Approximately 100 million Americans rent their homes, and for most, the financial knowledge needed to transition to homeownership—how to build credit, save for a down payment, and reduce debt—was never taught. Steven Libman, founder of Investing With Purpose™, sees this as both a societal failure and an opportunity. Through 15 years of operating multifamily real estate, Libman has developed a faith-driven community investment model where financial literacy is a core resident service. This model is now being advanced through Investing With Purpose, with a live example at a property owned by Integrity Holdings Group (IHG), a firm Libman co-founded.
The wealth gap is stark: the average U.S. homeowner has a net worth exceeding $350,000, while the average renter has around $10,500. Libman argues this gap is not primarily about income but about knowledge, access, and compounding decisions made without proper information. He notes that people have been implicitly told that managing money is too complex, leading them to outsource their financial decisions to advisors and CPAs who rarely provide proactive guidance.
At a 418-unit property in Lubbock, Texas, owned and operated by IHG, a financial literacy program runs in partnership with Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Delivered by on-site ministry coordinators, the free program covers debt reduction, credit building, and savings strategies—foundational mechanics that most renters have never accessed in a structured way. This is part of the Asset Ministry Program framework that Investing With Purpose advances across its portfolio.
What makes the Lubbock program notable is that residents who complete it and meet qualifying milestones have a pathway to purchase their own unit—the property consists of individually deeded duplexes—moving from tenant to homeowner, and in some cases to landlord, within a realistic timeframe backed by local credit unions and banks. “Maybe the single mom who thought she would be renting forever is, two years later, a landlord,” says Libman. “That changes the trajectory for her and her kids.”
The model is not just philanthropy; it also drives asset performance. Properties running structured community engagement programs see lease attrition drop by 40 to 50 percent, as residents with strong social ties are significantly less likely to leave. Lower turnover reduces costs and stabilizes income. Investing With Purpose is also developing summer tutoring and kids’ programming to address learning gaps for children in multifamily housing.
While the Lubbock program is new and outcomes are still being tracked, the framework is replicable. Libman applies it across a growing portfolio through Investing With Purpose, raising a broader question: what responsibility do operators have to residents beyond maintenance and safety? For a faith-driven operator, Libman argues, the answer must go further. “Where people live affects almost everything their life touches,” he says. “The communities they are building, the people they are with, if we can impact somebody’s life inside a community, and then you see the butterfly effect of that, it is immeasurable.”
More information on the Asset Ministry Program and the firm’s broader community investment model is available at investingwithpurpose.org/impact.
