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Nearly two decades after Hurricane Katrina, the people of New Orleans and Mississippi’s Gulf Coast continue to be a testament to hope, ingenuity and perseverance. Communities have done more than rebuild — they are reimagining systems to create opportunity for all, especially children. While significant progress has been made, critical work remains to ensure that growth is truly equitable and lasting. As part of an ongoing reflection series called Rooted in Us, W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) staff and local leaders share their perspectives on community efforts, lessons learned and the investments still needed to build a future where all children can thrive. WKKF has been investing in New Orleans and Mississippi since the 1940s but deepened its commitment after Hurricane Katrina, supporting locally driven efforts that improve health, education and economic opportunity.
In this conversation, Alyson Curro, a communications officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, speaks with William J. (Bill) Bynum, founding CEO of HOPE — a family of organizations, including Hope Credit Union — working to advance financial inclusion and economic opportunity in under-resourced communities across the Deep South.
Curro: Let’s start with you, Bill. What brought you to this work — not just professionally, but personally?
Bynum: You know, personally, I think I’ve always been someone who asked questions. I’d see things I didn’t fully understand, and I’d ask my mom, “Why?” Probably drove her a little crazy.
Growing up, I saw how some people had a smoother path than others — and that often came down to financial resources. But I also saw that everyone brought value. I remember wondering, “Why can’t we just barter? If I can do something you need, and you can do something I need, why not just support each other?”
Life’s not that simple, of course, but I saw my grandmother banking in the garage of a school vice principal because the local bank didn’t welcome folks like her. She deposited money there. When I went to college, she pulled money out to buy my first suit.
So I saw firsthand how powerful it is when people pool their resources to help one another. I’ve always been drawn to that idea — cooperatives, credit unions, people finding common ground. That’s followed me into my work with HOPE.
Curro: You’ve spent your life building institutions that bring capital to places where it’s been withheld. Why has the Deep South — and Mississippi in particular — remained so central to your mission?
Bynum: Everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve seen disparities in access. But they’re most acute in the Deep South — especially in rural communities, among low-income folks and people of color. Not because they lack ability or determination. In fact, they often do more with less than anyone I’ve seen.
What’s missing is access to tools and resources. And when people do get access, they often outperform. But for generations, these communities have been viewed as liabilities instead of assets to invest in.
At HOPE, we do our part — and we also work with partners who see their interests aligned with the people we serve. These folks are your neighbors, your co-workers, the people who keep businesses running. There’s more common ground than we’re led to believe. And when we work together, we all do better.
William J. (Bill) Bynum, founding CEO of HOPE
Curro: Hope Credit Union, part of the broader HOPE family of organizations, had just expanded into New Orleans in 2004 — just months before Hurricane Katrina. Can you take us back to that moment? What did HOPE do in the immediate aftermath?
Bynum: You’re right — we had just opened a branch on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard in December 2004. But it wasn’t originally part of our plan.
We had spent time talking with local residents and business owners, and what stood out was New Orleans’ amazing entrepreneurial spirit and cultural richness. Central City, where the branch is located, had once been a thriving multicultural business district, but over the years it had deteriorated — disinvestment, crime and other challenges had taken a toll. I remember sitting in Café Reconcile across the street, looking at the architecture. It was beautiful but neglected.
But the community hadn’t given up. Residents, local businesses and nonprofit leaders were working hard to revitalize the area. They invited us to do a business development analysis, and during those conversations, they asked, “What would it take to open a branch of Hope Credit Union here?”
We hadn’t planned on it, but their determination moved us. So we opened the branch that December. We did a really fun ribbon cutting with local kids making their first deposits.
We were just getting traction, building relationships — and then, eight months later, Katrina hit.
None of us could’ve predicted how devastating it would be. I was in Jackson, Miss. Our team in New Orleans was just trying to find safety and make sure their families were okay. Once the storm passed, we started taking stock — where were our members? Our staff? What could we do?
We just started — one stick at a time. Picking up debris. Checking on people. Figuring out how to move forward. Our branch manager, Lynette Collin, stayed in the city. She showed up to open accounts, even when there was little infrastructure. Once FEMA and Red Cross support began flowing, people needed bank accounts to receive funds — and nearly half of our members were unbanked or underbanked. HOPE Enterprise Corporation partnered with Entergy and the Foundation for the Mid South to launch Power of HOPE, a program to seed those accounts and help people access the support they needed. Lynette was a hero. She kept the doors open, worked long hours and helped protect that branch.
