When Chris Trapani and Ryan Iwanaga, both Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo graduates, decided to start their own real estate company, they wanted to make meaning. They dreamed of leveraging their for-profit company to do good and extraordinary things and to influence others to do the same. Eleven years later, it is clear their mission has been a success with a firm of 330 agents donating close to $500,000 per year to local charitable organizations.

As a result of their vision and their commitment to the community, Chris Trapani was awarded Alumnus of the Year by the Cal Poly College of Liberal Arts. He accepted this award as CEO of Sereno Group and on behalf of the 330 agents at the company that share the same vision of using their real estate career to give back to the community they serve.

Chris was honored to have the above video play during an awards ceremony attended by many business owners, faculty, administration, recipients families, and students. The giving message was broadcast beyond well beyond our small group. According to Chris, “It was all somewhat of an out of body experience recognizing that our expanded influence is a fulfillment of a dream we set in motion long ago. There is no telling how many people hearing our message, and perhaps the current students, who will be impacted and set out to establish their own community impact programs throughout their professional lives as a result.”

Sereno Group’s goal is to reach $1 Million per year in annual giving in the next 3-5 years and has hired a Director of Philanthropy and Engagement, Kirsty Duncan, to help accelerate this process. The focused hire has also successfully advised our grant recipients on how to use Sereno Group’s 1% For Good commitments to raise matching grants to aid their fundraising efforts. We look forward to reaching our goal through building relationships and aligning with other Realtors that share our vision and are committed to our mission.