MEEB ESTABLISHES NON-PROFIT FOUNDATION TO GIVE MORE AND “GIVE BACK” TO THE CONDOMINIUM WORLD

When it comes to charitable giving, the attorneys at Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks (MEEB) think more is better.  With that thought in mind, the firm has established a non-profit foundation as a vehicle for expanding its own contributions and possibly soliciting contributions from others.

Charitable giving has long been a priority for the firm, which has been donating between $30,000 and $40,000 annually to a variety of causes.  “But we thought that wasn’t enough,” explains Stephen Marcus, one of the founding partners.    So the firm has increased its annual commitment to $100,000 and has decided to channel a large portion of that increase toward issues related to condominiums – one of the firms’ primary practice areas.

“We will continue to support real estate industry trade groups (such as CAI and IREM), the Pan-Mass challenge (for cancer research) and the many other good causes we’ve supported in the past,” Marcus says. “But we thought it made sense for the firm to give more and to give back to the condominium world.”

The foundation’s most likely targets initially will be small inner city condominiums and condominium owners in need of assistance, “but that focus could change,” Marcus says, “depending on the needs we identify and the requests we receive.”

In addition to creating a more formal structure for the firm’s charitable giving, the foundation will make it possible to solicit contributions from others in the community association industry for projects too large for the firm to handle on its own.  The foundation has been incorporated and is awaiting approval of its non-profit status – a process that will take from two to three months.  In the meantime, MEEB attorneys are actively seeking funding targets for the $100,000 they have already committed for the coming year.

A project the firm has recently undertaken on a pro bono basis is an example of the initiatives the new foundation is likely to fund.

The project involves a small, three-unit condominium in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood that Marcus describes as “completely dysfunctional.”  He learned of the building from students in The Transactional Law Clinics at Harvard Law School, who contacted him to ask about legislation to address the problems of smaller condominiums.    Marcus suggested that they start instead by focusing on a specific case with which the firm might help and the students identified this condominium, created in 1991 under an affordable housing program.

While the building itself was in reasonably good condition, Marcus says, the condominium had no formal association structure and bills were paid haphazardly, if at all.  Because of an unpaid $3,000 electricity bill, “there had been no lights in the common area hallways since 2008”; the insurance on the property had lapsed because of a failure to repair some structural damage to building.

Representing one of the three owners at no charge, the firm secured a court order appointing a receiver and convinced Scott Wolf, president of Greater Boston Properties, to fill that position and to waive the receiver’s fee.   In fairly short order, using a no-interest personal loan Marcus provided to cover expenses until the association could be reorganized, Wolf was able to get the electricity restored, paid a past-due bill for water services that were about to be suspended, arranged for the necessary structural repairs and had the insurance reinstated.  He also persuaded the three owners to agree on a monthly common area fee, and reports that all made the first payment due under this new structure.  “No one thought we would collect the fees,” Woolf says, “but everyone paid, and I’m very happy about that.”

While the community at this point is “far from self-sustaining,” Marcus, says, “it is moving toward recovery and stability, and that represents tremendous progress in a short time.”

“In addition to helping a community that desperately needed assistance,” Marcus adds, “this project is teaching us a great deal about the problems of smaller community associations and the kind of assistance they may need.  It is also demonstrating that smaller community associations will be a good target for the MEEB Foundation. “