CSR, Part Two

Multifamily Does Good

By Erica Rascón on Nov 28, 2017 in Giving, People

Part two of a two-part feature. Read the first article.

In 2014, real estate technology provider Yardi established The Yardi Foundation, which supports nonprofit organizations that are located near the company’s offices around the world.

Yardi opted for a two-tier CSR model, dividing a seven-figure donation between them: one tier supports several small-scale projects. Yardi designates a sum for every office of more than 50 employees. The grants are allotted to local organizations that are nominated by employees and approved by peer committees.

The second tier takes on an international challenge. Yardi launched Yardi Vasti Vikas Prakalp (YVVP) in Pune, India in 2006. It is one of Yardi’s largest CSR programs to date, providing financial support to 17 local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs). All partnering entities serve some of India’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Gordon Morrell, Executive Vice President, Yardi, works closely with The Yardi Foundation. “Our work there is focused within the urban poor communities that are just a short distance from the office. These projects include cleaning shared toilet blocks to improve sanitation, working in local schools and preschools, providing vocational training for young people, and funding a mobile medical unit specifically for women’s health issues. Some of the work is conducted by NGOs; in addition, Yardi has hired social workers to provide direct services in many of the areas,” Morrell said.

Yardi uses multiple measures of success including impact surveys and reports directly from the NGOs and CBOs. As of 2016, YVVP provided health care services for 120,000 women and children; 500 sanitation units for poor urban communities; and career services for 1,480 teens and young adults.

“We got involved in CSR because we simply wanted to give back to the communities that have supported our business and our employees. Perhaps an indirect success is that some of our CSR initiatives allow our employees to get involved as well, and I believe it shows that our company, as large as it has become, still has the same heart and soul as it did when it began in 1984,” Morrell said.

Common threads

Though the local and international CSR initiatives differ, similar tools have contributed to their intended and unintended success.

MC Residential accepts donations through PayPal on its company website. “Most people have a PayPal account and they recognize it’s a safe way to send money. We can receive donations even while we are sleeping,” says Brice.

The Arizona company also uses its blog as a CSR tool. “Blogging allows us to explain why it’s important to give. We can highlight causes and data through heartfelt stories.  Framing context is one of the best ways to move folks to give.”

Yardi also uses social media to highlight CSR. Team members use Facebook and Instagram to share volunteer efforts from offices throughout the world. The corporate blog recaps team members’ efforts. Each blog post ends with a link to the featured charitable organization so that other Yardi employees, clients, and blog visitors can donate or volunteer.

The TransitScreens at Bozzuto double-task as a community bulletin board. In addition to real-time transit information, residents can access notifications and posts on upcoming volunteer opportunities and new sustainable programs at the site or within the company.

In many cases, corporate altruism has come with unexpected benefits.

“We got a unified heartbeat within our company,” Brice said. “There is a distinct difference but it’s hard to articulate. We have long-term employees, people who are very happy. Success follows that.”

Brice has also noticed changes in recruitment. “We’ve gotten to the point now where we rarely have to advertise for any position. We are constantly hearing from people that want to work with us and want to be invested in our properties.”

It’s the kind of good will that can never be purchased, but will reap business benefits for years to come.