CLEVELAND - KeyBank and the Key Foundation today committed $50,000 to the CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Foundation, supporting the CREW Careers women's mentoring and educational program, and establishing a Global Senior Partner sponsorship. The announcement is in conjunction with the CREW Network national convention taking place this week in Atlanta, Ga.

Funded by Key since its inception three years ago,CREW Careers™: Building Opportunities is a hands-on classroom designed to open the eyes of teenage girls to the wide range of career opportunities available to them in the commercial real estate industry. Many of the programs are held in shopping centers where, instead of 'hanging out at the mall,' girls learn about the finance, development, brokerage, entitlement and architecture of the shopping center and other aspects of the business of commercial real estate. CREW Network chapters deliver these programs jointly with local girl's groups such as Girls Inc. or Girl Scouts, in one-day or multi-week courses focusing on local real estate projects that illustrate all career types.

Key's philanthropic endeavors encourage people and communities to achieve economic self-sufficiency through support of financial education and workforce development programs fostering diversity and inclusion. Aligned with this strategy, CREW Careers has the potential to change the lives of the young women who participate, according to Roberta Fuhr, senior vice president and northwest regional manager, KeyBank Real Estate Capital.

"Girls don't generally hear, 'Why don't you study finance? What about a career as a real estate developer?' This program focuses on presenting possibilities. Introducing young women to a potential career in commercial real estate is providing them with a perspective that they are unlikely to receive from family, friends or at school," says Fuhr, who is also a member of the CREW Foundation board of trustees, and the president-elect of the Seattle Chapter of the CREW Network. "This is not a traditional field for women. According to the CREW-researched Women in Commercial Real Estate Survey-2005, even amongst women in the industry with more than 20-years experience, only 23% hold senior management positions. To change this, we must be proactive in recruiting the future leaders of our industry, and CREW Careers is a way to do that during the high school years, as young women are exploring future career paths." According to the same survey, women represent approximately 36% of professionals in commercial real estate, but earn significantly less than their male peers.

Key supports women's programs and women business owners throughout the country through Key4Women, which provides access to capital; customized service; financial tools and relevant networks. In addition to CREW, Key is a member and sponsorship of eWomen Network, the Women's President Organization (WPO), the Center for Women's Business Research, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and CREW on both a national network level and through involvement in local chapters.

KeyBank Real Estate Capital:
KeyBank Real Estate Capital is the nation's third-largest commercial real estate capital provider with nearly $22 billion in annual financings. It provides construction and interim loans, mezzanine financing, private equity, commercial mortgages, investment banking and loan sales and syndications services nationwide for virtually all property types. Its 1,000 financing professionals serve a national client base through 36 locations in major U.S. markets. KeyBank Real Estate Capital is a business unit of KeyBank National Association, a subsidiary of Cleveland-based KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY).

Key Foundation:
Key Foundation is a private foundation funded by KeyCorp. Annual grants and matching gifts are given by the foundation to charitable organizations in the communities that Key serves. Grants from Key Foundation principally support organizations and institutions that promote economic independence through financial education and workforce initiatives that foster diversity and inclusion. Visit https://www.key.com/html/A-12.html to access Key's 2005 Report on Philanthropic Investment, or download the report directly at https://www.key.com/pdf/philanthropicir.pdf.

Contact Key Foundation Senior Program Officer Quentin McCorvey at 216.689.5505, or quentin_mccorvey@keybank.com, for more information about corporate grants.

Visit the KeyCorp page on Corporate Social Responsibility Wire at http://www.csrwire.com/companyprofile?id=993 for a compilation of news releases about the company relative to philanthropic investment, diversity, community development, corporate governance, environment, business ethics, human rights, and workplace issues.

KeyCorp:
Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $95 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally.

Note to Editors: For up-to-date company information, media contacts and facts and figures about Key's lines of business, visit our Media Newsroom at Key.com/newsroom.

KeyBank

KeyBank

KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $176.2 billion at March 31, 2021. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,100 branches and more than 1,400 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC. 

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