Jeff Rutt: Build a home, save the Earth

From Jeff Rutt

Jeff Rutt, Founder and CEO of Keystone Custom Homes, believes that every house that his firm builds must be safe not only to its residents but also to the environment. This is why the building company uses green (or sustainable) building technology where builders use environment-friendly materials when working on houses and other infrastructures. Green building is applied not just in the construction stage but in all stages, from siting to demolition. The main objective of green building is to lessen the impact of building on natural environment and the health of the structure’s occupants.

From Jeff Rutt

The need for sustainable building started in the ‘70s and continues to grow as pollution increases and natural resources decrease. This concept stresses the importance of using renewable energy sources and using natural materials in building houses.


Jeff Rutt and Keystone Custom Homes make certain that the houses built by the company have the following characteristics that adhere to the concept of green building:

From Jeff Rutt

• Correctly installed insulation in floors and walls reduces energy usage and evens out the temperatures.

• Energy-efficient windows, which are made of protective coatings and sturdy frames, can block the heat and harmful UV rays during summer and lock the heat in during winter.

• Properly sealed holes and cracks in the ducts help lessen moisture, pollen, dust, and noise, therefore improving the air’s quality and reducing maintenance.

• Properly installed heating and cooling systems use less energy and reduce humidity

• Energy-efficient and ENERGY STAR-qualified products used at home help cut down electricity costs.


More information on Keystone’s green building can be found at KeystoneCustomHome.com.

Jeff Rutt’s Hope International Honored: Hope’s Microfinance Microbox Recognized by the Benny Awards

Founded almost ten years ago by Jeff Rutt, HOPE International has since then directed its focus on alleviating physical and spiritual poverty through microenterprise development, giving many creative and intelligent people mired in poverty access to capital.

From Jeff Rutt

In the organization’s pursuit of excellent microenterprise development and with its mission to present innovative and unique platforms for its supporters to engage with its work, it has released the HOPE Microfinance Microbox to encourage others to support its causes. The home hosting event kit contains a variety of resources that can help party and event planners, offering them flexibility to plan anything from an informal game night to a formal dinner party while providing opportunity for potential donors to learn more of HOPE and become involved in its work. The box from Jeff Rutt’s HOPE International contains recipes from the four regions in which HOPE works, a DVD of powerful stories of transformation, the Loan Cycle Game which conveys the huge impact of a small loan, and a comprehensive planning guide complete with event presentation tips and discussion questions.

From Jeff Rutt

This past June, the Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association held the annual Benjamin Franklin (aka Benny) Awards to recognize excellence in direct marketing projects from commercial companies and non-profit organizations. While most awards are usually given to large advertising and marketing agencies, the HOPE Microfinance Microbox bagged the Benny Award in the Non-Profit Social Services category of 3D Dimensional – Invitation to Inquire that night.

From Jeff Rutt

The Microfinance Microbox, designed by Jeff Brown and its copy written by Erin Longenecker, can be bought at www.hopeinternational.org. Donations will help break the cycle of physical and spiritual poverty for over 300,000 men and women in 15 counties worldwide.