Miks suured kommertskinnisvarafirmad ühendavad ressursse mustanahaliste üliõpilassportlaste värbamiseks

When Darius Livingston graduated from the University of California, Davis, two years ago, he knew his football career was over. Like most of his former teammates — and the majority of college athletes — he wasn't going pro.

Selle asemel asus Livingston ärikinnisvaraga tegelema tänu õppetundidele, mida ta õppis tasustatud praktikaprogrammist, mis õpetab noortele värvilistele tudengitele rahanduse põhialuseid, keskendudes eelkõige kinnisvarainvesteeringutele.

Programm Project Destined on sotsiaalse mõju platvorm, mille asutas endine Carlyle Groupi juht Cedric Bobo.

Bobo tegi endale kinnisvarainvesteeringute alal nime ja otsustas seejärel selle edasi maksta. Finantsprogrammi käivitas ta 2016. aastal eelkõige gümnaasiumiõpilastele. Seejärel laiendas ta seda kolledžitele, nähes võimalust nii enne kui ka pärast lõpetamist praktikale ja töökohtadele.

Innukalt oma tööjõudu mitmekesistada on mõned suurimad kinnisvaraarendus-, finants- ja haldusfirmad liitunud praktikakohtade rahastamisega ja üliõpilaste juhendamisega. See hõlmab selliseid nimesid nagu Bostoni omadused, Greystar, Brookfield, CBRE, Omakapital elamu, viies sein, JLL, Skanska, Vornado ja Walker & Dunlop.

Programm on koolitanud rohkem kui 5,000 osalejat enam kui 350 ülikoolist üle maailma ja on teinud koostööd enam kui 250 kinnisvarafirmaga.

And now, it's gearing some of its efforts specifically toward Black student-athletes.

Pärast hiljuti pilootprogrammi läbiviimist UC Davise üliõpilassportlastega teatas Bobo partnerlusest Black Student-Athlete Summitiga, professionaalse ja akadeemilise tugiorganisatsiooniga, et pakkuda tasulisi virtuaalseid praktikakohti 100 õpilassportlasele üheksast I divisjoni koolist. . See sisaldab 25 tundi koolitust.

"Program participants will also join executives to evaluate real-time commercial real estate transactions in their community and compete in pitch competitions to senior industry leaders," according to a release announcing the partnership. "The internship includes opportunities for scholarships and networking."

Livingston läbis UC Davise piloodi kolledži viimasel semestril, seejärel sai praktika Eastdili ja Eden Housingu juures. Nüüd on ta Californias asuva kinnisvaraarendusfirma Catalyst Housing Group omandamiste ja arenduste kaastöötaja ning uue partnerluse rahaline toetaja.

"I think, for me, it was really a realization that I probably won't be a first-round draft pick, and that's OK," explained Livingston. "It's really being exposed to other opportunities. That's why I'm so blessed to have Project Destined come along and expose me to the commercial real estate industry and the mindset that I deserve to be an owner in the communities that I live in."

That right of ownership has long been Bobo's mantra and was the crux of his pitch as he announced the new arm of his program to hundreds of students at the Black Student-Athletes Summit at USC. He wants them to understand that they can create change in their own neighborhoods by owning and managing real estate. More important, he wants them to know that ownership is possible.

"Our program is not just about how we see you all," Bobo said of the real estate executives who were on hand for the announcement. "It's how you see yourselves."

Kuigi mustanahaliste üliõpilassportlaste kooli lõpetamise määr paraneb aeglaselt, on paljudel õpilastel, kes olid koolis ressurssidega üle külvatud, raskusi, kui nad on lõpetanud oma sportlikud ettevõtmised ja pääsevad tööjõust välja.

"A lot of these kids may think they're a first-round draft pick, and that is a percent of a percent of a percent of a percent, so it's really being real with yourself and knowing that you deserve much more than what you're simply exposed to, and that's just sports," Livingston said.

Programmi rahalist toetust pakuvad kinnisvarafirmad, sealhulgas BGO, Brookfield, Catalyst Housing Group, Dune Real Estate Partners, Jemcor Development Partners, Landspire Group, Marcus & Millichap, Virtu Investments ja The Vistria Group.

"The expansion of this platform is a natural evolution of this collective effort and will provide tangible pathways for thousands of Black student-athletes to pursue future careers in commercial real estate," said Jordan Moss, who is also a former student-athlete at UC Davis and the founder and CEO of Catalyst.

Project Destined also has been working with the NBA and the WNBA to give professional athletes more options after they're finished with their athletic careers.

Livingston ütles, et tema arvates teevad sportlased parimad töötajad.

"We play to win," he explained. "It's the competitive nature. We want to outwork our opportunities."