Since 2017, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has invested more than $10 million in the Southern Partnership to Reduce Debt (SPRD) initiative. Active in seven states — Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — SPRD sought to move the needle on multiple fronts, including: addressing specific debt types, fostering awareness, influencing policies and systems, and enhancing the capacity of partnerships to adopt an equity-focused approach. Six years on, the initiative has emerged as a formidable strategy to confront the oppressive burden of debt that hampers households across the South.
Some examples of SPRD’s successes to date are highlighted below:
More broadly, the initiative has provided crucial relief from burdensome debt for families and communities in all seven states and across all four debt types. Success was rooted in the ability of state partners to form strong coalitions that delivered results. These coalitions were ideologically diverse and often included unlikely partners to create new narratives and realize meaningful change in challenging environments.
The success of SPRD partners, as well as lessons from the initiative, serve as a blueprint for grant makers seeking to support similar regional initiatives that can yield impactful results, dismantle debt and facilitate individual and family progress toward economic mobility.
By forming diverse coalitions and focusing on both policy and practice changes, SPRD partners were able to make significant progress in alleviating debt across the South. These successes provide valuable insights for grant makers looking to support similar regional initiatives, offering a blueprint for implementing strategies to dismantle debt and promote economic mobility.
