Community Development

Southern operates a community bank and a development organization that work together to promote comprehensive development in the Delta region of Arkansas and Mississippi. SBCP is a 501(c)(3) organization providing development lending services and technical assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners and facilitating strategic community planning and development in focus communities.

The mission of SBCP is to revitalize struggling rural communities by promoting comprehensive development — supporting quality educational opportunities for residents of all ages, restarting the local economy, rebuilding the civic infrastructure, fostering the emergence of new leadership, addressing health care needs, and creating new homeownership and affordable housing opportunities.

SBCP has developed an innovative rural community development strategy to promote comprehensive revitalization through the creation and implementation of resident-driven strategic community plans that guide the development process and ensure it meets the needs and desires of the community.  As a U. S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution, SBCP has created and saved thousands of jobs and generated millions of dollars of investments in the communities it serves.