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REVAMPED ICSC FOUNDATION IN SUPPORT PLEA

By Jesse Serwer

“Less is more” certainly holds for ICSC's nonprofit public charity. After two decades as the ICSC's Educational Foundation, the entity is now known simply as the ICSC Foundation. The name change does not mean a shrunken commitment to raising funds for scholarly research related to the shopping center industry. Rather, the foundation has broadened the focus of its fund raising. “We're working on building this into the central philanthropic organization of the [retail real estate] industry,” said Valerie Cammiso, the foundation's executive director. “Anyone in this industry who has already done well typically has a charitable foundation of their own, but we'd like to get all of our members in the ICSC involved, to benefit the industry that helped make them successful.”

The foundation was established in 1988, and its fund-raising efforts have focused largely on member scholarships to the John T. Riordan School For Professional Development, or on funding for academic research projects. More recently, the foundation has provided relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunami and other disasters.

As the ICSC Research Department has grown, however, the need to raise money for research projects has diminished. Meanwhile, with the industry in search of new talent, the creation of scholarships for graduates and undergraduates studying related fields has become a greater priority. The foundation created two $10,000 graduate-level scholarships, along with some $2,500 undergraduate merit awards.

The foundation is also expanding the number and the scope of its social responsibility awards, granted in recognition of humanitarian contributions by shopping centers, developers and management firms.

The hiring of Cammiso, who was director of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, was another key move. Before her arrival the foundation, headed by ICSC past Chairman Charles Grossman until his death last August, did not have a full-time executive director, which limited its fund-raising capabilities.

“We're focusing now on building infrastructure, even though we've been around for 20 years,” Cammiso said. The foundation's Web site, at www.icsc.org/foundation, was launched in February.

For the third consecutive year, the foundation will hold its fund-raising dinner during the ICSC spring convention in Las Vegas. Cammiso says she expects to generate more than twice the roughly $1 million raised at last year's event.

As for where the funds should be directed, the foundation is open to suggestions. Said Cammiso, “I'd love to hear from our members about what they want.”

For more information about the ICSC Foundation or to make a donation, contact (646) 728-3628 or foundation@icsc.org