JLL Florida offices have created a permanently endowed fund with an initial investment of $25,000 to support the education of Florida A&M University students interested in pursuing careers in commercial real estate. The initiative is part of the company’s effort to increase diversity and inclusion in the commercial real estate industry,

The JLL Commercial Real Estate Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide two scholarships and aims to make transaction roles more accessible to new, early-career women and underrepresented brokers deterred from the industry’s commission-oriented structure.

“One way our industry can improve workforce diversity is to break down financial barriers preventing someone from pursuing a commercial real estate career,” said SVP of market operations in Florida LaShawn Bates. “Our goal is to provide FAMU students with greater early career support as they get started in the industry, and we hope our relationship with FAMU and this fund will be a recruiting source for us.”