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Divine Fog Realty Company founds a nonprofit arm to give back to the community.
Last fall, the newest real estate firm to open its doors in Roanoke — Divine Fog Realty Company — kicked off an effort to give rebates and discounts to first responders, veterans, healthcare workers and teachers who buy homes with its agents.
Called Divine Fog Serving Heroes, the initiative offers discounts on appraisals, moving services, insurance, lawn care and pest control. In addition, agents give 15% of their three percent sales commission back to the buyer.
“We know that it’s going to be a huge success,” says Amy Carter, Divine Fog’s director of sales and agent support. “Why would you not, if you’re looking for an agent, want to work with somebody who also wants to help you?”
But Divine Fog Realty Company’s impulse to lift up the community isn’t limited to one program. It is woven into the fabric of who the business is.
In 2017, top-selling agent Scottie Booker left his former firm to found a new real estate company in the Lynchburg area. He wanted his Christian principals to be central to his business. When he contemplated a name, the words “Divine Fog” came to him. “FOG” is an acronym that stands for “Favor Of God.”
“It’s there in plain sight,” says Stephanie Varney, managing broker of the Roanoke office. “Because basically our vision and our values are defined by that.”
In 2019, Divine Fog opened a Roanoke location, on Electric Road near Tanglewood Mall.
The agency’s motto is “Love, Family, Team.” Agents brought on board connect with Divine Fog’s tight-knit atmosphere and intentional approach, Carter says.
Divine Fog is also a Black-owned business. The 33 agents in the Roanoke office represent a wide diversity of ethnicities, ages and experience levels.
“We are definitely about empowering everyone,” says Varney.
Many realty companies give back to their communities — hosting charity events, encouraging employees to volunteer and serve on boards of directors, sometimes choosing a specific nonprofit to raise funds for. But last spring, Divine Fog took its corporate giving in a new direction when it founded a nonprofit subsidiary, called Divine Fog Serves.
Divine Fog Serves runs the Heroes program, as well as collecting donations for Toys for Tots, and supporting other local charities. In 2021, the nonprofit has plans to create another charitable effort, called Homes From the Heart.
“We’re going to be building or renovating a home and actually give it away to an eligible family,” explains Carter. “The long-term goal is to create a community of homes built to be given to people in need.”
Carter thinks of Divine Fog Serves as the heart of Divine Fog Realty Company. She says every good deed reaches far beyond even the people who initially benefit.
“Whatever you’re doing, the ripple effects of that, you never know where that’s going to lead and what an impact that’s going to make,” Carter says. “We want to focus on the good, you know, and be really intentional about making good things happen.”
To learn more about Divine Fog Serves, head to divinefogserves.org.
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