Within the next 50 years, Earth will become a planet of cities. From São Paulo to Shanghai, Lagos to Los Angeles, today’s cities are no longer just places where people live. They are the active ingredient shaping how humanity evolves, how we work, how we connect, and how long we may ultimately thrive as a species. Arguably, few organizations are better positioned to contend with the challenges of a fast-urbanizing world than ULI.

Generosity of ULI Members, Partners Fuels Historic Drive for Transformative Global Impact

The Association for Real Property and Infrastructure (ARPI) has awarded a generous grant of $109,000 to the ULI Foundation to enhance cross-regional knowledge exchange and research related to infrastructure strategies, with a particular focus on collaboration between U.S. and British members. The ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate will administer the grant.

Recent gifts from Turner Construction Company Foundation, Huntington Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, and Walton Family fuel initiatives

In April, the Urban Land Institute welcomed Vincent Ilustre as the new president of the ULI Foundation, appointing him to lead philanthropic initiatives and strengthen donor engagement. Ilustre was drawn to the role by the strong connection members have with ULI. “There’s a genuine passion for this organization,” he said. “Members don’t just join ULI—they invest in it because it’s helped shape their professional journeys.”

Institute trustee and Foundation governor was a force in Denver real estate

Thomas W. Toomey, chairman and chief executive officer of UDR Inc., will become the new chair of the ULI Foundation on July 1, 2024. A longtime ULI member and chair of the ULI Global Board of Directors from 2017 to 2019, Toomey brings extensive leadership experience and a deep commitment to philanthropic support for ULI’s mission.

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.

Three longtime ULI leaders have joined up to donate a total of $17 million to launch the ULI Chair’s Fund. Douglas D. Abbey, James D. Klingbeil, and Thomas W. Toomey have created the unrestricted fund to give the Institute the flexibility to respond quickly to new opportunities as it delivers on its mission of shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide.

The ULI Foundation’s Annual Fund Campaign in 2013 concluded with a record-setting $1.5 million in donations—a 15 percent increase from the previous year, and a 77 percent increase from 2009, when Geoffrey Stack assumed chairmanship of the fundraising effort in the depths of the financial crisis.