Emergency grants are available for critical, urgent needs for the following events:

• Small-scale housing disasters (primary residence only), such as a house fire 
• Domestic violence
• Funeral expenses for a qualified family member
• Emergency medical travel

To qualify for an emergency grant, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be an active KW associate at the time of the event and with KW for at least six consecutive months
• Have less than $40,000 in checking and savings (business/personal and joint/individual)
• Have less than $500,000 in non-retirement investment accounts (stocks/bonds, etc.)

Applicants must meet the eligibility guidelines above, have a qualifying event, a qualifying expense, and demonstrate a financial need exists. 

 Emergency grants are capped at $5,000. Grant amounts are based on documented unmet needs.  

Catastrophic Hardship Grants can provide up to $30,000* (amount based on the qualifying situation and documented financial need) to assist with:

• Out-of-pocket medical expenses
• Travel and/or rehousing expenses necessary to receive essential medical treatment
• Modifications to home for accessibility
• Assistance with deductible and/or shortfall in repair expenses following a housing disaster, such as fire, flood, tornado, etc. Assistance for housing disasters is for primary residences only.

This form will initiate a grant application and should be completed by the applicant's Team Leader, Operating Partner or Market Center Administrator (Leadership) or a representative of the KWRI Heart Fund (for Keller Williams Realty International staff only).
 

Before completing this form, you and the applicant should discuss the amount the applicant will request. 

*Important Notes Regarding Amount Requested by Applicant:

KW Cares grants are intended to provide a degree of assistance and not to make an applicant whole. When requesting an amount, please keep the following in mind:  

• KW Cares can assist with unmet needs. Unmet needs are expenses remaining after other sources have been depleted, such as homeowner's insurance, medical insurance, crowdfunding, etc. 
• For medical grants, KW Cares calculates the grant amount based on incurred out-of-pocket medical expenses. We are unable to include assistance for projected medical expenses. 
• KW Cares may assist with up to two months of unmet living expenses when the applicant cannot work due to a medical condition. Unmet living expenses consist of basic living expenses after other income sources (spouse's income, retirement benefits, social security, rental property income, governmental assistance*, etc.). 
• KW Cares uses a standard cost of living index to determine the average cost of living based on the county of residence and household size. 

Non-Producing Agents:  If an agent has no production history and requests assistance with living expenses, it is difficult to determine if the lack of income is a result of the event or a result of slow sales/lack of success in real estate. In these situations, KW Cares may only be able to assist with out-of-pocket expenses.  

It is the expectation that the grant applicant receive support from the market center or KWRI Heart Fund equal to 10% (minimally) of the applicant’s need and/or other assistance (meals, transportation, childcare, cleaning, yard services, donated PTO, etc.). Market centers may also waive office fees, pay for license renewals, etc.

    To complete this form, you will need:
 

1. Grant applicant's name and email address.
2. The amount the grant applicant is requesting.* 
3. The amount of support provided to the applicant or a detailed fundraising plan.

Emergency disaster grants are available for immediate, critical needs following a large-scale natural disaster.  KW associates (agents, staff) and KWRI staff are eligible for assistance if a financial need exists.  Applicants must have LESS than $40,000 in checking and savings. 

Applicants are eligible for an emergency grant up to 30 days following a large-scale disaster. Grant applications submitted beyond 30 days will be declined.

To qualify for a grant, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria, have a qualifying event, a qualifying expense, and demonstrate a financial need exists.  

Emergency disaster grants are not intended to assist with loss of income or home repairs/insurance deductibles.

STEP 1:  Notify your market center leadership of your need.  KW Cares staff will verify the need with your market center leadership, so please do not move forward without completing this step.

STEP 2: Complete the eligibility evaluation and the initial grant application.  A KW Cares case manager will contact you by phone to conduct a brief intake interview. 

STEP 3: Upon approval of your grant request, KW Cares will initiate a bank transfer through BILL (www.bill.com). Upon grant approval, you will receive an invitation to create an account and add your banking information. 

IMPORTANT: BILL asks, "What is your relationship to this company?"  PLEASE SELECT "I am none of the above" and then answer "Yes" to the question, "Are you a W-2 employee of this company?"

WE RECOMMEND SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT USING A COMPUTER. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR COMPUTER, PLEASE SET UP ON YOUR PHONE USING GOOGLE CHROME BROWSER (do not set up using the BILL mobile app).