Suzanne Sunshine has left the world of global brokerages to launch her own agency.
Driven by a single-minded passion to serve the nonprofit sector, the 25-year industry veteran has launched S. Sunshine & Associates LLC. The full-service brokerage handles office, retail, industrial leasing, acquisitions and sales exclusively for non-profits. The firm also provides strategic planning and financial analysis.
In a corporate practice considered unique in the commercial real estate world, S. Sunshine & Associates donates a percentage of all fees back to its clients.
"To be able to achieve its mission, a nonprofit organization must make the right decisions about real estate," said Sunshine, the firm's president. "Non-profits benefit from the counsel of an experienced professional who understands their mission and can also maximize the value of their real estate, a major item on their balance sheets."
Having long desired to oversee an independent brokerage, Sunshine's business model gives her the freedom to be selective about the organizations she represents. Operating a boutique brokerage also provides her with the financial flexibility to donate a portion of her commissions back to her clients. Sunshine had never before been able to make such a philanthropic gesture, having always worked for large brokerage firms that consistently assumed the majority of her fees.
"I have a life-long devotion to non-profits, which constitute a wonderful and vital component of the city's economy," said Sunshine, who comes from a long line of successful entrepreneurs. "The time was right for me to create a new kind of brokerage that would serve this critical sector in a way that benefits everyone. As nonprofits struggle to make it through the recession, my company offers both world-class real estate expertise, plus a fresh source of charitable support. My aim is to do well by doing good."
The company also offers residential real estate services for non-profit staff, volunteers and board members.
Sunshine previously served as VP of the New York nonprofit practice group at CB Richard Ellis. Prior to that, she was director of the New York non-profit advisory group at Cushman & Wakefield, where she developed its first specialized department for non-profits. Sunshine also provided tenant representation services to nonprofit organizations at Time Equities, and worked as executive VP for new business development at the Sunshine Group, a company led by her mother, Louise Sunshine.
Sunshine worked within the non-profit sector on behalf of Equitable Real Estate and the Local Initiatives Support Corp., where she helped the two organizations raise a total of $125 million in support of inner-city neighborhoods.
Her clients have included the American Ballet Theatre, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Ms. Foundation for Women Poets & Writers, the Correctional Association of New York, Housing Works Thrift Shops, the Mental Health Association of NY, the Anne Frank Center, and many others.
Sunshine holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from Brown University and an MBA in real estate from Columbia University. She is married and has two children. Tags: