Sonora Environmental Research Institute

What Sonora Environmental Research Institute does

Sonora Environmental Research Institute (SERI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in Arizona (EIN 86-0767843) and headquartered in Tucson, founded in 1994 to deliver environmental health and housing safety programs to low-income families. The organization operates a portfolio of community service programs rather than a unified software product, including the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program (in partnership with the City of Tucson, backed by $2.9M of HUD funding and targeting ~180 households over three years), Healthy and Safe Homes home assessments, Rainwater Harvesting and water conservation programs, a Grants and Loans for Solar program, a Fair Housing Initiative Program, a Business Assistance program addressing occupational health in small businesses, and Efficiency Arizona rebate programs (HOMES and HEAR) administered statewide under the Inflation Reduction Act in partnership with the Governor's Office of Resiliency.

SERI's proprietary technology is the Healthy Homes Rating System (HHRS) mobile app, developed by President Ann Marie Wolf, which standardizes in-home assessment of 29 housing hazards and generates reports during home visits for low-income households. The organization also operates a 0-interest home repair loan program (up to $2,000) funded by the National Fair Housing Alliance, structured as revolving credit with repayments re-lent to new families. SERI has produced peer-reviewed research, including a PLOS ONE study on workplace air quality in small businesses conducted with the University of Arizona and El Rio Community Health Center.

SERI's revenue model is grant- and donation-driven rather than transaction-based: federal and state grants (HUD OLHCHH, HUD Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control, IRA-funded Efficiency Arizona), partner funding (National Fair Housing Alliance), and donations underpin operations. Services to households are delivered free of charge (home assessments, smoke alarms, lead testing referrals, energy efficiency workshops with free kits). The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, with multilingual outreach (English, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Swahili, Tagalog) and delivery via home visits, community workshops, and partnerships with local organizations, city government, and healthcare providers across Arizona — including Pima County, southern Tucson, and Nogales.

Name

Sonora Environmental Research Institute

Legal name

Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc.

Website

https://seriaz.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sonora Environmental Research Institute (SERI) is a Tucson-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1994, that delivers environmental health, lead hazard control, energy efficiency, and home repair programs to low-income families across Arizona using its proprietary Healthy Homes Rating System app and grant-funded community delivery model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Environmental Health and Housing Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAJ

Employment & Job Readiness Support Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

Keywords

• Healthy homes assessments
• Lead hazard control
• Low-income housing repair
• Environmental health services
• Energy efficiency programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Tucson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants: Primary funding from federal government programs including HUD Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH), HUD Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program grants, and Inflation Reduction Act funding through Efficiency Arizona.
2. Revolving Loan Fund: Provides 0-interest loans up to $2,000 for home repairs to low-income families. Loans are structured as revolving credit where repayments are re-lent to new families. Smaller loans repaid within 12-24 months.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SERI delivers environmental health, housing safety, and energy/water conservation programs to low-income families in Arizona, including healthy homes assessments, lead-based paint hazard control, 0-interest home repair loans, rainwater harvesting, solar grants and loans, fair housing education, and small business occupational health interventions. Core services are funded through federal and state grants and are delivered at no cost to qualifying households via direct home visits and community workshops.