Curro: We’ve heard about HOPE stepping in when traditional financial systems fell short — helping people open accounts, access capital, and begin to rebuild. What did those days teach you about financial exclusion and community strength?
Bynum: Crisis after crisis — Katrina, the Great Recession, the pandemic — we’ve seen the same thing: the people most vulnerable are often the last to be considered when policies and recovery programs are created.
Our role at HOPE has been to bring their stories and needs into rooms they’re often excluded from — whether in philanthropy, government or the financial sector. We really built that muscle to a significant degree during Katrina.
But we don’t do that in a vacuum. We rely on our community partners to inform and guide us.People know what they’re facing and what they need to get their families in a position to survive and to get back in good standing.
I remember one colleague, Phil, lived out of his car for weeks on the Mississippi coast during recovery. People fed him, housed him, looked out for him. And in return, we were able to help advocate for them. We presented a Workforce Housing Development Plan — rooted in community input — to the governor’s recovery commission, and it became part of the official strategy.
That equity lens — pushing for support not just for those with insurance, but also for the uninsured — was one of the places where we deeply appreciated the Kellogg Foundation’s support. You helped us turn local experience into policy advocacy that actually shifted resource allocation.
Curro: You’ve said recovery is about more than rebuilding structures — it’s about reimagining systems. How has HOPE approached that?
Katrina confirmed for us that solutions have to be rooted in the realities of the people who live there. It affirmed our approach: listen first, build with — not for — the community.
When we were tapped to manage part of the housing recovery, we oversaw a $600 million program that served over 10,000 households. But we didn’t do it alone. We partnered with about a dozen nonprofits across the region — training their teams, building their capacity and equipping them to provide housing counseling, recovery planning and support navigating federal aid.
This wasn’t just about compliance. It was about rebuilding community infrastructure — nonprofits whose offices had been devastated and whose revenue streams had dried up. That capacity we built? We drew on it again in the Great Recession. And again during the pandemic.
Every crisis has strengthened our network — and taught us what long-term sustainability really looks like.
Curro: HOPE has grown into a regional financial institution serving over 3 million people, many of whom are Black, rural, low income or otherwise excluded. What does it mean to center equity in financial services?
In the Deep South, centering equity is just smart business. People in low-income and rural communities want the same things as anyone else: housing, jobs, healthcare, education, food. But access to capital is not distributed equally.
We serve people with fewer resources, yes — but we’ve also learned how to structure capital responsibly, in ways that don’t overburden borrowers. Ninety percent of our mortgages go to first-time homebuyers. Most are women and people of color. And our performance rivals the largest banks in the country.
But people also need more than capital — and the data backs that up. Raj Chetty and his team conducted a study showing how, even when two boys start from the same economic, educational and family background, their earning potential can diverge dramatically. Black boys don’t advance at the same rate as White boys — not because of ability, but because of access. That research identified key drivers of economic mobility: strong role models, jobs, healthcare, good schools — things far more prevalent in affluent communities than in under-resourced ones. And in a follow-up study, Chetty’s team showed how economic networks shape opportunity. If you grow up next door to a banker, your cousin’s an accountant, and your neighbor can help you land a contract — your path looks very different than someone who doesn’t have that social capital.
Across HOPE — from the credit union to the policy institute — we see ourselves as dot connectors. We’re part of the economic network. We provide the non-financial development services, too — helping someone write a business plan, providing homebuyer education, making sure they understand taxes, insurance, maintenance. What does it really take to move from renter to owner? We walk people through that.
This work is about closing the wealth gap. Homeownership, business ownership, even just having a checking account — these are game changers. They stabilize families and communities. Our surveys show that over 90% of HOPE members voted in the last few elections.Ownership builds agency. And agency builds democracy.
Curro: You’ve partnered with churches, schools, city councils, national funders — what makes collaboration work, especially in communities where trust has been broken?
Count to 10. Or 20. Take a breath.
There’s so much noise — so much telling us we don’t need each other. But the truth is, everyone wins when our communities are stronger. Better education, better healthcare, better workforce — that benefits everyone.
Real collaboration happens when both sides get something meaningful from the partnership. It’s not about photo ops — it’s about relationships that last after the ribbon-cutting. The real work begins when the cameras leave.
