Giving Back to the Community

Cherokee's core mission is to improve the circumstances of people and places by rehabilitating commercial and residential properties.

But in addition, we also provide direct financial support for organizations that provide housing or subsidies to homeless US war veterans, and secure housing to domestic violence victims. We also directly support Habitat For Humanity and the American Cancer Institute.

Corporate Support

Cherokee also supports (financially and sometimes in other ways):

• Tax Collectors & Treasurers Association of New Jersey
  
• Northeast Regional Tax Collectors & Treasurers Association
• Government Finance Officers Associationthe New Jersey League of Municipalities
  
• League of California Cities

Contributing to Communities

Cherokee is committed to being a good corporate citizen, and to contributing to the improvement of the communities within which we work, and helping the people we work with. We define “success” as earning a profit in the process of helping people and neighborhoods.

As individuals, we all want to do the right thing. As capitalist investors, we must earn a profit, if for no other reason than needing the resources to maintain and manage our properties, pay our mortgages, create jobs, and continue to grow. At Cherokee we've learned how to harmoniously integrate our community development goals with robust profitability.

We fervently believe that there is no inherent conflict between socially responsible community development, and being a for-profit real estate investor. In fact we believe that the long term viability of our investments are enhanced as a result of our determination that our investment activities will improve the communities within which we own real estate and related financial assets.

When a neighborhood becomes more desirable, and attracts stable, responsible families, the value of virtually all the properties within that community are increased. Homes sell sooner, and for higher prices. Apartments rent faster, and for higher rents. There is more stability. Insurance and security costs decrease. Risk is reduced. So from a strictly parochial standpoint, it's in the best interests of a real estate investor like Cherokee to do whatever it can to help stabilize and improve the communities within which we have investments.

Just as some companies have discovered that being “green” can be profitable, Cherokee has refined a distressed real estate business model that enables us to safely expand a profitable investment portfolio, at the same time that we are promoting community development.

By reinforcing the long term economic viability and intrinsic desirability of the neighborhoods within which we own and manage commercial and residential properties, we are protecting the long term value of our own portfolio, as well as helping our neighbors.

More committed, dedicated neighbors protect our own property values. Better quality housing attracts more stable families, including those who will improve their own properties, and therefore the community. It's wonderfully contagious. We're often the one to"go first", and we passionately accept these challenges.