Mission

As a social enterprise, Socially Responsible Ventures L3C pursues a three-part mission—like a non-profit organization—but is organized and operated as a self-sustaining for-profit business. The business it is in is real-estate development. But the business was chosen to fulfill the mission. And so was its operating model. From its inception, the company's approach to the rehabbing and building of homes has been daringly—some have said radically—different. To get an overview of what the company does read this page. Read what’s “behind” the Learn More buttons for more of the substance.

Affordable Housing

When Socially Responsible Ventures L3C started out, it focused on the rehabilitation of apartments to increase the stock of affordable rentals. In 2021 the company pivoted to the ground-up construction of single-family homes that ordinary working and middle-class people can actually afford. Depending on the location and the model, they're usually priced between $250,000 and $400,000. The prices stay low because the houses are compact, ranging in size from 450 to 750 square feet; do not have a basement; feature uncomplicated designs; are built on small lots; and are not loaded with expensive, high-markup features and finishes. For a better understanding of the company's paradigm-shifting approach to affordable housing, click on the Learn More button.

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Second-chance Jobs

Socially Responsible Ventures L3C employs hybrid teams of highly skilled independent tradesmen and in-house crews of on-the-job trainees to do construction work. Most of the trainees are low-income individuals from marginalized communities—and many have been negatively impacted by the criminal justice system. Typically, these individuals have at least one felony conviction and have served time in jail or prison. Many are on probation or parole. For a fuller explanation of the company's one-of-a-kind training program, click on the Learn More button.

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Energy conservation

When Socially Responsible Ventures L3C began operations, if focused on the weatherization of apartment buildings to make them more energy-efficient. The company now specializes in the construction of what it calls EcoHomes: single-family homes that are all-electric, solar-powered, and net-zero, which means that, in any given 12-month period, the homes produce as much energy as their occupants consume. Until recently, getting to net-zero was seen by many as prohibitively expensive, if not impossible. Some still think that way. To find out how the company pulls it off, click on the Learn More button.

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FAQ

A social enterprise is a business with a higher purpose than making money.  It is mission-driven, like a non-profit organization, but it is operated as a business.  Many social enterprises, like SRV, employ the hard-to-employ, and a basic aim is to provide as many jobs as possible, so they tend to get into relatively labor-intensive businesses such as landscaping, property maintenance, construction, or food service.

Few social enterprises generate a profit, bringing in too little revenue to cover all their expenses.  That’s why most require operating subsidies in the form of individual donations, grants from charitable foundations, or government agency funding.

A generation ago there were relatively few social enterprises but the idea has taken off and now there are more and more of them.  As often as not, social enterprises are started by non-profit organizations wanting to employ those they serve.

It stands for “low-profit limited liability company.”  It’s a special variant of the limited liability company (LLC) created for social enterprises.  It shows that the company, while a for-profit enterprise, cares about things other than making money.  It only exists in certain states.  One of them happens to be Illinois, where Socially Responsible Ventures L3C is headquartered and does business.

Weatherization is the retrofitting of a property to make it more energy-efficient.  This involves so-called air sealing—basically, blocking currents of air, such as those that flow under doors and around windows—so that heated indoor air does not leak out of a home in the winter, and so that hot outdoor air does not find its way into a home in the summer.  Very few homes, especially older ones, are as “tight” as they could be.  Weatherization also involves adding or improving insulation.  Most homes could use more insulation too; some built before 1940 have no insulation at all, even in the attic.

SRV focused on weatherizing existing properties before it started building net-zero homes from the ground up.

It means that, in any given 12-month period, a building produces as much energy as its occupants consume.   If the energy is produced using photovoltaic solar panels, during the summer months there is usually an energy surplus, with the extra electricity either stored in batteries on site or sent to the power grid, while during the winter months there is usually an energy deficit, which has to be met using electricity stored in the batteries or drawn from the power grid.  For the full 12-month period, however, the amounts of electricity produced and consumed are the same.

