When people think about climate resilience, they often picture levees or large infrastructure projects. But in New Orleans, the front line is much closer to home.
“With higher heat, stronger storms and aging housing stock, climate risk shows up first in people’s homes,” explains Blake Stanfill, chief operating officer of Finance New Orleans. The housing and development finance agency improves quality of life for New Orleanians through direct investment in affordable housing and climate‑resilience projects that create quality jobs and wealth for residents.
This reality is why Finance New Orleans focuses its financial products at the household level.
The agency offers an innovative suite of programs for homeowners, including its Resilient and Efficient Upgrade Program (RE‑UP). RE‑UP addresses challenges facing low‑ and moderate‑income homeowners who are disproportionately impacted by rising costs, aging homes and extreme weather. By offering low, fixed‑interest loans of up to $25,000 for green home improvements and repairs, Finance New Orleans is helping reduce energy burdens and improve housing stability.
Trust at the center of community finance
Trust is central to working at the community level. Finance New Orleans partners closely with neighborhood organizations, trusted institutions and local nonprofits like Thrive New Orleans to reach residents where they are.
“We move at the speed of trust,” Stanfill says. “People are far more likely to explore financial products when they’re introduced through someone they already know and trust.”
These partnerships also help translate complex financial products into something practical and understandable.
“It shows we’re vetted and credible,” he adds. “And it ensures the products actually work for real people.”
When homes are safer and more efficient, families experience lower energy bills, greater comfort, and more predictable expenses. “A resilient home isn’t just about surviving storms,” Stanfill says. “It’s about stabilizing your household.”
Filling the financing gap
Proactive upgrades, like insulation, fortified roofs or more efficient cooling systems, can help families avoid emergency repairs that derail their finances. But these critical improvements can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 — money many households simply don’t have on hand. As a result, families are often just one major repair away from financial calamity.
Through its work with residents, Finance New Orleans has found that most homeowners already know what their homes need to be more resilient. The barrier is access to the right capital.
“People qualify to own their homes,” Stanfill explains, “but the financial system isn’t really set up to help them maintain those homes. The ‘green tax’ creates extra costs for households to be resilient and energy efficient. Finance New Orleans is here to help fill that gap.”
Traditional lenders, he notes, are optimized for large, standardized loans. Smaller, customized projects don’t fit easily into that model.
“Traditional lenders aren’t getting out of bed to do $1,000 deals,” Stanfill says. “And our borrowers are unique, too. They might be retired on a fixed income or have an uneven credit history.”
Finance New Orleans isn’t trying to replace private lenders. Instead, it plays a complementary role.
“One misconception about community finance institutions is that we’re here to replace the market,” Stanfill says. “We’re not. We step into the spaces where traditional finance — for very valid reasons — doesn’t.”
By going first, Finance New Orleans helps prove what’s possible. Over time, that opens the door for additional capital to flow into communities that have long been underserved.
Rooted in people and place
At its core, the work is about people. By aligning household finance with climate resilience, Finance New Orleans is turning everyday financial decisions into long‑term stability for families, neighborhoods and the city.
“We want everyday people to have access to capital,” Stanfill says. “People who are at risk of displacement. People who are at risk of losing the things that make our neighborhoods what they are.”
As a fifth‑generation New Orleanian, Stanfill understands the importance of being rooted in place.
As he puts it, “The best New Orleans is a New Orleans where people are in stable homes, strong neighborhoods and communities that can endure.”