Product overview

Sonora Environmental Research Institute (SERI) is a non-profit organization (501(c)(3), EIN: 86-0767843) based in Tucson, Arizona, providing community service programs since 1994. The organization operates as a portfolio of environmental health and housing assistance programs rather than a unified software product. Core programs include: Loans for Home Improvements providing 0-interest loans up to $2,000 for low-income families; Water Conservation programs (Rainwater Harvesting, Gray Water, High Efficiency Clothes Washer); Grants and Loans for Solar energy; Healthy and Safe Homes offering home assessments and interventions; Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program targeting pre-1978 housing; Fair Housing Initiative Program; Business Assistance with occupational health interventions; and Local Data for Equitable Communities conducting home assessments. Efficiency Arizona manages federal energy efficiency rebate programs (HOMES and HEAR) under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Loans for Home Improvements for Low-Income Families 0-interest loan program providing up to $2,000 to low-income families for certified contractor work and home repair supplies and materials, structured as a revolving credit fund with repayments re-lent to new families.
• Rainwater Harvesting Program Water conservation program for limited-income households providing rainwater harvesting system installation and education to reduce water use.
• Grants and Loans for Solar Grants and loans program helping low-income families access solar energy solutions for their homes to reduce energy costs.
• Healthy and Safe Homes Program Program evaluating long-term effectiveness of healthy homes interventions for low-income households, providing home assessments, smoke alarm installations, and educational resources through the SERI HHRS app.
• Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program Program targeting low to very-low income families with children under six in housing built prior to 1978, addressing lead-based paint hazards through assessment and remediation referrals funded by HUD.
• Fair Housing Initiative Program Fair housing education and enforcement program available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Swahili, and Tagalog to prevent housing discrimination.
• Business Assistance Program Community health worker intervention program reducing hazardous exposures in small businesses, including Susan Harwood Heat Safety and Fire Safety Training Programs.
• Local Data for Equitable Communities Project conducting 500 free home assessments in southern Tucson to identify hazards like extreme heat, mold, and falls and direct resources to vulnerable neighborhoods.
• Efficiency Arizona Rebate Programs Arizona state program under the Inflation Reduction Act managing Home Efficiency Rebates (HOMES) and Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) for energy efficiency improvements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,985 low-income households assessed and received healthy homes interventions since 2011
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Governor's Office of Resiliency (Arizona)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 August 2022State agency managing Efficiency Arizona Rebate Programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. SERI works with this office and community-based organizations to implement energy efficiency programs statewide.
• University of ArizonacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on occupational health risks in small businesses, including publication in PLOS ONE. Also collaborated on children's environmental health studies in Nogales, Arizona.
• El Rio Community Health CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on peer-reviewed study examining occupational health risks in small businesses, published in PLOS ONE. El Rio provides community health perspective for workplace air quality research.
• City of TucsoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program serving low to very-low income families. City and SERI use $2,900,000 of HUD funding to assist approximately 180 households over three years.
• Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)minorOthersCPSC releases product safety recalls and warnings that SERI shares with the community through news section to protect families from lead poisoning hazards (e.g., Timeless Minis recall).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity International: Large nonprofit focused on affordable homeownership, critical home repairs, and weatherization for low-income households. Comparable to SERI in mission and target population, including revolving-program-style home repair assistance — but at global scale with a franchise of local affiliates.
• Enterprise Community Partners: Large national nonprofit that develops and preserves affordable housing, including weatherization and healthy-homes programs. Comparable to SERI as a federally funded affordable-housing and community-development nonprofit, but with a much broader national footprint and capital deployment capability.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National community-development financial institution supporting local nonprofits delivering affordable housing, economic development, and healthy-homes services. Comparable to SERI's federally funded community-development model, with similar program categories but national scale and CDFI balance-sheet capacity.

Regional players

• Raza Development Fund: Arizona-headquartered community development financial institution (CDFI) providing loans and financial services for affordable housing and community facilities. Comparable to SERI in serving low-income Arizona communities and operating small-dollar housing-related credit products.
• Chicanos Por La Causa: Arizona-based nonprofit providing housing, economic development, and social services to Latino and low-income communities across the Southwest. Directly comparable to SERI in Arizona geography, bilingual service model, and housing/community-service portfolio, but operates a much larger and more diversified program mix.

Others

• National Community Reinvestment Coalition: National coalition of community-development and fair-lending organizations. Comparable to SERI as a community-development peer in the federal-funding ecosystem that advocates for and channels resources to member organizations working on housing and small-business support.
• National Fair Housing Alliance: National fair-housing advocacy and enforcement organization. Comparable to SERI because SERI is a current NFHA funding/program partner and runs a Fair Housing Initiative Program; they sit in an adjacent — not directly competing — ecosystem role as a national advocacy funder.

Direct peers

• National Center for Healthy Housing: Research, policy, and technical-assistance nonprofit advancing safe and healthy housing. Comparable to SERI in healthy-homes focus, including standardized housing assessment frameworks and HUD-aligned research — NCHH is a thought-leadership peer that informs the field SERI operates in.
• Green & Healthy Homes Initiative: National nonprofit dedicated to eliminating health and safety disparities in housing through lead-hazard remediation, weatherization, and healthy-homes interventions. Directly comparable to SERI in mission (healthy homes for low-income households) but operates at national scale and runs the same HUD-aligned programming.

Emerging players

• Rewiring America: Nonprofit focused on electrifying U.S. homes and deploying IRA-funded residential energy-efficiency rebates at scale. Comparable to SERI's role implementing Efficiency Arizona HOMES/HEAR rebates under the IRA, but Rewiring America operates at national policy and tooling scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@seriazsolutions
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Sonora-Environmental-Research-Institute-SERI/303447099715575?fref=ts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seriazsolutions
• Instagraminstagram.com/seriazsolutions
• Xx.com/seriazsolutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sonora Environmental Research Institute