RE/MAX Agent Donated All Commissions to CMN Hospitals on Behalf of Clients

“I love old homes,” Anna Gilsinger says, describing how she’s currently fulfilling a lifelong dream to rehab the farmhouse where her great-grandmother was raised. “That’s probably why I love real estate, I like to see a house have its next chapter.”

Gilsinger knows all about new beginnings. After deciding to leave a position at her family business in 2016, she found herself staring at a blank page. Gilsinger knew she didn’t want another office job, and even considered missionary work for a time. She also had a few months left on her real estate license, a carryover from when she had toyed with the idea of becoming an agent two years prior.

“If I was going to make a life change, it needed to be a change where I was going to help people,” Gilsinger says.

Ultimately, she joined RE/MAX Results in Warsaw, Indiana, as a real estate agent. But she still sought to find her true calling and a way to make a lasting difference.

Then Gilsinger attended her brokerage’s annual awards ceremony in February 2017, and everything changed.

A fellow agent spoke at the event about his daughter’s experience as a patient at Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis, and the impact agents can make by donating to Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals. Through a special partnership with CMN Hospitals, RE/MAX agents can sign up for the Miracle Home Program, which means they pledge to make a donation on behalf of their client with every closed transaction.

But Gilsinger had even bigger plans. She says she felt a physical change in the room as she listened to the agent share his story, and she finally knew what she was supposed to do.

“The room just got so hot, and I knew in my heart, I was going to sell real estate and raise $20,000 for the local children’s hospital.”

When Gilsinger had decided to pursue real estate as her second career, she had been sure to set aside a safety net to live off of while building her business. That made the decision easier – she would donate all of her commissions during her first year in real estate to Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals on behalf of her clients.

She just had to close her first transaction.

Real estate with a purpose

Gilsinger never lost sight of her goal, even as sales were slow at first. A month after the fateful awards ceremony, Gilsinger represented the sale of a plot of land, but it wasn’t until July that she sold her first two homes. By September, business was picking up.

“Every appointment turned into an offer on a home,” Gilsinger says. “I remember sitting in my car and sobbing because I was still learning the business, yet all these offers were coming in and helping me to achieve my fundraising goal.”

For almost the entire year, no one at the RE/MAX Results office, with the exception of the administrative staff, knew Gilsinger was donating her commissions. But at a November sales meeting, one of the Broker/Owners pulled Gilsinger aside.

“He asked me what my goal was. I had upped it to $50,000 by that point, because as I was writing all these offers I realized I was going to blow right through my original goal of $20,000,” Gilsinger says. “I found out later that he told our admin staff that if I didn’t make it, they were going to front the money for whatever I was short.”

It was a generous offer from Co-Broker/Owners Larry Phillips and Todd Stock, but there was no need to worry. Gilsinger exceeded her goal, donating $53,000 to CMN Hospitals by the end of the year.

Growing the vision

Through her donations, Gilsinger says she wants to help empower the patients at CMN Hospitals live their best life.

“I believe that every child should have the opportunity to decide what they want to do with their life, and nothing should hold them back,” Gilsinger says. “The possibilities in our life are endless. All these kids need is love and support, they don’t need complications. Life is going to be complicated enough.”

Gilsinger continues to set the goal to raise at least $50,000 for CMN Hospitals each year, donating almost $160,000 to date.

As Gilsinger continues to share her story, she hopes she’ll inspire other agents to give back in their business.  

“I think when you put others first, success just follows,” Gilsinger says. “Our partnership with CMN Hospitals is another reason RE/MAX is the best. There are a lot of hurting people in this world. We should be helping each other and building them up.”