Curro: Where do you see momentum right now — in policy, community or capital access?
Bynum: I try not to watch the news too much — but I do believe there’s growing clarity: there’s no cavalry coming. We’re it. And that understanding creates opportunity.
Our current strategic plan focuses on ownership: homeownership, business ownership, account ownership. In the Deep South, over half a million renters could be homeowners if they had access to the right tools. We know how to make that happen — and we’ve proven we can do it responsibly.
It’s easy to get discouraged by all the divisiveness we see today — and of course, we’d rather not have that. But in some ways, it sharpens our focus. It reminds us of the urgency. We have towork together to ensure the people most vulnerable have access to the things they need to support their families and contribute to the economy.
I think back to 1994, when we got started. We had a strong board — and that’s what drew me to take this position in the first place. Dr. L.C. Dorsey, a remarkable community activist in the Mississippi Delta. Robert Walker, who recently passed, was the first Black mayor of Vicksburg. William Winter, a true champion for education in Mississippi.
And then there was Rob Walton, Sam Walton’s son. He deeply cared about the Delta and was on the board of the organization that helped launch us. Not long after his father passed, he personally flew our leadership team to Philadelphia to meet with the Pew Charitable Trust — to make the case for the investment that would launch the Enterprise Corporation of the Delta.
He understood that helping improve conditions in the Delta wasn’t just the right thing to do — it made economic sense. Walmart only works if people have income to buy what Walmart sells. The same was true for the head of Entergy, the largest utility in the region, who also sat on our board. He was very clear: the more households and businesses there are, the more kilowatts they sell. Their interests were — and are — aligned with the well-being of people in the Delta.
Curro: As the 20th anniversary of Katrina approaches, what message would you want national audiences — funders, policymakers, the next generation — to take away?
Bynum: Crises are coming more frequently. Climate change is real. Economic volatility is constant. And yet, we know what works. We’ve learned lessons — and we’re still learning.
After Katrina, banks closed branches in low-income areas. We expanded, from eight to 30 locations. Because people didn’t suddenly stop needing the same essential things.
As I said earlier, there’s a strong business case for making sure that in an increasingly diverse country that population has the tools they need to contribute to their local economy. Because no matter your politics — if two-thirds of our economy is driven by consumers, then making sure those consumers are economically secure is just good sense.
So let’s just make sure the economy is working for everyday people, regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on. Let’s lock arms — and bring together people who understand their futures are linked with the communities we serve.
I think now is the time to change the economic paradigm in the Deep South. The region has always been pointed to as being at the bottom of nearly every economic and social indicator — and there’s truth to that. But there’s also incredible potential when we make the right investments. We’ve seen it at HOPE. We’ve helped drive that progress in some communities — and seen partners walk alongside us to make it real.
That’s something we can build on. These crises — whether climate-related, economic, or political — are a call to action. We have to make our communities more resilient so that the next time a disaster strikes, we’re not starting from zero. We’re starting from a stronger foundation.
The Deep South can be an example for the rest of the country. If we can help communities come together here — in a region with a long, painful history of division — then that’s something the rest of the country can learn from and build upon.
Curro: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Bynum: There are so many things I think about — especially the work we’ve done with the Kellogg Foundation, with local leaders, and with other funders after Katrina.
Before the storm, New Orleans had the highest concentration of food deserts of any urban area in the country. We were able to partner with [then] Mayor Mitch Landrieu to develop a healthy food financing program. A few years later, Tulane University studied the impact — and found that not only had food access returned to pre-Katrina levels, but it was more equitably distributed. It wasn’t just affluent neighborhoods with access to fresh food. The entire city saw gains.
That kind of transformation —from having the highest concentration of food deserts to becoming a national model — shows what’s possible when philanthropy, public leadership, nonprofits and businesses come together with a shared commitment.
The opportunities are immense. And we have so many lessons from our Katrina experience — not just about what went wrong, but about what worked. My hope is that this anniversary helps lift those lessons up — so people see what’s possible and realize what we’re truly capable of when we act together.
HOPE — which includes Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and the Hope Policy Institute — provides comprehensive financial services, leverages resources and advocates to enhance the financial well-being of individuals in under-resourced communities across the Deep South. Learn more about HOPE, their ambitious initiatives and the impactful difference they’re making by visiting hopecu.org.
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