Originally published on January 25, 2024, by Ron Nren for UrbanLand Magazine. 

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 fulfill 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 the costs of attending 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.”