For Five Point Holdings LLC, community building is more than just developing land into residential neighborhoods.
The Irvine-based master developer (NYSE: FPH), valued at $374 million as of last week, annually supports a host of nonprofits in education, healthcare, innovation and housing—all of which help a community thrive, officials said.
Local beneficiaries of Five Point Holdings’ charitable initiatives this year include the Irvine Public Schools Foundation (IPSF), Irvine-based housing- and hunger-focused nonprofit Families Forward, Newport Beach-based business accelerator Octane and cancer research and treatment network City of Hope Orange County, which has a permanent home at FivePoint’s Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine.
Though FivePoint declined to disclose its total amount of charitable donations, its support for nonprofits goes beyond the checks it signs with volunteer work by not only employees but also residents of its Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine, which this year marked the 10th year anniversary of its first community.
Over 6,000 families now call the Great Park Neighborhoods home.
“When City of Hope cures another cancer patient, or Families Forward helps families establish permanent housing, or IPSF offers greater access to music education and grants to expand innovative teaching programs, the community benefits as a whole and becomes even stronger,” FivePoint CEO Dan Hedigan told the Business Journal.
By contributing to local nonprofits, “we want to offer a proof of concept that Irvine is a great place to live and work, and that it is a place where you can pursue and accomplish your dreams.”
FivePoint is one of 79 businesses featured in this week’s Buisness Journal listing of Companies That Care.
Caring for Kids
Several organizations on FivePoint’s roster of trusted nonprofits are dedicated to helping underprivileged kids, such as IPSF.
FivePoint this year once again sponsored IPSF’s largest annual fundraising event, the Spirit of Excellence Gala. FivePoint has been supporting the gala for over a decade, officials said.
The money raised from the event, which brought in over $5 million this year, goes to developing art, music and science school programs for Irvine’s student population of 36,000 as well as funding scholarships for the city’s low-income students.
“When other companies see that FivePoint supports us, they follow,” IPSF CEO Neda Eaton told the Business Journal. “By being leaders in endorsing us, they’re helping us out in more ways than they can imagine.”
Feeding the Needy
FivePoint is also a regular sponsor of the Light Up the Night Gala by Families Forward, which provides meals and housing for families in need.
The nonprofit held its gala this year in August at Irvine’s Great Park, adjacent to FivePoint’s Great Park Neighborhoods community, which counts over 6,200 homes and upon build-out, should have over 10,000 homes.
Last month, executives from the company packed ingredients for Thanksgiving meals, which Families Forward sent to over 900 families struggling with food insecurity, according to officials.
This month, FivePoint employees are volunteering in Families Forward’s Holiday Wish List program, which doles out gifts to children in low-income families.
“Their generosity every year is continuing to grow,” Families Forward CEO Madelynn Hirneise said of FivePoint’s donations. “The volunteer support from FivePoint has really allowed us to increase the number of families we connect with.”
Families Forward last year served over 14,000 children and adults, up from 10,000 a few years ago.
Health and Hope
Residents of FivePoint’s communities have also volunteered their time to local organizations.
The company this year mobilized families of its Great Park Neighborhoods to recognize the nurses and staff helping cancer patients at City of Hope OC.
Participating residents, from parents to schoolchildren, wrote letters and created drawings thanking nurses for their work. The notes were pasted onto the cancer network’s “Hope” letters on its OC campus, which is adjacent to FivePoint’s headquarters.
Beyond those little gestures of gratitude, FivePoint has been a “good neighbor” ever since the healthcare network planted its roots in the area in 2018 through an invitation by FivePoint founder Emile Haddad, City of Hope CEO Annette Walker told the Business Journal.
Efforts include allowing City of Hope to use FivePoint’s parking lot for overflow and helping the healthcare network get entitlements for its upcoming cancer hospital at the Great Park Neighborhoods.
City of Hope opened its 190,000-square-foot Lennar Foundation Cancer Center at the Great Park Neighborhoods last year, and is scheduled to open the adjacent hospital by 2025.
Fueling Innovation
While many of FivePoint’s nonprofits focus on supporting those who need help now, the company also assists organizations that aim to foster a better future through entrepreneurship.
FivePoint has regularly provided event venues and financial support to the foundation for Octane, whose LaunchPad capital funding program has helped companies raise $4.3 billion in funding.
The company earlier this year sponsored Octane’s Tech Innovation Forum in May and its Medical Innovation Forum in October.
“Both our organizations have a shared goal of increasing innovation and assuring Orange County is seen as a global hub of innovation,” Octane CEO Bill Carpou told the Business Journal.
