В Сан-Диего создан фонд для вовлечения молодых специалистов коммерческой недвижимости в благотворительность

SAN DIEGO – After graduating from San Diego State University (SDSU) in 2021, a duo of 22-year-old professionals launched careers in the local commercial real estate (CRE) market. As they began attending industry networking events, they noticed a gap. “There was no cohort of younger people in the industry that could get together from all walks — brokers, architects, engineers, all across the board,” Full Circle Philanthropy CEO Trevan Swierczewski said. “We came up with the idea to huddle up, and we were like, ‘Why don’t we just throw our own happy hour?’” That’s exactly what they did. In October 2022, Swierczewski and Jez Lawson launched First Fridays, a quarterly networking event for young CRE professionals. The event quickly grew, today welcoming 150 to 200 attendees each date and accruing several event sponsorships. The duo experienced such success that they decided to take their work a step further by officially launching nonprofit Full Circle Philanthropy this February. The organization continues to host networking and career development events but also connects its network of over 600 young professionals with philanthropic and volunteer opportunities. “Most nonprofit organizations are made up of the older generation, and there’s a gap,” said Lawson, Full Circle’s COO. “We can definitely see younger people wanting to volunteer and enjoying it, so we want to bring that spirit to the younger generation and carry it forward.” Activating Early Career Philanthropy Full Circle mobilizes its community to organize fundraising initiatives, steward volunteers and raise money, all with a focus on youth-serving organizations. Most recently, the organization supported Coronado-based nonprofit Focus Kids San Diego with its backpack packing event where the organization buys school supplies and backpacks for 500 San Diego kids across five schools. “In talking with their board, they needed some strong hands to help them out, and I was saying, ‘Well, we have an email invite list of 600 young adults that have energy and are able to help,’” Lawson said. “They said, ‘That’s awesome.’ So, we sent out a few email blasts about unloading pallets and packing these backpacks.” With support from Full Circle, Focus Kids was able to complete what usually took three days of work in just four hours. Partnerships an Avenue for Growth Beyond partnering with local nonprofits and hosting networking events, Full Circle is actively developing partnerships in higher education with universities like SDSU, University of San Diego and University of California, San Diego. The objective is to connect students with an accessible network in CRE and make giving back a part of the conversation from the beginning of their careers. Full Circle CFO Ryan Bickford said that approachability is one of the organization’s advantages in engaging young professionals. “Beyond universities, local community colleges are a really great inflection point for young professionals, where they’re thinking about what they want to do,” he said. “Growing our involvement at that level is meaningful because college was a really great time of my life, and it let me get a jump start. I think we can recreate that for other students at that point in time, and it can be really impactful.” Full Circle is actively campaigning for larger financial contributions to support operations. The organization is also looking for additional sponsors and community partners. Past partners have included SDSU, Cushman & Wakefield, Steel Peak, CBRE, First Citizens Bank and more. “We wanted to use our network for a greater purpose,” Swierczewski said. “A lot of us are fortunate enough to have good upbringings and a spot in the CRE industry. We just want to give that opportunity to other people.” Full Circle Philanthropy FOUNDED: 2025 CEO: Trevan Swierczewski HEADQUARTERS: San Diego BUSINESS: Commercial Real Estate/Philanthropy EMPLOYEES: 6 REVENUE: Over 600 Active Members WEBSITE: https://fcpsd.org/(opens in new tab) CONTACT: [email protected], [email protected] NOTABLE: Nonprofit board is made up of entirely San Diego State University Real Estate alumni. Born and raised in San Diego, Madison takes great pride in local storytelling. Her coverage at the San Diego Business Journal includes tourism, hospitality, nonprofits, education and retail. An alumna of San Diego State University’s journalism program, she has written for publications including The San Diego Union-Tribune and The San Diego Sun. At the 2024 San Diego Press Club awards, Madison was recognized for her exemplary profile writing. She was also a speaker for the 2023 TEDx Conference at Bonita Vista High School. When she’s not working on her next story, Madison can be found performing music at a local restaurant or on one of San Diego’s many hiking trails.