On June 20, investors in a faith-driven multifamily firm traded spreadsheets for shovels and prayer walks at Rise Avalon, an Integrity Holdings Group (IHG)-owned community in Charlotte, NC. The quarterly Serve Day, organized by Steven Libman, co-founder of IHG and founder of Investing With Purpose, brought together investors, operating partners and leadership for a full day of on-site resident engagement. The event included prayer walks, a community barbecue, bounce houses and family programming, with Rise 48 Equity, a co-investor on the property, also participating.
The Serve Day model, which Libman helped develop across IHG’s portfolio, is now being carried forward into Investing With Purpose as the firm builds its own residential communities. Each event is designed to give back to the residents at the heart of the investment. Families gathered for a Community Family Fun Day featuring bounce houses, obstacle courses, pool games, BBQ, raffles, photo booths and live entertainment. Local small businesses, food trucks, fire departments and community vendors joined the investor team, creating a day that offered something for everyone — from a free meal and entertainment to heartfelt conversations or prayer for those who needed it.
For investors, the event provided a tangible expression of what the firm means by “capital meets calling.” Libman emphasized the dual focus on temporal and eternal returns. “Every resident who pays rent here is contributing to investor returns. But can we also show them the eternal return – the people, the names, the faces on site,” he said. Nick Stromwall of Rise 48 Equity echoed the sentiment, noting that community managers who know the residents can help align service with returns. “When you genuinely care about people and serve them, the returns come back and help the investors as well,” Stromwall said.
For first-time attendees, meeting residents shifted their understanding of the investment. “To put faces to all of it, to come and pray with the community – that is the biggest thing,” said investor Matt Emerson. “It does actually make a difference where you live and how you get cared for.” The Purposed Care Initiative model that Libman has built is central to the investment thesis he advances through Investing With Purpose — that profit and purpose are causally connected. The firm’s approach is summarized as: “We invest in real estate. We care for communities. We grow returns – Purposed.”
Investing With Purpose is a faith-driven multifamily real estate firm based in Bluffton, SC, that invests in multifamily assets nationally, combining institutional-caliber investment management with an intentional values framework.
