What SSIF Supports
SSIF grants from SPIRE empower students to turn ideas into action.
Funding supports opportunities such as academic research, early-stage ventures, nonprofit internships, and industry training — helping students explore career pathways, build practical skills, and gain real-world experience in the built environment.
These experiences strengthen the talent pipeline that will shape the future of the industry and connect students to the broader SPIRE alumni community.
Melinda Ellis Evers (MBA ’93) and Ron Sturzenegger (’82) at their 2021 Stanford Real Estate
Hall of Fame induction, where they launched the Stanford Student Impact Fund.
Our Journey
Over $1 Million Raised
2021
Launch of the SSIF with founding support from Melinda Ellis Evers, Ron Sturzenegger, and sponsors from the 2021 Stanford Real Estate Hall of Fame.
2022
First student grant awarded.
2023
$420,000 raised at the 2023 Hall of Fame; 9 student grants awarded.
2024
11 student grants awarded.
2025
SSIF funding exceeds its $1 million endowment goal, with $435,000 raised during the 2025 Hall of Fame; 10 grants awarded.
2026
Grant awards due out by the end of March 2026.
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Grantee Highlights
Kit Switch
Fast, Affordable, Sustainable Interiors
Grant focus
Kit Switch transforms existing buildings into homes by redesigning interior spaces, aiming to close the housing gap through adaptive reuse. The company offers stylish, easy-to-install, ready-made interior products that significantly reduce the time and cost of residential conversions.
SPIRE launched the SSIF program with its Kit Switch grant. The team used the funding to develop both hardware and software prototypes.
Grant amount
$5,000
Gremix (now PHNX Materials):
Scalable, Affordable, Sustainable Concrete
Grant focus
New York’s Mayor and Governor unveiled a plan to revitalize
the City, partly by growing its urban technology sector. With SPIRE support for her living expenses, Nancy worked under the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and the NYC Economic Development Corporation, interviewing 16 government agencies.
Her findings, published in the Pilot: New York City report, helped New York City develop a more agile process for adopting innovation. Recommendations included the creation of an interagency working group, a “front door” portal for the urban innovation sector, and a database of the City’s urban innovation needs.
Grant amount
$6,000
BuildQ:
From Energy Efficiency to Enterprise AI for the Energy Sector
Grant focus
BuildQ began with the goal of helping property owners identify incentives for energy-efficient upgrades, launching its first website with SSIF support. Since then, it has evolved into a full-scale enterprise AI platform for the energy sector, raising venture capital and securing millions in contracts within five months of its initial pilots.
Grant amount
$7,500
Thank You
This impact was made possible by:
555 International & New Star Lighting/Paul Ohadi
A.J. and Roswitha Agarwal
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
Argosy Real Estate Partners/David Butler
Loryn Arkow
Mike Armstrong
Artemis Real Estate Partners
ATC Partners/Michael Halper
Aventine Development Corporation/Chad Hagle
Bank of America
Jodi and Gary Beasley
John Bellack
Jeff Birdwell
Jim Blake
Craig Blanchard
Lisa and Wayne Brandt
Bridge Partners/Steve & Roxy Klein
Dan Broderick
David Brody
Jim Buie
Malin Burnham
Calzada Capital Partners
Carmel Partners/Ron Zeff
CBRE Investment Management
CenterPoint/Jim Clewlow
Clark Pacific/Don Clark
George Clever
Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP
Ryan Cotton
Crow Holdings/Ken Valach
