Windermere Foundation gives back nearly $1.4M to Coeur d’Alene
RAY ERKU | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 hours, 41 minutes AGO
An emotional affair.
That’s what it became for a convention room full of real estate agents Friday in Coeur d’Alene, as they highlighted how embedded they are in their communities.
Locally, Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty and the Windermere Foundation have given back nearly $1.4 million to the area over the past 32 years.
The donations have positively affected 60 local organizations.
“The need is strong here,” Jenn Smock of Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty said during the 2026 Windermere Symposium, held at The Coeur d’Alene Resort over the past three days. “And each year, as every community, it seems to be getting stronger and stronger.”
Smock credited Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty staffers Tony Norris and Allison Knoll as the creative force behind many of the foundation's philanthropic efforts over the years.
Within the Coeur d’Alene area, Smock praised the success of the Coeur d’Alene Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty and the Windermere Foundation’s ongoing partnership with the Coeur d’Alene Backpack Program. The local effort provides kids with new backpacks full of necessities and goodies.
For two years now, the realty group has given cash donations to the CDA Backpack Program. In turn, the entities host what’s called the “We’ve Got Your Back Bash” in the parking lot of Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty.
Last year, they gave out nearly 300 backpacks. This year’s event, which coincided with the North Idaho State Fair, saw them give out over 550 backpacks.
“This is the best part of what we do,” Smock said.
In addition to the small carnival complete with bouncy houses and face painting, Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty and the Windermere Foundation connected with Paul Mitchell The School Coeur d'Alene, a local beauty school that sent 15 people to cut kids’ hair during the event.
Smock said over 300 haircuts were given, with the “line going around the block.”
“Our community showed up,” she said. “Our Coeur d’Alene Tribe gave us $5,000, one of our chiropractors that we love gave us another $5,000.”
With community help, the Coeur d’Alene Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty and the Windermere Foundation raised $30,000 to put on the event.
Windermere Realty was founded in 1972 in Seattle and represents clients throughout the American West and parts of Mexico.
Franny Wood, Windermere Foundation events and outreach manager, said Friday that the foundation itself has raised $60 million for its communities.
“The foundation is my heart and soul, it’s my favorite thing about this company,” she said. “It’s why I like being part of the family, it’s why I work here.”
Wood said everyone in that convention room Friday should use the foundation to connect with their clients.
“We have a foundation that has raised over $60 million all because you contribute to it,” she said. “We should be shouting this from the rooftops.”
ECONOMIC UPDATE
Before Friday’s philanthropic highlights, Smock joined Windermere Realty Chief Economist Jeff Tucker for a brief regional and local economic synopsis and housing update.
“The U.S. economy is running hot,” Tucker said. “This is a good problem to have.”
But real estate remains sensitive to interest rates.
Tucker said the nation is running at 3.4% inflation.
“This is a hot economy, consumer spending is strong, household balance sheets are OK,” he said.
The good news, however, is that both the stock market and consumer spending remain strong. Meanwhile, Tucker said the “super low” housing inventory during COVID years is currently bouncing back to pre-pandemic averages.
“I think it's a healthy sign in the market that inventory is getting back up there,” he said.
In Coeur d’Alene, both housing inventory and financial factors continue to drive folks in from places like California, Oregon and Washington.
Smock said that since 2020, Kootenai County’s population has grown by 12%. The greater northern region of Idaho has also seen a 12.5% population increase since then.
The largest percentages of this growth — with 32,000 people moving to Coeur d’Alene alone over the past six years — are attributed to people 61 years or older from California, people 55 or older from Washington and people 29-38 from Oregon.
These three states account for 66% of relocations to the area, Smock said.
“That is one of the reasons why our prices went so high, so fast,” Smock said. “That’s because they were outbidding everybody.”
As to why this matters, Smock said 28% of residents in Coeur d’Alene and its surrounding areas are baby boomers, while the national population is about 21%. In other words, migration demand is setting prices rather than local wages.
“We have service industries that need employees,” she said.
Franny Wood, Windermere Foundation events and outreach manager, says the foundation has donated $60 million to its communities over the years.ARTICLES BY RAY ERKU
Windermere Foundation gives back nearly $1.4M to Coeur d’Alene
An emotional affair. That’s what it became for a convention room full of real estate agents on Friday in Coeur d’Alene, as they highlighted how embedded they are in their communities. Locally, Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty and the Windermere Foundation have given back nearly $1.4 million to the area over the past 32 years.
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