More than 200 students from Park City, Wasatch, North Summit and South Summit high schools apply each year for scholarships awarded by the Park City Board of Realtors Philanthropic Foundation. The eight-member volunteer board reads every essay.

“It’s hours and hours of reading,” said Jay Sheridan, the foundation’s president. “And it’s tears. I mean, it’s heart-wrenching what some of these kids go through.”

The foundation awards two scholarships per high school, presenting them in person at the end of each school year.

“The highlight of my year is reading these essays,” he said. “Some of the stories these kids have — you couldn’t make them up.”

The foundation operates as the charitable arm of the Park City Board of Realtors. Though it has existed for decades, Sheridan said many residents are unaware of its structure or its mandate. The organization directs voluntary member contributions into education and housing aid programs across Park City.

“Our charge is to serve our community that we love and that we live in,” Sheridan said. “One is education, and the other is housing.”

The education and housing components address a reality Sheridan said is sometimes overlooked in a resort town generally perceived as affluent.

“I think one of the misconceptions in Park City is that everyone is doing great,” he said. “We have people in need — in need of help for higher education, in need of housing, in need of food assistance.”

On the housing side, rather than providing small, individual grants, the board partners with established nonprofit organizations with infrastructure already in place. Among them are Habitat for Humanity of Summit and Wasatch counties and Peace House, which provides emergency and transitional housing for survivors of domestic abuse.

“We’ve engaged organizations that are the best at what they do, and then we contribute to them,” Sheridan said.

Habitat for Humanity uses contributions from organizations like the philanthropic foundation, along with grants and other funding sources, to help support discounted homeownership opportunities in projects such as its current development in Silver Creek. Sheridan said the foundation’s annual donations are one piece of that broader funding mix, helping Habitat continue its work locally.

The foundation’s revenue comes from voluntary donations made annually by realtors when they pay their member dues. That structure provides a relatively predictable pool of funding for the board to allocate each year, but because it relies solely on member contributions, it also limits how much the foundation can grow each year.

Jennifer Armandi, who began her role as CEO of the board in October, has emphasized the importance of structured engagement and long-term community investment as part of her broader vision for the organization.

Armandi has spent her early months listening to members and community partners, learning what local realtors see as priorities and where the association can make the greatest impact. She has placed particular emphasis on strengthening internal structures, including committees and volunteer pathways, like that of the philanthropic foundation, so that members’ collective experience can be more effectively channeled into community focused efforts.

The board is currently exploring where to expand beyond its longstanding focus on education and housing to include a third priority area, like senior services or food assistance, but Sheridan said they want to be sure any addition can be supported consistently year after year.

“If we’re going to allocate funds to something other than education and housing, let’s build that into the mandate, and we’ll be able to build that into the mission statement,” he said.

Sheridan, who has lived in Park City for 40 years, sees the foundation as part of a much larger culture of giving within the local community. While Park City has expanded dramatically since the mid-1980s, he said he believes its civic spirit remains intact.

“I think the heart of this community hasn’t changed,” he said. “That’s just being grateful and fortunate and helping others.”

All three of Sheridan’s children graduated from the Park City School District, and he said raising his family here has strengthened his sense that feeling fortunate comes with a responsibility to give back.

“Recognizing how fortunate I am comes with recognizing that there are people who aren’t as fortunate in our community,” Sheridan said.

Sheridan emphasized that the philanthropic foundation is only one part of a broader culture of giving in Park City. Realtors across town volunteer with organizations ranging from Mountain Trails Foundation to Peace House, often dedicating time and resources well beyond their professional roles.

“There’s a lot of real estate agents who volunteer and contribute their time and money that no one will ever know about,” he said.

In a town defined by recent growth and rising housing pressures, Sheridan sees the foundation as a reminder that behind the real estate market are members of the community and that supporting families, students and neighbors is part of the job.

“I think it’s important for the community at large to know that their real estate community is making a difference,” he said.

by Klara Meyer

March 10, 2026