New York-based mobility charity A Leg To Stand On’s Rocktoberfest event is going digital for 2020. ALTSO UK board member and AlphaWeek Managing Editor Greg Winterton spoke to Peter Riguardi, Chairman and President of the New York Region for real estate investor JLL, about how JLL got involved with this year’s Rocktoberfest as a lead sponsor.
GW: Peter, this is JLL’s first year sponsoring ALTSO and Rocktoberfest. Tell us how you got involved.
PR: Doug Newsome [Managing Director at Perkins Fund Marketing] is a personal friend of mine – we’ve known each other for years as we used to commute to Manhattan together from Rumson, NJ. He’s involved with ALTSO and told me about the organisation and the event; my son Nick plays in a band and I thought it would be a great way for him to get some exposure whilst supporting a great cause.
GW: Nick’s band is the Rooftop Trees. What can Rocktoberfest viewers expect?
PR: I’d describe them as popular rock, there is a little bit of Dave Matthews Band about them. They’re a professional band – all of their material is their original work. They’ve already released an album and are working on the follow up at the moment.
GW: Jones Lang LaSalle is a large multinational firm. What does it look for when supporting charitable causes?
PR: We’re global and very spread out so we tend to work with local organisations where we have a physical presence, i.e. an office and people on the ground. Also, we’re interested in building relationships. We don’t see charitable giving as a transactional endeavour. We want to create sticky relationships which endure.
GW: What is it about ALTSO specifically that resonates with you and JLL?
PR: We support organisations that have a meaningful agenda and purpose. There are many of those, obviously, so we look specifically for those organisations where most of the dollar that we donate makes its way to the front lines of the cause that the charity is supporting. ALTSO meets that criteria for us.
GW: Do you have any expectations for Rocktoberfest given that it’s in a digital format this year?
PR: I wouldn’t use the word ‘expectations’. Obviously, I’m looking forward to watching my son’s band but I’m a music fan and I’m also looking forward to seeing the other bands and how the event unfolds online more generally. It’ll certainly be different and of course the in-person events aren’t possible this year, but I think that ALTSO has been really creative given the constraints they are working under and I think it’ll be fun.