#SupportingOurSector is a Starfish Impact curated giving collaborative of businesses in the community seeking to support the community in meaningful ways and magnify their own efforts by joining a group of socially conscious business peers. We’re excited to feature one of the businesses today, The Cilic Group.
1. Welcome to #SupportingOurSector! We’re thrilled to have you join in this exciting initiative! Can you tell us a bit about your company – what makes it unique, who started it, what you’re doing in the Los Angeles community for potential clients?
We started The Cilic Group at Sotheby’s International Realty in part to foster a symbiotic relationship between our clients’ residential real estate needs and our philanthropic goals through a give-back donation program. As a former company executive of Sotheby’s, I wanted to team up with the most talented, dedicated agents to deliver unmatched experience-based guidance to our clients. Our team of three agents has over 35 years of combined experience and has participated in the purchase, sale or lease of over 4,000 condos, homes and investment properties. The more we succeed in fulfilling our clients’ real estate goals, the more we can give back to the community.
2. What attracted you to join #SupportingOurSector this year? Is there an element of the initiative that gets you really excited?
I am really excited to see the amazing organizations both on the recipient side seeking funds and the organizations making financial commitments.
3. What other community initiatives does your company engage in?
We have donated or volunteered with over 30 organizations as part of our mission to give back. #SupportingOurSector allows us to pool funds to make a greater impact than we could on our own.
4. What are you hoping to get out of your participation in#SupportingOurSector?
We are hoping to meet new people, make new connections, and learn more about worthy causes in the areas we serve.
5. Risk is an aspect of operations that companies try to mitigate, and often comes with experimentation, new products or programs, and innovation. The #SupportingOurSector initiative is one way businesses can experiment with minimal risks to the brand. Can you tell us how your company is innovating and experimenting in other areas?
The Cilic Group is really at the cutting edge of marketing, social media, and promotion. One of our team members has a marketing degree in addition to a real estate license and we utilize his skills to deliver custom content and collateral to promote our listings.
6. #SupportingOurSector is unique for a number of reasons, one of which is that in the past we have connected all of our Business Partners to the nonprofits, and many have since provided pro bono services. How can your services benefit the nonprofit community?
We have worked with nonprofits to sell their real estate, acquire desired properties, and provide general guidance.
7. This year, the collaborative will be a part of the Fast Pitch through Social Venture Partners, an organization whose two-fold mission is to catalyze significant long-term social change in Los Angeles through expanding the capacity of innovative nonprofits and cultivating effective and engaged philanthropists. Has your company been involved in any partnerships, nonprofits or otherwise that you’d like to feature?
We have been involved with many nonprofits, most deeply in recent times with Children Mending Hearts, which teaches empathy and combats bullying through service learning projects, and Kidsave, which places older foster children in permanent supportive homes.
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