Photo courtesy of Cullum Homes
Rod and Kim Cullum founded Cullum Homes in 1985 with a straightforward idea: Build with quality, operate with integrity and keep relationships at the center. Four decades later, the firm is a second-generation, family-owned luxury design-build company led by co-presidents Lindsay Cullum-Colwell, the founders’ daughter, and her husband, Paul Colwell. The craft has grown more sophisticated. The conviction underneath it has not changed. “When we founded Cullum Homes in 1985, the goal was a company rooted in quality, integrity and strong relationships,” says Rod Cullum. “Seeing the next generation, our family and our team, carry that commitment into the community means a great deal.”
Community at Cullum Homes is a shared goal rather than a plaque on the wall. The company’s outreach concentrates on organizations that strengthen families and create opportunity, with particular attention to children and young people, and on giving that is active rather than purely financial. The team builds, packs meals, sponsors and shows up. Rather than operating a separate foundation, Cullum Homes partners directly with Arizona nonprofits whose work matches its values: Girls Rule Leadership Academy, Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona, Childhelp, PANDA, Feed My Starving Children, The Phoenix Theatre Company and the American Heart Association.
The partnership drawing the most of the company’s energy right now is with Girls Rule Leadership Academy, which builds confidence, leadership, and financial literacy in teen girls. For years, Cullum Homes has funded the academy’s seven-day summer leadership camp and its annual leadership summit, and this fall it serves as Gold Sponsor of the Soar to Summer Luncheon.
“Community has never been an afterthought for us. Giving back is part of who we are as a family and as a company,” says Lindsay Cullum-Colwell, co-president. “Our partnership with Girls Rule Leadership Academy is especially meaningful to me. Camp gives teen girls the confidence, leadership and financial skills to build their own futures. We build homes; these girls are building what comes next for Arizona.”
That investment reads much the same from the other side of it. “Cullum Homes has been more than a sponsor of Girls Rule Leadership Academy. They have been a partner in our mission to shape the next generation of confident, capable young women,” says founder Dena Patton. “When businesses like Cullum Homes choose to invest in girls today, they help build the leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers of tomorrow. That is a legacy far greater than any one donation, and we are deeply grateful for their continued belief in our mission.”
Elsewhere, the company applies its trade directly. Its team helped build a home with Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona, and volunteers quarterly with Feed My Starving Children, packing meals for children facing hunger. “Our work with Habitat for Humanity was especially meaningful because it let us use what we do best to help another family build a foundation for their future,” says Paul Colwell, co-president. “The impact of a home goes far beyond the structure itself.”
The family also opens its own homes. Rod and Kim Cullum have co-chaired the Childhelp gala, and Lindsay and Kim have co-chaired The Phoenix Theatre Company gala, with model homes serving as the venue for fundraisers over the years. “Opening our homes for these organizations has always felt natural. A home is meant to bring people together,” says Kim Cullum, co-founder. “Whether it’s a gala for Childhelp or an evening for The Phoenix Theatre Company, the most rewarding part is watching this community show up for one another.”
Service continues at the board level. Lindsay Cullum-Colwell sits on the executive committee of The Phoenix Theatre Company and the women’s board of PANDA, Kim Cullum has served with the American Heart Association’s Heart Ball, and both Rod and Lindsay have served with Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona.
Forty years in, the measure of the work has stayed consistent. Cullum Homes builds places where families feel secure enough to plan a future. Its philanthropy follows the same logic, investing in the young people who will decide what Arizona looks like next.
Soar to Summer Luncheon
Cullum Homes is a Gold Sponsor of the Girls Rule Foundation’s annual Soar to Summer Luncheon, Saturday, November 14, 2026, from noon to 2 p.m. at The Oasis at 2828 in Phoenix. Presented by WESCO Group and co-chaired by Mona Amini and Kim Kearns, the Western Botanical Chic event features lunch, a mimosa bar, interactive activities and a silent auction with prizes that include luxury getaways and designer handbags. Proceeds fund the Girls Rule Summer Camp, where teen girls build confidence, leadership and the skills to shape their own futures. Join the event.
Tyler Butler, a trailblazer in ESG and corporate citizenship, has led Fortune 500 sustainability programs, contributed to two IPOs and founded Collaboration for Good. With degrees from ASU, Boston College and Cornell, she writes for top publications and serves as a strategic CSR consultant for Omnicom.
