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The You Before Us Fund

What Is It? 

The You Before Us Fund is a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) managed through the Central Valley Community Foundation and established at Realty Concepts in 2024. Through The You Before Us Fund, participating agents can elect to have a pre-set percentage of gross commissions earned from their sales to be donated back to the community. 

Because the donation comes from gross commission, the agent and Realty Concepts will each give in the percentage equal to the agent’s commission split at that time. Because the agent does not realize any taxable income, their annual tax basis is thereby lowered, making this, effectively, a 100% tax write-off for each dollar donated. Agents can elect to give to The You Before Us Fund at 0.5%, 1% or 2% of each commission earned. 

Example 1

Realtor Jim is on an 80/20 commission split and has not capped yet in 2026. He elects to give 1% of each commission to The You Before Us Fund. His sale brings in a commission of $2500. He will earn $2000 in commission and Realty Concepts will keep $500. Before receiving his commission check, $20 will be donated to The You Before Us Fund, lowering his tax basis for that commission to $1880. Realty Concepts will donate 1% of its split, which is $5, for that transaction.

Example 2

Realtor Liz is on a 70/30 commission split and has capped in 2026. She elects to give 0.5% of each commission to The You Before Us Fund. Her sale brings in a commission of $5000, and she will keep all of it. Before receiving her commission check, $25 will be donated to The You Before Us Fund, lowering her tax basis for that commission to $4975.

Donations will be held in two separate pools of money: Agent Donation Pool and Company Donation Pool. 

  • 60% of the money from the Agent Donation Pool will be donated to 3 local charities, voted on by participants. The remaining 40% of funds will be held in reserve for small donations to be made throughout the year at the request of participating agents. Any unused small donation funds will revert to the larger donation pool for the following year. 
  • Money from the Company Donation Pool will be set aside to create an endowed fund that will be managed in perpetuity by the Shamshoian family.
How Do I Join? 

We welcome any and all RC agents to join The You Before Us Fund at any time. Simply fill out this form and all contributions moving forward will be deducted from gross commissions at the percentage level the agent selected on the form. Look for a confirmation email from either Margaret Ann Shamshoian at ma@realtyconcepts.com or from accounting@realtyconcepts.com. 

To elect out, simply use the same form. Our accounting team will need at least 72 hours prior to the close of any escrow to make these changes. 

How Do I Get Approval for a Small Donation to a Nonprofit of My Choice? 

The You Before Us Fund has agent donations set aside so that any participating agent can request a donation to be made on their behalf to a qualifying 501c3 of their choice. The amount of money available to each agent will be determined in January of each year and will be based on the amount of money donated in the previous year. 

If you’d like to request funds for donation, please use this form to do so. If you have questions, please email Margaret Ann Shamshoian at ma@realtyconcepts.com. Be aware that the normal processing time for confirming the nonprofit is eligible and cutting the check from the fund is around 2 weeks.