MC Companies

Activism on Autism

By Leah Etling on Oct 21, 2016 in Giving, People

The first thing you notice on MC Companies website is that the Arizona-based multifamily housing provider is a very compassionate company. It’s one of the traits that make them one of Arizona’s “most admired companies.”

The “Good Life Promises” that are part of the firm’s foundational values include a rent rescue program that excuses late fees and “life interruption relief,” a standardized accommodation for residents who might need a little help recovering after a job loss.

‘”Giving is very important to our company,” said Lesley Brice, principal and president of MC Companies, a Yardi client. Fellow principals Ken McElroy and Ross McCallister founded the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company in 1985.

McElroy, a real estate entrepreneur and author who is passionate about giving back to the community, first became involved in Autism activism 11 years ago, when the child of a friend was diagnosed with the disease. McElroy is now chair of Scottsdale’s annual Autism Speaks fundraising walk. The event is held nationally each fall. In Arizona alone, 20,000 people walked in 2015, and 25,000 are expected at this weekend’s event.

“Ken quickly realized that based on the statistic of 1 in 68 children (1 in 44 boys) with Autism that there are tens of thousands of affected individuals living in our apartment communities in Arizona,” Brice said. And with that realization, the entire MC Companies team was galvanized to action.

As Brice explains it, the need to mobilize quickly to fundraise for the 2015 walk produced two exceptional ideas that MC Companies used again for the 2016 campaign.

Hours4Autism – “We developed a program that allows companies to raise donations through Paid Time Off donations.  In our first year with our 300 employees, we raised over $20,000 or 1100 hours last year and expect to top it this year.  Many companies are now jumping onto this program.”

1% Program  — “The 1% program helps vendor partners participate by rebating back a percentage of a company’s spend back for charity.  We had Sherwin Williams be the first to take us up on this request.  Each year they now tithe back 1% of what MC Company’s spends back to the charity of our choice.  This sparked many others to follow.”

MC Companies also spread the word to industry colleagues and friends.

“As a board member and chair emeritus of the Arizona Multihousing Association, I had the honor of bringing the Autism charity to the AMA, where it was met with huge support.  In the last four months of 2015, we raised over $125,000!” Brice said.

And she’s not stopping there. The next stop is the National Apartment Association, where Brice has been invited to introduce the Arizona programs next year.

“Statistically speaking, there are hundreds of thousands of Autism affected individuals living in the 8.2 million apartment homes in NAA membership,” Brice said.

Many residents of MC Companies’ apartments joined in the walk last year and will do so again this weekend. But the company has also come up with the idea of using their Yardi software to easily allow residents to donate to the cause.

“We have been working with Yardi to create ‘Donate Now’ functionality for our residents donate to more than just Autism in Arizona.  We are thinking big.  It is exciting to think of the possibility of Yardi becoming an early leader with this functionality to help tie the philanthropic efforts of its users together!” Brice concluded. “We are close to seeing this dream come to life.”

Yardi salutes MC Companies for giving back to the community and supporting this important cause.