Cushman & Wakefield
Putnam Daily
Holly and Mike Depatie
Devcon/Kinh Curotto
Ken Diekroeger
DivcoWest/Stuart Shiff
DLA Piper LLP/Thanos Matthai, Jeffrey Zanchelli and Emma Whenham
Steve Dostart
Drawbridge Realty/Mark Whiting
Dune Real Estate Partners/Dan Neidich
Eastdil Secured/Jeff Weber
Steve and Karen Ellis
Ellis Partners
DivcoWest/Stuart Shiff
DLA Piper LLP/Thanos Matthai, Jeffrey Zanchelli and Emma Whenham
Steve Dostart
Drawbridge Realty/Mark Whiting
Dune Real Estate Partners/Dan Neidich
Eastdil Secured/Jeff Weber
Steve and Karen Ellis
Ellis Partners
Melinda Ellis Evers and Will Evers
Mesa West Capital
Milestone Holdings/Dave Christensen
Nevada West Development/Martin Egbert
Northmarq/Jeffrey Weidell
NOVO Construction/Arne Ericson
John O'Brien
Brasa Capital Management LLC/Eric Samek
Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP
Ryan Cotton
Crow Holdings/Ken Valach
Cushman & Wakefield
Putnam Daily
Holly and Mike Depatie
Devcon/Kinh Curotto
Ken Diekroeger
Drawbridge Realty/Mark Whiting
Dune Real Estate Partners/Dan Neidich
Eastdil Secured/Jeff Weber
Steve and Karen Ellis
Ellis Partners
Melinda Ellis Evers and Will Evers
Mesa West Capital
Milestone Holdings/Dave Christensen
Nevada West Development/Martin Egbert
Northmarq/Jeffrey Weidell
NOVO Construction/Arne Ericson
John O'Brien
Brasa Capital Management LLC/Eric Samek
Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP
Ryan Cotton
Crow Holdings/Ken Valach
Cushman & Wakefield
Putnam Daily
Holly and Mike Depatie
GI Partners
Hana Hardy Gunther
Julie Gutzwiller
Harrison Street/Dean Egerter
Holland & Knight/Tamsen Plume
Hines
IDS Real Estate Group/David Mgrublian
Invesco/Charlie Rose
Jeff and Marian Jacobson
Amy Johannes
Rodney Johnson
Jasper Ridge Partners/Rick Hayes
JLL/Geoff Tranchina
JLL Capital Markets/Kevin MacKenzie and Alex Witt
JPMorgan/Alex Mast
Kearny Real Estate Company/Jeff Dritley
Bill Koman
Kristen and Spencer Kirk
Latham & Watkins LLP/Joe Margolis
Janet and Steve Laver
Ken Lawler
LBA Realty/Phil Belling
Hanns Lee
Lowe/Bob, Mike and Rob Lowe
Lubin Olson & Niewiadomski LLP/Rick Caine
Jair Lynch
Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth/Jamie Coughlin
Magnuson Family Foundation/Allison and Rick Magnuson
Buzz McCoy
Patrick McDowell
Bob McNamara
Susan and John Meaney
Menlo Equities/Rick Holmstrom
Merlone Geier Partners
Extra Space Storage
Darla Flanagan
First Republic Bank
Raymond and Suzanne Flores
Bob Foley
Flynn Properties Inc./Lorin Cortina & Greg Flynn
Chris Freise
Gaia Real Estate
Cathy and Brad Geier
OneWorld Group/Lili Wang
Orchard Partners, LLC/Mike Biggar
Meris Ota
Pacific Development Partners, LLC/Mark Burger
RJ Pittman
Preston Companies/David Heslop
Prime Group/John Atwater
Project Management Advisors, Inc.
Prologis/Hamid Moghadam
ProspectHill Group/Greg Hartman
RedTap/Chad Hagle
Andy Richard
Rosendin/Mike Holmes
Ralph Rosenberg
Ben Rowe
RSF Partners/Chris Mahowald
Dan and Jaclyn Safier Family Foundation
Sares Regis/Drew Hudacek
Nicole Sermier
Stanfield Partners/David Knowles
Stanford Real Estate/Tiffany Griego
Peter Steil
Matt Stern
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
Ron and Lisa Sturzenegger
Swanson Rink/Gary Orazio
Lydia Tan
Patrick Tooley
Tourmaline/Jonathan Cheng
U.S. Bank/Rich Daniel and Chris Osborn
Wagonhound Holdings/Andrea Nicholas Perdue
Walters & Wolf/Christopher Wolf
Wells Fargo
Westcore/Don Ankeny
White Star Real Estate/Brian Patterson
Polly and Bracken White
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP/Misty Sanford and Andrés Cantero Jr.
Athelia and Ken Woolley
George Yandell
Elizabeth Youngblood
Mark and Nancy Zytko
Their generosity transformed a bold idea into a lasting legacy in just four years.