The highly competitive Associates in Commercial Real Estate (
ACRE) program will now be offered annually, as opposed to every other year.
Theodore Lipscomb, executive director of the Milwaukee chapter of LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), made the announcement at the nonprofit’s annual MANDI awards ceremony late last week.
ACRE is an industry-supported professional training program that recruits and educates women and people of color for careers in commercial real estate. Notable graduates include Kevin Newell and Melissa Nicole Allen.
A community development financial institution (CDFI),
LISC Milwaukee administers the program in partnership with
Marquette University,
MSOE, and
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The last three cohorts graduated in 2019, 2021, and 2023. But thanks to a federal earmark and ongoing fundraising efforts, LISC and its partners say they now have enough funding to offer the program every year.
“This is a huge step forward for the program,” Lipscomb told the crowd.
By the end of the year, Lipscomb said LISC should have about $1 million to help support an annual ACRE program. That money comes from money LISC and its partners have raised via the Eppli Fund, which is named after ACRE founder and former Maquette professor Mark Eppli, and $750,000 in federal funds that LISC received with the sponsorship of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. The federal funds are targeted for early-stage pre-development costs of affordable housing projects led by emerging developers, including graduates of the ACRE program, Lipscomb said.
With the money now in hand, and ongoing fundraising efforts, LISC expects another 20-student cohort slated to begin classes this October.
“We are in the midst of the selection process now. We had 107 initial applicants. They took an entrance exam this week and finalists will be interviewed and reviewed by a panel,” Lipscomb said.
Students accepted into the program pay a $300 fee, but after that, their cost of attendance is ostensibly free. Fundraising covers the rest of the programming cost, which Lipscomb estimates is worth about $12,000 per individual when considering all program costs and in-kind support provided by partners.
Funds raised for the program support staffing costs, alumni networking, tours, events, continuing education offerings, conferences, technical assistance and/or project financing. In addition to helping LISC commit to annual cohorts, funds raised have allowed the nonprofit to hire Charles Clark as a dedicated program officer and expand alumni resources.
“We are continuously raising additional funds to augment the resources we have in-place,” Lipscomb said. “Additionally, LISC hopes to leverage our technical and financial support to ACRE graduates with additional financing for projects – this includes grants, loans and equity investments provided by LISC and/or our affiliate NEF (National Equity Fund).”
