Investors gathered on June 20 for a Serve Day at Rise Avalon, a multifamily community in Charlotte, NC, owned by Integrity Holdings Group (IHG). The quarterly event, organized by IHG co-founder Steven Libman, brought investors, operating partners, and leadership together for a day of resident engagement, including prayer walks, a community barbecue, bounce houses, and family programming. Rise 48 Equity, a co-investor on the property, also participated.
The Serve Day model, developed by Libman across IHG's portfolio, is now being carried into his new venture, Investing With Purpose. Each event focuses on giving back to residents, who are central to the investment. Activities include family fun days with bounce houses, obstacle courses, pool games, BBQ, raffles, photo booths, and live entertainment. Local small businesses, food trucks, fire departments, and community vendors join the investor team to provide a day of free meals, entertainment, and heartfelt interactions.
"We always talk about temporal returns and eternal returns," said Libman. "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. That is what today is about." Nick Stromwall of Rise 48 Equity added, "When you genuinely care about people and serve them, the returns come back and help the investors as well."
For investors like Matt Emerson, attending their first Serve Day shifted their perspective. "To put faces to all of it, to come and pray with the community – that is the biggest thing," he said. "It does actually make a difference where you live and how you get cared for."
The Purposed Care Initiative model, central to Libman's investment thesis through Investing With Purpose, posits that profit and purpose are causally connected. The firm combines institutional-calibre investment management with a faith-driven values framework. Learn more at investingwithpurpose.org.
