When you think “champions of social impact,” you probably don’t think “the world of commercial real estate, of course!” But hey, maybe you shoul—or, at least, could.

We’ve partnered with Avison Young, a highly conscious real estate firm to support their Global Citizenship strategy and bring more visibility to the philanthropic work they’ve already had underway for quite some time.

One of the main drivers behind their use of GozAround was a desire for accurate data on all of the collective good they do in the world. And we do mean world, with offices in 70 cities around the globe, that is a lot of ground to cover and goodness to gather!  That data is useful for a few reasons. First, to share with staff to foster the spirit of contribution that runs to the core of Avison Young culture. Second, to communicate those contributions to current and prospective clients, and the public generally, to demonstrate the investment Avison Young makes in the communities they live and work in.  Until now, that information has been difficult and time consuming to collect.

GozAround’s technology allows people and organizations to both find community-service opportunities, and collect and use social-impact data.  We help companies keep up with the expectation that their corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not only quantifiable but transparent. This helps us help them stay globally competitive in a world that is fortunately growing more socially conscious by the day.

Avison Young’s corporate social responsibility, sustainability and philanthropy strategy falls under the umbrella name “Global Citizenship”, of which community support is a big part.

Rob Gritten, Principal at Avison Young explains that “at both the corporate and individual levels, Avison Young actively contributes resources to improve the communities in which we do business. This approach assists our clients when they are choosing their service provider, as the topic of philanthropy is often included in the requests for proposals that we respond to. Providing accurate and defendable data puts us in a leadership role amongst our peers, and in the recruitment and retention of employees.”

Rob Gritten, Principal, Avison Young

Most of Avison Young’s 2,600 employees in 84 offices volunteer on behalf of community causes. To help measure the actions of employees, the company will utilize the GozAround platform to deliver better, more easily managed community programs, and track philanthropic activities with greater accuracy, ease and confidence.

“Technology is allowing businesses of all sizes to give back more efficiently while measuring and sharing those contributions,” says our Founder and CEO Ben Block. “It is key to advancing the ways in which we are able to give back, innovate, provide relief and solve some of the world’s most pressing issues.”

We’re very proud that our software will help collect information about Avison Young’s philanthropic efforts, of which there are a lot.  In just their first few weeks of use, their team had already logged over 13,000 volunteer hours!

Ben Block (Our CEO)

Each location has identified a champion who will act as an ambassador of the GozAround initiative and assist with logging information for office-wide projects, and all of their employees are able to create a personal LinkedIn-style account to log their individual hours and donations.

Areas of focus for Avison Young are poverty, illness, animal welfare, secure housing, environmental conservation and preservation, homelessness, and more. By teaming up with GozAround, the firm can now enable staff to post activities, review custom reports, and provide clients and the public with confidence in the results.

“I personally hope this partnership with GozAround lights a fire in the bellies of our people and clients so that they think more often about helping, be more generous when they do, and have greater compassion for their fellow human beings as they travel through life,” adds Gritten.

Think we might be a fit for your business? Read on….