2024 Winter Issue of Urban Land - 18

INSIDE THE ULI FOUNDATION
John and Ann Porter Commit to
Supporting Etkin Scholars Program
at ULI Charlotte
RON NYREN
John Porter, president of Charter
Properties, and his wife, Ann, have
committed to continue funding the
Etkin Scholars Program in Charlotte,
North Carolina, thus extending a
national scholarship program that
Bruce Etkin, former chairman of
Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners,
established in 2021 with a $1 million
gift. The Porters' donation helps
fulfil Etkin's vision that other ULI
members would be inspired to
continue and expand the program.
The program enables participating
ULI District Councils to provide
a cohort of graduate and
undergraduate students with
free ULI student membership,
funding support, and access to
programming, networking, and
learning opportunities throughout
the academic year. The program
made its debut in fall 2021 at district
councils in Atlanta, Baltimore, British
Columbia, Charlotte, and Colorado
and, since then, expanded to
Boston, Philadelphia, Sacramento,
and San Diego/Tijuana. In addition
to covering costs to attend district
council events, the program
encourages councils to make events
available virtually.
" We need to find members from
each district council to sponsor it
locally, perhaps for five or 10 years,
or to provide an endowment, "
says Etkin, a ULI trustee and a
member of the ULI Foundation
board. " Whether they are studying
architecture, engineering, business,
real estate development, or a related
field, this is the first opportunity for
many of these college students to
get involved in ULI and potentially
become the future leaders of ULI. "
Porter has long been involved with
students in Charlotte as a teacher,
18
URBAN LAND WINTER 202 4
facilitator, and a judge for UrbanPlan.
" When my wife, Ann, and I heard
about what Bruce was doing, we
loved the idea, " Porter says. Theresa
Burnett, executive director of ULI
Charlotte, told Porter the Etkin
Scholars Program would end with
the 2023-2024 academic year unless
someone stepped in, so he and his
wife committed $20,000 a year for
three years to continue it.
" The program has been so
successful in such a short period
of time, " Porter says. " As a family,
we like to give to causes that help
young people and promote diversity.
My hope for this gift is that others
would see what Bruce has done and
follow suit. "
ULI Charlotte was among the
initial district councils to participate
in the Etkin Scholars Program. " We
were looking for a program that
offered outreach to students as
part of our diversity, equity, and
inclusion efforts, " says Burnett, " and
we thought that this would be a
great way to engage leaders in our
district council with students who
could become future real estate
professionals and leaders. John has
been a great mentor for a lot of
students, so it was a perfect fit. "
In its first year, the Etkin Scholars
Program enabled 10 students to
participate through ULI Charlotte
and expanded to more than a dozen
students in each subsequent year.
" Some have reapplied and been
accepted as second-year scholars, "
Burnett says. " This is a good way to
pave a path for them to go into the
real estate industry. "
Burnett notes that students
have participated from a variety of
academic institutions, including state
universities, a community college,
John Porter, CEO of Charter
Properties, has been named a ULI
Foundation Governor.
and a private historically black
university. " The program allows us
to create a network of students who
might not otherwise interact with
each other, " she adds.
A key benefit of the Etkin Scholars
Program is its flexibility, Burnett says:
" We have also been able to fund
additional opportunities, sending
some students to Atlanta for an
event on affordable housing and
some to the ULI Carolinas Meeting. "
Scholars are also allowed to join ULI
at the student member rate for one
year after the program, even if they
are no longer students.
To celebrate and recognize
major gifts, naming opportunities
for the scholarship program are
available for both short-term and
permanent endowment naming. In
addition, by expanding on previous
donations, Porter has been named
a ULI Foundation Governor, joining
a select group of members whose
total giving amounts to $100,000 or
more. UL
RON NYREN is a freelance architecture and real estate
writer based in the San Francisco Bay area.
2024 Winter Issue of Urban Land

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