Yes, it’s quite feasible.  SRV’s homes are designed to be powered by photovoltaic solar panels—the kind that generate electricity.  And everything in the home is powered by electricity.  The trick is to make sure that the home and its occupants use as little electricity as possible, without reducing functionality or sacrificing comfort.  The structure’s thermal envelope, or “shell,” has to be very well insulated and have very few air leaks.  And its mechanical systems (heating and cooling equipment, water heater), its appliances (stove, oven, washer, dryer), and its light fixtures have to be very energy-efficient.

Not any longer.  Many green solutions now cost the same, or even less, up front—and they save money on utility bills, year after year, for as long as they remain in service.  At this point, whether the concern is the budget or the environment, it doesn’t make much sense not to adopt them.  

During the 70s, 80s, 90s, and even 00s, it was often the case that green alternatives cost 10-25% more upfront, with the additional cost recouped through energy savings over a “payback” period of five, ten, or twenty years.  

The technology has evolved quickly, however, and prices have come down dramatically.  For example, the cost of one watt of power produced by solar panels has come down from around $77 in 1977 to as low as 13 cents today, while the cost of solar panels has come down around 90% since 2010.  

There are also products on the market now that didn’t exist then (or did exist but hadn’t yet been adopted in the United States).  One example is residential heating and cooling systems based on air-source heat-pump technology (sometimes called “mini-split systems”), common for decades in Europe and Asia but largely unknown in America until recently.  These use roughly 60% less energy than a gas-powered forced-air heating system of 95% efficiency—but they produce the same amount of heat.  They’re “standard” in SRV homes.  Most consumers and, regrettably, many in the construction industry haven’t even heard of them.

affordable housing

SRV’s homes are also affordable in the sense that they dramatically lower utility bills.  Because the homes are all-electric, there’s no gas service and there’s no gas bill.  And because the homes can make most or all of the electricity their occupants consume, the electricity bills are spectacularly low, with estimated annual savings of $1,500 or more.  That leaves only the water bill. For details of the energy-saving features of SRV homes, see the section on energy conservation and/or the FAQ.

It’s widely known that many residential developers—unless they’re receiving public subsidies—set out to build homes that achieve the “highest and best” use of the lots they acquire.  In practical terms, this usually means they build the biggest and most expensive homes that the zoning will allow.  The reason is simple:  the bigger the house, the higher the price, and the larger the profit.  Affordability, as such, isn’t always given much thought.  If the biggest house that can be built costs x they tend to cater to buyers who can afford x.

SRV flips the script, starting with the price point it wants to offer buyers, then designing a house that can be offered at that price.  The company has calculations related to area median income built right into its costing model.  In practical terms, this usually means it ends up building the biggest “small” house its target buyers can afford—in terms of footprint, something between a “tiny house” and a 1950s ranch.  

But it’s a “small” house that lives pretty big—with high ceilings, an open floor plan, large windows, and innovative space-saving features such as pocket doors (doors that disappear into a wall).  Our smallest model is shown in the 3D rendering in the photo gallery on the Home page.

second-chance jobs

Beyond the “hard” skills of construction, the on-the-job training includes “soft” ones such as job-site math and blueprint reading.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Following a comprehensive program design almost unheard of in the arena of workforce development, the company requires trainees to spend up to one full day per week participating in customized, one-on-one coaching and “doing” sessions—in areas such as personal finance, micro-entrepreneurship, and household-level climate action—and to work diligently towards concrete milestones as a condition of continued employment.  Depending on the individual, these might include:

  • recovering a revoked driver’s license—by paying off tickets in installments
  • finding out if it’s possible to seal or expunge a criminal record—then, if it is, doing it
  • getting off the banking industry’s “blacklist” (ChexSystems)—then opening a checking account
  • building credit—then tracking it monthly
  • establishing a household budget—then tracking it weekly
  • opening a retirement account—then making monthly contributions to it
  • planning to make a down payment on the purchase of a car—then setting aside funds monthly
  • planning to make a down payment on the purchase of a home—then setting aside funds monthly
  • developing a startup plan for a micro-entrepreneurial venture such as a handyman business, with a list of specific, measurable steps to be taken, and when—then working through the steps
  • learning how to use a software program or app to keep the company’s books—then setting up a “company file” as the basis of its accounting system
  • learning the basic science of global warming—then passing a test on the subject
  • setting up a household system for recycling plastic, metal, glass, batteries, and electronic waste—then recycling materials regularly, either at home or designated collection points
  • learning ways to reduce household utility bills—both through technical fixes such as weather-stripping around doors and through behavioral changes such as turning down the thermostat—then tracking the savings

