Cultivating community connection.

That’s the philosophy behind a growing movement in the property management world. Building Impact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, is the driving force behind one such effort. The nonprofit group partners with building owners and property managers to offer tenants opportunities to give something back to their communities.

Mobilization is the key to success for the organization, which has worked with about 250 companies and 8,000 individuals in 30 buildings. Building Impact, through building owners and managers, delivers information about volunteer events, donation drives and fund-raisers to tenant companies and their employees on a monthly basis. When employees volunteer their time or donate goods, those resources are routed directly to Building Impact’s nonprofit partner organizations.

“Unlike other models, every hour, dollar and can of food goes back to our nonprofit partners,” said Lisa Guyon, Building Impact’s executive director. “One hundred percent of what we generate goes to them.”

The organization, which has a full-time staff of three, seeks to break down perceived barriers to civic engagement by making it easy for tenants of commercial properties to get involved.

“People spend the majority of their time at work, so we bring this to them,” said Kevin McCall, president and chief executive officer of Paradigm Properties, one of Building Impact’s founding real estate partners. “This provides a springboard and taps into the well of opportunity to engage.”

Paradigm owned one building in 1998 when Community Servings, a nonprofit that delivers meals to critically ill residents of Greater Boston, caught the company’s attention with its Pie in the Sky program, in which Thanksgiving pies are prepared by Boston’s bakeries, restaurants and caterers, and sold to the public to benefit Community Servings’ clients. Now, Paradigm’s 12 buildings participate in the program through Building Impact, which results in the sale of about 350 pies in one week before the holiday to people who might never have thought to participate in the program had they not been informed of the opportunity at work.

“We are a way for nonprofits to tap into a much broader audience than they would reach on their own,” McCall said. “We become an extension of their recruiting efforts. If we can provide volunteers, we make the whole nonprofit sector more efficient.”

David Begelfer, chief executive officer of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), called Building Impact “a unique concept because what they’re doing is a great advantage for a lot of buildings. It creates a community within the tenant base.”

The interaction generated throughout the buildings is good for owners and managers, Begelfer said, because tenants want to be included. It fosters a friendly, satisfactory environment. “When you have employee satisfaction, you have tenant satisfaction and that means people don’t want to leave,” he said.

‘People Are Hungry’

Building Impact’s founders have long been aware of the desire among commercial property tenants to build work communities. The organization was formally incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit group in 2003, but even in the group’s formative years before that it was clear small to medium-sized companies had the urge to become involved in their communities but perceived barriers to mobilizing. According to Guyon, “They were thinking, ‘What’s the point of doing something if there is no impact?'”

But Building Impact’s monthly events have demonstrated the significant effects engagement can have. Focusing on four key community issues – youth and education; job training; community health; and hunger and housing – along with special holiday activities, the organization’s efforts benefit just about everyone in communities ranging from the downtown Boston area to Framingham.

The 15 nonprofits Building Impact counts as partners leverage the money raised better than other organizations would, Guyon said. In 2006, more than $400,000 was raised through new community impact, which is measured in volunteer hours, donated goods and cash raised. By 2010, Building Impact hopes to be raising $2.5 million to $3 million in donations annually and working with 170 buildings, including multifamily properties.

The expansion already has begun, thanks to commercial connections that have been made. Building Impact works with eight commercial properties owned by another founding real estate partner, Newton-based National Development. Donald Morrisey, senior vice president of property management at the company, plans to incorporate the program into a 350-unit residential complex under development in Burlington.

The level of involvement as a property manager is fairly minimal, Morrisey said. Building Impact introduces his tenants to outlets for participating in community outreach and they take it from there.

The “three-pronged approach” to getting people involved, Guyon said, incorporates volunteering, philanthropy (donating goods or money) and community-issue education. “We don’t just go to a company that is doing nothing and ask them to get involved on a hosting-an-event level,” she said. “It takes cultivation and baby steps.” But once the fire has been lit, she noted, people don’t need much of a push.

“People are hungry for this,” Guyon said. “Building Impact has constant presence in buildings. We bring it nine-tenths of the way and it [couldn’t be] any easier for tenants.”

Each month, there are events focusing on varying themes. Over the summer and into the fall, there is a backpack drive to benefit kids who don’t have the school supplies they need. In January and February, with a focus on community health and personal wellness, Building Impact promotes blood drives, health screenings and volunteer activities that promote physical activity.

According to Morrisey, his tenants inquire a month or two in advance about what’s coming up next. They also have started contributing their own ideas.

The latest trend Guyon and McCall have noticed is that as landlords sell commercial properties, tenants are requesting that the programs stay put.

“Everyone we talk to says, ‘That sounds great, can you come to my building?'” McCall said. “Companies want to communicate their involvement to investors and customers. Surveyed consumers would rather do business with companies they believe are doing good in the community.”

Creating corporate citizens also has major benefits for property managers. It offers them teambuilding opportunities and a chance to get to know their tenants on a human level.

“They spend so much time dealing with complaints and people who are unhappy,” McCall said. “This gives them a chance to work with people on something positive.”

There also is tremendous potential for generating good will from the public, Morrisey said. One benefit is that Building Impact includes his company’s logo in its monthly newsletter.

Building Impact seeks to get as many people directly involved as possible. The organization is planning on hiring two community connectors this year who will build relationships with tenants and be responsible for finding Building Impact ambassadors in each tenant company. The ambassadors will act as the internal points of contact, hanging signs in company elevators and other common areas, and distributing newsletters and e-mails. During a 2006 pilot project to test the success of community connectors, 58 companies out of 66 appointed Building Impact ambassadors.

“It’s a great opportunity for everyone to do the right thing,” NAIOP’s Begelfer said.