CBRE Group Inc. has launched its Community Impact Initiative, a new $7.25 million effort funded by the company and its philanthropic arm CBRE Foundation Inc.
The Dallas-based real estate company's initiative is intended to help combat climate change, improve opportunities for racial minorities and disadvantaged populations across the U.S. and support community betterment efforts in the Dallas area, said Tim Dismond, chief responsibility officer, in an interview.
Philanthropy is nothing new for the company, Mr. Dismond said. While CBRE Group has had relationships with some of the charities selected for the initiative in the past, "it just didn't have a formal nature to it," he said.
Charities include Project Destined, which provides undergraduate students the opportunity to explore careers in commercial real estate.
"They get to interact with professionals, and they compete in a formal competition presenting a real industry challenge within real estate," Mr. Dismond said. "Through our relationship, our hope in what we look forward to doing is working with them to design and support that curriculum, and also participate as judges in those competitions, (and provide) counseling and mentoring opportunities."
Other charities include the Rocky Mountain Institute, which has a program to construct carbon-free buildings, and Hiring Our Heroes, an education and networking program for the military community.
More information on CBRE's Community Impact Initiative is available on its website.
