Jeff Rutt, Homebuilder and Founder of HOPE International, on Giving Away 89% of His Business (Ep. 64)

Jeff Rutt is the CEO and founder of Keystone Custom Homes, a Pennsylvania-based home building company that has built over 8000 homes. Jeff spent his early years growing up on the family farm, which became the focus of the early part of his career. However, after a series of No’s from God, Jeff eventually sold the farm and set out on a new path, that would eventually become Keystone Custom Homes.

God got Jeff’s attention very early in his career, especially in the area of generosity. It wasn’t long after starting Keystone that Jeff launched the organization that would become HOPE International. Since inception, HOPE has provided more than $1.5 billion dollars to more than 2.5 million small business owners across 24 countries in the form of microfinance loans in order to empower them to break their own cycle of poverty with the gifts God gave them.

Over the years, Jeff has used profits from Keystone to fuel HOPE’s mission. However, last year he took things another step further when he gave away 89% of the ownership of Keystone through the National Christian Foundation. Jeff shared about topics like how charity can become toxic, empowering those in poverty, giving your children purpose and mission, and the detailed process of how he gave his business away. Listen now to hear all he had to say!

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

• “Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way we want them to be answered but it’s truly the best for us, best for Him and best for the Kingdom.”
• “Having kids work hard stay humble and understand what you can do for others not just what everybody else can do for them.”
• “If you don’t help your kids find a mission for their life, then they will find one themselves, and they aren’t always the best at finding that themselves.”
• “If God can get a hold of our hearts early on, that’s what sets the stage for a life of generosity.”
• “Hope dies last”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

• Hope International (also see our interview with CEO, Peter Greer)
• Tomorrow Club
• Keystone Custom Homes
• Created to Flourish by Peter Greer
• Discovering Your Genius by Michael Gelb
• The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
• The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

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