Kimco Realty will honor its innovative and inclusive co-founder and executive chairman, Milton Cooper, by funding a real estate scholarship award through the ICSC Foundation in his name, geared in part toward students from underrepresented groups in the industry.

Kimco and the ICSC Foundation are announcing the $110,000 Milton Cooper Trailblazer in Real Estate Award, which will include 10 individual $10,000 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students interested in the industry for the 2023-24 academic year. The awards include an additional $1,000 stipend to finance each recipient’s travel and hotel expenses to ICSC LAS VEGAS 2023. The ICSC Foundation will administer and market the scholarships.

Kimco has stipulated that at least half the scholarships be awarded to groups underrepresented in the industry, including women, ethnic/racial minorities, veterans and members of the LGBTQ community, said Kimco executive vice president and chief human resources officer Leah Landro.

Starting in late January, scholarships will be marketed broadly to ICSC’s 60-plus University Partners, 7,000-plus student members, dozens of schools serving large percentages of underrepresented students and other nonprofit organizations striving to create more diversity in the industry. “Scholarships will be balanced between academic merit and financial need and will be open to undergraduate and graduate students alike who have at least a 3.0 grade point average,” said Landro.

The gift in honor of Cooper “is a tremendous value add,” said ICSC Foundation president Lauri Novick. Typically, a similar-size gift would provide $10,000 in scholarships for 10 consecutive years instead of 10 one-year scholarships simultaneously. This makes a huge statement that Kimco is committed to making a difference, she said. The additional $1,000 gifts that allow recipients to attend the ICSC event “are significant because they offer something that the classroom cannot provide,” said Novick. “At ICSC LAS VEGAS, students meet so many people who can help jump-start their career.”

Kimco president and chief investment officer Ross Cooper seconds that sentiment, recalling his attendance at the annual Las Vegas event during his high school and college years, marveling at his grandfather Milton’s dealmaking acumen and the sheer volume of people he knew. “He was always a huge celebrity there,” Ross Cooper recalled. Milton Cooper, considered the founding father of the modern REIT industry after Kimco’s hugely successful IPO in 1991, co-founded Kimco in 1960.

Investments in the next generation are imperative, given that Millennials are underrepresented in the business by 11% compared to the general U.S. work population, according to the ICSC Foundation. “Our goal is to build a pipeline of talent to drive the Marketplaces Industry forward,” said Novick.

Since 2018, the nonprofit ICSC Foundation has given out $1.5 million in academic scholarships, and 75% of graduates have pursued real estate after graduation. Sixty percent of current scholarship recipients identify as racially diverse or women, according to the Foundation. In 2023, ICSC will award approximately 100 scholarships totaling nearly $500,000, including the Milton Cooper Trailblazer in Real Estate Award Novick said.

The ICSC Foundation’s Talent Incubator Project offers not only scholarships, but also other initiatives to help students gain entry into the industry, including a mentorship program, career workshops, real estate financial modeling skills, networking opportunities, university partnerships and Launch Academy internships, designed to recruit and prepare students of color for careers in the Marketplaces Industry. “We have developed a network of support for incoming talent, which is essential to the future of our business,” said Novick.

Not only are these scholarships and other incubators driving new talent to the field, “they’re also creating diversity in an industry that historically was predominantly white male,” Novick said. “It is critical that the industry diversifies to reflect the communities it serves. It is a moral imperative, as well.”

ICSC and its members like Kimco “have been stepping up in a big way because they recognize that the future of the business will come by engaging young people,” Novick said. “Competition for talent is strong, and many students don’t quite comprehend the difference between residential, retail and commercial real estate and the numerous opportunities available, such as asset management, property management, finance, brokerage, marketing, law and so many others,” she said. “We are working to provide the education and the entry points.”

The new Kimco scholarships are part of the company’s $1 million annual giving goal, which includes support of small businesses and other charitable causes in the communities in which it operates. “With these scholarships, it’s nice to honor Milton Cooper, who has meant so much to Kimco and the industry,” Landro explained. “ It’s something he will be proud of because, in essence, it helps to set up the next generation.”