- April 18, 2024
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Tony and Lucy Simotes are the brand new owners of a beautiful, late 1990s home situated on a golf course in Kissimmee. They are also the first people to be donating 50 percent of their real-estate agent’s commission to the charity of their choosing.
Christian West Howard, a 23-year-old real-estate agent in the Central Florida area created “The Heart that Gives,” a philanthropy project in which he donates 50 percent of his commission to a charity of his client’s choice.
Born and raised in Orlando, Howard is an alumnus of Valencia College and the University of Central Florida. About a year into his studies at UCF, Howard switched his career path from biomedical sciences, after several internships with doctors, to something he was more passionate about — real estate.
Howard struggled in the beginning, as most real-estate agents do, but after a year and a half has found steady ground.
A month and a half ago, “The Heart that Gives" started beating. Howard started the project because he has a passion for helping others. Howard credits his parents and Sister Bernadette “Bernie” Mackay of the Catholic Diocese of Orlando for instilling this passion in his life. Growing up Howard’s parents had foster kids and were always helping those less fortunate, even when times were tough.
Howard met Sister Bernie on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. After seeing how she has donated her life to helping other in her village, Howard knew he had to find a way to help out in addition to his mission trips.
“I used to pay my broker 40 percent of my paycheck, and over the past few months I’ve been working for a broker who lets me keep all of it. I pay separate fees, but I keep 100 percent of it, so if I was already used to giving up almost half, why not do that, but do for an awesome cause?” Howard said.
The main reason he started this project, he said, is because most charities don’t receive donations of a couple thousand dollars often. Depending on the price of the house, 50 percent of Howard’s commission could range from just $1,500 to over $10,000. If he sold one house a week, he said it could make a big difference for a lot of charities.
Howard makes these donations possible by lowering his commission upfront by 50 percent. At the end of the sale, the client is able to choose where the money will be donated to. “The person isn’t donating the money. It’s my commission, but they get to choose where it goes to. And because the donation is in their name, they get to keep the tax benefits,” Howard said.
Tony and Lucy Simotes, Howard’s first clients to donate to charity, are moving from Massachusetts to be closer to family and enjoy everything Orlando has to offer. When they first starting looking for a home, “The Heart that Gives” wasn’t around yet, but once Howard told them about his project they were blown away.
“It is very revolutionary that someone would take their commission and donate it on the client’s behalf and make that kind of financial cut. He is a very special person,” Tony said.
The Simotes are choosing to donate to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Mass., because their cancer research and trials saved Tony’s life when he was battling throat cancer.
“I think Christian’s project is pretty amazing. I think not just real estate agents, but I think if everyone in general gave more, it would be a better world to live in,” Lucy said. “Christian is such an amazing young man. He deserves all the goodness that comes to him because he has such a good heart. He really does.”
The name for Howard’s philanthropy project came from the quote “the heart that gives, gathers.”
“It struck me the the most because when you give you get so much more,” he said.
Sticking true to the name of his philanthropy project, Howard’s heart keeps giving. After the shooting at Pulse nightclub, Howard was able to help more than 200 people affected by the tragedy find a place to stay and get the resources they needed.
“I went there weekly since I turned 18,” Howard said. “I’m coping with it by helping out.”
