacy, professionalism, engagement and organizational excellence. These are our strategic “pillars,” and I believe the source of member support. Bottom line: The vast majority of our members see value in their WRA membership.
To be frank, we don’t do a very good job of touting the many benefits of membership in the WRA. For example, the WRA has one of the most successful advocacy programs in the country. And the fact that most WRA legislative issues pass with broad bipartisan support, regardless of which political party is in the majority, is worth celebrating! Think of the impact on your business if real estate had not been deemed “essential” at the beginning of the pandemic and you were completely shut down for months. Imagine if local governments were free to raise property taxes without limits or enact strict rent controls. Think of the legal risks you would face if we had not enacted a two-year limitation on liability. And think of the bills that just passed to help increase the supply of workforce housing through regulatory reforms and new loan programs. These are just a few of the advocacy wins that have protected and promoted our members and our industry during the last few years.
Organizationally, the value of your membership can also be seen in WRA efforts to promote professionalism, including a new statewide professional standards service to better enforce the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and the continuation of offering zipForm access to every member. And equally important is the WRA Legal Hotline and the expansion of our Legal Action Program to aggressively participate in precedent-setting lawsuits across the state. Looking to the future, the WRA will be expanding our efforts to help our members, including enhancing local advocacy efforts to realize regulatory reforms that will increase workforce housing.
The truth is, whether it’s the WRA Legal Hotline, our advocacy efforts in Madison, our Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine, our training and education, our monthly housing statistics, our networking opportunities or our professional development events, the value of your WRA membership is significant.
However, our successes both organizationally and in advocacy, are not easy or cheap. To remain strong and effective into the future, we must position our association today to flourish tomorrow. To support all we do today, and all we plan to do tomorrow, the WRA board of directors has decided to increase the WRA dues starting in 2024 by $100. $50 will be used to fund general operations, and $50 will be used for our advocacy efforts.
The decision to raise dues followed a lengthy and strategic discussion by the WRA directors involving present and future revenue as well as expenditure projections and trends. These discussions also considered the WRA’s new strategic plan and the programming necessary to accomplish the vision of our association in the short- and long-term future. In the end, the dues increase was based on the following considerations.
General operations and programming
The WRA has not raised dues for general operations in 11 years. During that time, inflation has increased 32%, and our products, programming and services have expanded to meet members’ needs and desires. In addition, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is projecting a membership decline over the next three years, which will reduce revenues without reducing demand for WRA services. The dues will increase by $50 to address inflation, our current programs and services, and new programming envisioned in our strategic plan.
Advocacy
The WRA’s success in legislative and legal advocacy depends, in large part, on the effectiveness of our political advocacy efforts. Electing the right people into office who support free markets and private property rights is crucial to a healthy economy and a strong real estate market. All REALTORS® benefit from our advocacy successes, yet today only 35% of our members voluntarily give to the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC). RPAC provides financial support to candidates — both Democrats and Republicans — who support our issues. Requiring all members to contribute $50 to RPAC means everyone who benefits from our advocacy successes will help support those efforts. Members who do not wish to have these funds go to RPAC will have the option to redirect those funds to the Wisconsin Homeowners Alliance (WHA), which engages in issue advocacy campaigns rather than political campaigns.
Raising dues is never easy, but investing in success is both wise and necessary. In the coming months, please watch for additional information regarding the value of your WRA membership and the need to fund our future together.
Michael Theo
WRA President & CEO