These are just some of the life-goals trainees may want to achieve.  For those who stay with the company long enough—usually three years or more—the end goal of the training is nothing less than a place in the middle class.  That’s why we’ve named this ambitious, multi-faceted initiative MI5: “middle class in five years or less.”  With certain exceptions, the company defines this as a set of circumstances in which the individual is:

  • stably and affordably housed (spends 30% or less of gross monthly income on housing)
  • armed with enough “hard” skills, “soft” skills, and formal qualifications to thrive in a competitive job market
  • employed full-time (with enough earning capacity to save 5-10% of pre-tax income)
  • on a thoughtfully defined career path or the owner of a viable small business
  • pursuing, as necessary for advancement, work-related educational or professional development opportunities
  • the owner of a vehicle (or has on-demand access to reliable transportation)
  • adequately insured (health, auto, homeowner’s/renter’s, life)
  • firmly in control of their personal finances (with a checking account, a credit card, adequate short-term savings, a 700+ credit score, a manageable level of debt, and a retirement fund set up to receive regular contributions)
  • meaningfully engaged in some form of activity for the purpose of “giving back” (civic, community, church or charity work)

The company is passionately committed to helping trainees re-build their lives as they build homes.  But because the training is intensive and all-encompassing, at any given time the company can only work with a select few individuals.  Generally, that means around five at a time, which, not coincidentally, is about the number of crew members (excluding the independent professionals) needed to complete the construction of a single home.  Individuals are replaced, on a rolling basis, as attrition occurs.  Prospective trainees are vetted rigorously and extensively.

As the company sees it, everyone deserves a second chance, and, for that matter, a third and a fourth.  But there’s much more than a job at stake.  The company expects those it hires to embrace the opportunity fully and wholeheartedly—to work, in fact, as if the transformation of their lives depends on it.

energy conservation

The company is often asked if it’s really possible to make a home net-zero.  It absolutely is, even in a cold-weather climate.  SRV’s homes are designed to be powered by photovoltaic solar panels.  That’s the kind that generate electricity.  And everything in the home is powered by electricity.  The trick is to make sure that the home and its occupants use as little electricity as possible—without reducing functionality or sacrificing comfort.  The structure’s thermal envelope, or “shell,” has to be very well insulated and have very few air leaks.  And its mechanical systems (heating and cooling equipment, water heater), its appliances (stove, oven, washer, dryer), and its light fixtures have to be very energy-efficient.

We’re often asked, too, if green building technology is just too expensive.  It really isn’t.  Compared to the conventional alternatives, many green solutions now cost the same, or less, up front—and they still save money on utility bills, year after year, for as long as they remain in service.  At this point, whether the concern is the budget or the environment, it doesn’t make much sense not to adopt them. 

Here are just some of the currently available green technologies that SRV uses, in a combination optimized for the particular house, to get to net-zero:

  • rooftop solar panels
  • factory-made structural insulated panels (SIPs) with very high R-value and very little air leakage, used for most wall assemblies
  • Advanced Framing techniques, which result in less thermal bridging, that is, heat loss through studs and other framing lumber
  • light-colored roofs that lower summer cooling requirements
  • double-glazed, low-emissivity, low-U-factor windows that minimize heat loss and reduce infrared radiation while allowing in adequate visible light
  • spray foam insulation, used for most roof and floor assemblies
  • heating and cooling systems based on air-source heat-pump technology (sometimes called “mini-split systems”)
  • hot water systems based on air-source heat-pump technology
  • “smart” home energy management systems, including programmable thermostats
  • LED light fixtures

To get a slightly better idea of how to go green, see the FAQ.  Beyond that, we encourage you to go online.  There’s a growing movement.  SRV didn’t start it; we’re just enthusiastic early adopters.