CBRE Event In Washington, D.C., Fosters Local Business Partnerships While Raising Money For Charity

Commercial real estate vendors need exposure to a large social network of brokers and property management professionals. These relationships offer vendors increased visibility and the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities, while brokers benefit from having a trustworthy partner they can count on to get their projects over the finish line.

Traditional networking opportunities take the form of happy hours, golf outings or similar industry events. 

CBRE’s Washington, D.C., office, however, has taken things to the next level. As the world’s largest CRE brokerage firm, CBRE wanted to provide an opportunity for vendors to showcase their services and products in a meaningful way that would also benefit the CRE community. 

That’s when the idea for CBRE Cares Vendor Marketplace came to fruition.

“We’re one of the biggest spenders in our industry, so vendors are always looking for a way to get in front of us to promote their services,” said Jhon Pacheco, a first vice president in CBRE's Washington, D.C., office. “We wanted a way to leverage our relationships and raise money for good causes, so we said, ‘Hey, how about you come and sponsor a table at our vendor fair? All the proceeds will go to CBRE Cares, our philanthropy program, and you get to be in a room with 200 of our leaders.’”

The response was overwhelmingly positive, with CBRE’s first vendor marketplace event taking place in 2024, Pacheco said. 

Hosted at The Warner building in downtown Washington, D.C.,  the event brought close to 100 vendors and nonprofit organizations together from all over the DMV. It ultimately raised about $65K for local charities such as the Central Union Mission, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington and the Capital Area Food Bank. 

For this year’s event on May 6, however, the CBRE team made a few changes to raise even more money for charities, Pacheco said.

“In 2024, we hosted the event on one of the megafloors at the CBRE-managed Warner building, which is close to 50K SF,” he said. “The feedback we got was that it was too spread out and didn't feel very lively at times. This year, we selected a smaller space in the same building and capped the number of vendors so they would all have prime positioning. We then raised the fee accordingly.”

The results of this strategic recalibration? Greater participation from the CBRE team and more money raised for local charities. The 2025 CBRE Cares Vendor Marketplace was a massive success, Pacheco said.

CBRE’s goal was for 150 of its leaders to attend. In actuality, 225 CBRE leaders attended, and the event raised $125K, surpassing its original goal of $90K. This is an impressive number, Pacheco said, particularly since CBRE capped the number of participants to foster more meaningful engagement.

“Thanks to the dedication of our CBRE Cares volunteers, who worked tirelessly to minimize expenses, including securing complimentary access to the event space and rooftop, we were able to ensure that every dollar raised went further in supporting our cause,” Pacheco said.

Fifty vendor booths lined the space, including two nonprofits: the Washington English Center and StreetWise Partners. The Washington English Center offers English language coursework and workforce programs for immigrants, and StreetWise Partners provides career mentorship and services to underserved communities in the region. These two organizations were chosen because of their direct relevance to the CRE industry, Pacheco said.

“Both of these organizations are fantastic, and we thought they would directly benefit from not just partnering with us but also getting in front of 48 different companies in the area that could help their missions,” he said.

The 2025 CBRE Cares Vendor Marketplace event started with the fair and raffle. Participants could go from booth to booth, fostering new connections and learning about new products and services. Raffle prizes included an Apple iPad Air, a Milwaukee tool kit, Yeti products and a Blackstone grill and accessories. The event ended with a reception on the rooftop terrace of The Warner. 

To ensure that participants and vendors made the most of the opportunity to connect, a “passport” was given to every attendee. If it was stamped by 20 vendors before the event ended, attendees would be entered into a drawing for tickets to a Capitals playoff game — something that really got the crowd excited, Pacheco said. 

“Every single response we've gotten so far from this year’s event was that it was so engaging,” Pacheco said. “Vendors found it to be very fruitful, making tons of new connections with our team members. It was a much more dynamic environment this year.”

Pacheco said the event has been such a hit that CBRE plans to host it annually in Washington.

“Now that we've really nailed the formula for this, we're hopeful we'll be able to increase the vendor cap as well as the sponsorship level,” Pacheco said. “Raising $200K next year as a team is a real possibility. We’re always looking at how we can raise more awareness for local vendors and money for charities in our city.” 

This article was produced in collaboration between the CBRE and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

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