SBP, Kresge, and Credit Human Launch Social Impact Partnership to Help Disaster-Affected Communities Rebuild Faster

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NEW ORLEANS (March 5, 2025)—SBP, the national disaster resilience and recovery nonprofit, announced the launch of an innovative new social impact partnership with The Kresge Foundation and Credit Human, a federal credit union, to accelerate recovery among underinsured and uninsured homeowners affected by federally declared disasters.

This partnership constitutes an $8 million transformative investment—backed by a 40 percent limited guarantee—to expand SBP’s Recovery Acceleration Fund (RAF), a revolving loan fund that finances home repairs for disaster survivors who lack the means to rebuild on their own. The short-term bridge funds made available through RAF enable low-income communities to overcome financial barriers that delay housing recovery after presidentially declared disasters. 

Credit Human will lend up to $8 million in program loan funds and serve as the lender for the program. To mitigate risk and ensure the program’s sustainability, The Kresge Foundation and SBP will act as financial guarantors. Each will provide Credit Human with a limited guarantee of up to 20 percent of any outstanding loans, comprising a maximum combined guarantee of 40 percent.

“At scale, with the support of visionary partners like Credit Human and Kresge Foundation, the RAF program could accelerate the housing recovery process for entire communities and tens of thousands of citizens each year.”

SBP Chief Financial Officer Keith McCulloch

“This promising funding model will help disaster survivors return to their homes faster,” said SBP Chief Financial Officer Keith McCulloch. “At scale, with the support of visionary partners like Credit Human and Kresge Foundation, the RAF program could accelerate the housing recovery process for entire communities and tens of thousands of citizens each year.”

Through the RAF loans made possible through this partnership, qualified homeowners will be able to rebuild their homes on an accelerated timeline, without waiting for the grantees of HUD Disaster Recovery Funds to operationalize their recovery programs. That process usually takes at least six months, but often takes much longer. Once the grantee’s local disaster recovery programs are established and the homeowner qualifies for eligibility, their RAF loan will be extinguished through reimbursement funds in compliance with federal, state, and local requirements. 

In the short term, this partnership will benefit qualified homeowners affected by Hurricane Ian in Florida. In the longer term, it has the potential to deliver recovery assistance at a much greater scale in communities impacted by major disasters across the country.

“Delays in disaster assistance strain social services while deeply and disproportionately impacting the net worth of low-income families,” said Tosha Tabron, Director of Originations for The Kresge Foundation’s Social Investment Practice. “Through our partnership with SBP and Credit Human, we hope to make strides toward increasing stability and opportunity in American communities by helping families swiftly rebuild, recover and return home.”

“Credit Human is committed to helping people and communities feel less financial stress, and we’re excited about this opportunity to partner with SBP and Kresge Foundation to help disaster survivors recover faster financially,” said Brent Irvin, Chief Operating Officer at Credit Human. 

MEDIA CONTACT
Elizabeth Wright, SBP Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
[email protected]

ABOUT SBP
SBP is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping communities to shrink the time between disaster and recovery by rebuilding homes, increasing resilience, and improving systems to better serve all Americans. Founded in 2006 in response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, to date, SBP has built 6,300 homes in 16 communities in the U.S. and The Bahamas. For more information, please visit SBP’s website.

ABOUT CREDIT HUMAN
Chartered in 1935, Credit Human is a federal credit union with more than $4 billion in assets serving more than 200,000 members across the United States. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, the not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative offers competitive products and services from locations in San Antonio, Houston, and New Orleans. For more information, visit credithuman.com. 

ABOUT THE KRESGE FOUNDATION
The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. Using a full array of grant, loan, and other investment tools, Kresge invests more than $160 million annually to foster economic and social change. For more information visit kresge.org.