Southern Bancorp Community Partners (SBCP) seeks a President who brings dynamic and visionary leadership to a nationally respected, high impact community development financial institution delivering loans, development services focused on credit and savings and policy advocacy to expand economic opportunity.
ABOUT US
Southern Bancorp Community Partners (SBCP) is a certified nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) established in 1987 to create economic opportunity in financially underserved communities.
More than 30 years ago, some of the nation’s leading business, philanthropic, and political leaders, including then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, joined forces to establish a financial institution dedicated to serving financially underserved communities.
That initiative has today grown into a $1.9 billion asset organization, which, in addition to SBCP, includes both a bank holding company and a community development bank that has been recognized nationally and covered by national press such as Bloomberg, CNBC, Yahoo! Finance, and The Wall Street Journal.
SBCP provides entrepreneurs, homeowners, and individuals with financial access and the tools needed to achieve the American Dream, regardless of their zip code. From lending to credit repair and financial education and public policy advocacy, SBCP has a long history of creating economic opportunity in communities that need it most.
Today, SBCP’ S WORK FOCUSES ON THREE MAIN AREAS:
1. LENDING – Access to capital is the fuel that drives local economies. SBCP raises funds from a variety of sources to provide capital across a broad range of needs and markets. SBCP provides flexible lending options to help families and communities build wealth, with a mixed portfolio of $16 million in home mortgages, small business loans, and larger commercial real estate loans. SBCP also participates in loans with Southern Bancorp Bank (SBB) across SBCP's CDFI target market, the entire state of Arkansas and Mississippi, with planned expansion to match SBB's expanding geographic footprint.
2. ASSET BUILDING – SBCP’s team of counselors, coaches, and financial educators deliver a wide range of financial services including HUD certified home buyer counseling, general financial education, and credit counseling. Additionally, SBCP manages several products and programs that are key to wealth building, such as matched savings accounts and free tax preparation.
3. PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY – Public policy is another key focus. SBCP works to advance local, state, and federal public policies that support wealth building initiatives, focusing on those that address generational poverty and help close the racial wealth gap. SBCP actively opposes laws and regulations that harm economically distressed communities and families. SBCP also routinely publishes research papers on issues informed by its products, programs and services.
Financial Strength
SBCP is a financially strong organization with a 2021 operating budget of $2.6 million and $40 million in assets. SBCP’s track record and commitment to mission attract support from local and national funders interested in helping SBCP expand its work. In October 2020, for example, SBCP received an unrestricted gift of $2 million from Mackenzie Scott, who has targeted her philanthropy toward organizations addressing the racial wealth gap.
Board Leadership
SBCP is governed by a diverse 10-person board that includes people with CDFI experience and knowledge of the communities SBCP serves. The Board meets quarterly. Darrin Williams, the CEO of Southern Bancorp Inc. (SBI), serves on the Board and Appalachian Community Capital CEO Donna Gambrell is the current Board Chair.
Inter-Relationship of Organizations
SBCP’s President is part of the leadership team that sets the direction for SBI, SBB, and SBCP. The three entities are all CDFIs and have shared mission, vision and values. SBCP is legally independent from SBI and SBB, though all three work collaboratively to leverage their respective services and strengths. To ensure governance continuity, the entities have several board members in common and SBCP is the largest shareholder of SBB.
