Rebuild Upstate celebrates 20 years preserving local affordable housing

Demand for affordable housing continues to rise across Upstate South Carolina.

Rebuild Upstate believes that housing construction alone cannot solve this issue. The Greenville-based nonprofit organization has spent the past 20 years helping to preserve existing affordable housing across the region.

Jake Beaty, CEO of Rebuild Upstate, explained that many low-income homeowners struggle to keep up with necessary repairs due to high maintenance costs. Older adults might wish to stay in their homes but lack the resources needed to make the home more accessible.

“We have the opportunity to come alongside them and help with that because a lot of the folks we serve, they don’t have anywhere else to go,” Beaty said. “We are trying to help them live in their communities and in their homes with dignity as long as they want to be there.”

Rebuild Upstate was founded by Clemson University students in August 2006 in response to a need for continued disaster relief in New Orleans one year after Hurricane Katrina. The group eventually started working in the Upstate after repairing its first home in Clemson in 2007.

Since its inception, Rebuild Upstate has completed thousands of critical home repair projects for low-income homeowners in Greenville, Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties. The organization also serves vulnerable populations including senior citizens, veterans and people with disabilities.

Rebuild Upstate offers three programs for low-income homeowners:

Ramps and Decks: A program that installs ramps and decks for residents who depend on a walker or wheelchair.
Aging in Place: A program that completes home improvements to help residents over the age of 60 safely access all parts of their home.
Critical Home Repairs: A program that completes major home repairs such as fixing the home’s foundation, roof, plumbing, electrical, etc.

Volunteers with Rebuild Upstate completed 718 repair projects on 165 homes across the Upstate in 2025, a record number for the organization. Beaty said they are currently on track to repair 200 homes during their 20th anniversary year.

Applications for Rebuild Upstate’s programs are accepted only from homeowners who earn at least 80% or below of the area median income. Beaty said that a majority of the people served by the organization last year earned below 50% of the AMI. The applicants must also meet the specific criteria of each program to qualify.

“We get about 40 applications a month. Not all of those qualify for us based on our qualifications,” Beaty said. “Finding homeowners is not the problem. The need is very high, and it is growing.”

The specific qualifications for Rebuild Upstate’s programs are due to the various public and private funding partners the organization works with for home repair projects. For example, the organization partners with local municipalities in the Upstate to utilize their Community Development Block Grant funds to complete home repairs.

The organization most recently partnered with the city of Greenville and Anderson County to spend state disaster assistance funding to repair roofs damaged during Hurricane Helene in 2024. Beaty said Rebuild Upstate has repaired 12 roofs in Greenville and 34 roofs across Anderson County.

“Our biggest challenges right now are the ever-changing funding landscape,” Beaty said. “There’s obviously been a lot of changes with government funding this year. We’ve actually navigated those very well.”

Rebuild Upstate relies on community volunteers to help complete hundreds of home repair projects each year. The organization welcomes both individual and group volunteers from across the Upstate. Beaty explained that a majority of volunteers come from churches and local businesses looking to give back to the community.

Individuals or groups interested in volunteering with Rebuild Upstate can learn more about the organization at rebuildupstate.org/get-involved/volunteer.

Cost comparison

Jake Beaty, CEO of Rebuild Upstate, explained that the cost of repairing an affordable home is less than the cost of new construction. According to Rebuild Upstate, the average cost to repair an existing home is around $10,000. In comparison, it costs an average of $150,000 to build a new affordable home using volunteer labor.

“The truth is, every home that we don’t repair and save is one that eventually we’re going to have to replace,” Beaty said.

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By the numbers

Since 2007, Rebuild Upstate has:

Repaired more than 1,900 homes
Completed more than 6,000 projects
Volunteered 175,000 hours
Engaged with 15,000 volunteers

Source: Rebuild Upstate

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Funding sources

Rebuild Upstate utilizes public and private funding for complete critical repairs to existing affordable housing across Upstate South Carolina. Some of the organization’s funding sources include: