Build Change

Disaster-Resilient Housing Technical Assistancebuildchange.org

Company typePrivate
Founded2004
HeadquartersDenver, United States
Headcount101–250
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

Build Change firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Build Change
Legal name: Build Change
Website: https://buildchange.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2004
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 101–250 employees
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Build Change industry classification

Industry

Product category: Disaster-Resilient Housing Technical Assistance
NAICS: Residential Remodelers (236118), Residential Building Construction (2361)
SIC: General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs (1520), Services-Miscellaneous Repair Services (7600)
akta.pro primary industry: Post-Disaster Whole-Home Rebuild (Fire/Water/Storm) (HSAPAEAH)
akta.pro secondary industries: Disaster Recovery, Reconstruction & Resilience Programs (BPAGAAAK), Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Disaster Recovery & Emergency Housing Assistance Programs (FSALAKAK)

Keywords

Disaster-resilient housing
Technical assistance services
Housing reconstruction
Housing microfinance
Climate adaptation housing

Where Build Change is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Denver
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

Build Change business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

Donations and Charitable Contributions: Build Change is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that operates primarily through donations from individuals, corporations, and charitable foundations. The organization accepts one-time and monthly donations.
Foundation and Government Grants: Major funding from foundations such as Patrick J. McGovern Foundation ($73.5M grant in 2024), Global Innovation Fund, and government partnerships including support from the Government of India through CDRI-IRAF.
Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with companies including Autodesk Foundation, Holcim, Turner & Townsend, and others that provide financial support, in-kind donations, and pro bono services.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Build Change product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Build Change delivers technical assistance, capacity building, and technology solutions for disaster-resilient housing in developing countries. The organization partners with governments, microfinance institutions, and community-based organizations to enable homeowner-driven construction, retrofitting, and policy reform, supported by its proprietary BCtap platform and Tara generative AI assistant.

Product overview

Build Change offers a suite of products and tools centered on resilient housing. The flagship is BCtap, an end-to-end technical assistance platform (web and offline-first mobile) that digitizes the construction value chain for use by engineers, architects, program administrators, microfinance loan officers, and homeowners. Complementing BCtap is The Build Change Guide to Resilient Housing, an essential handbook for governments and practitioners. Additional tools include RHEAT™ (a named tool in the sitemap) and Tara, a generative AI chatbot built on BCtap that provides multilingual conversational assistance on disaster-resilient construction. The Climate Resilient Housing Initiative is a broader Race to Resilience program. The portfolio is unified around a homeowner-driven approach to systems change in resilient housing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

BCtap: Build Change's technical assistance platform, an end-to-end solution that pairs technology with subject matter expertise to take resilient housing programs to scale.
The Climate Resilient Housing Initiative

Products and services

BCtap Technical Assistance Platform

Quantifiable outcome

Retrofitting saves 68% of embodied carbon compared to new construction
+5 more outcomes

Companies that use Build Change

Customer profile

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Build Change technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Build Change partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

KOMIDAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Women-centered local microfinance institution in Indonesia. Partnership launched Incremental Climate Adaptation Loans (ICALs) helping low-income households (living on less than $5/day) afford incremental home improvements for climate and disaster resilience. Combines financing with technical assistance.
World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with World Bank and Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing in Indonesia. Conducted surveys of over 500 homes and presented recommendations that led to compliance increase from 11% to 75%. Also supporting Indonesia Green Affordable Housing Program (IGAHP).
Honduran Red CrosscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Joint program leading climate-resilient housing in Honduras. Combined Build Change's technical expertise with Red Cross's frontline emergency response experience. Targeted communities in Lupo Viejo and Portrerillos in Sula Valley.
KCoopcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2019Microfinance institution in the Philippines serving as distribution channel for resilient housing loans. Partnered with Build Change to pilot Tara AI assistant for supporting homeowners and local builders in constructing safer homes.
Autodesk FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial and pro bono technical support including employee volunteering. Enabled expansion of programs in the Philippines, Nepal, and Haiti, fostering innovative digital tools that strengthened thousands of homes and schools and accelerated resilient building practices globally.
RMS (Risk Management Solutions)coreTechnology or IntegrationProvided pro bono access to advanced catastrophe modeling and risk assessment tools. Helped quantify benefits of resilient construction, empowering local governments and homeowners to make informed safety investments.
HolcimcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a leader in sustainable building, Holcim's partnership advances the use of innovative, resilient, and eco-friendly construction materials. Support enabled piloting and scaling of sustainable building practices, resulting in safer, more durable, and environmentally responsible homes and schools.
IFC Building Resilience Index Technical Review PanelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElizabeth Hausler served on the panel contributing expertise on disaster-resilient housing.
World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council for Risk and ResilienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElizabeth Hausler served on the council contributing to global discussions on risk and resilience.
UN-HabitatflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration including participation in Open-Ended Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All (OEWG-H2) and contributions to housing policy discussions at global forums including COP30.
UNFCCC Race to ResilienceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuild Change is a member of Race to Resilience, driving the Climate Resilient Housing Initiative that engages decision-makers and homeowners across the housing value chain.
Habitat for Humanity InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-leading UNFCCC side events at COP30 on financing resilient built environment, exploring challenges and opportunities in securing finance for sustainable and resilient housing.
World Green Building Council (WGBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership at COP30 for UNFCCC side event on resilient built environment, showcasing policy interventions and scalable solutions for climate action.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Build Change competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Miyamoto International: Engineering and program delivery firm specializing in disaster-resilient structural design and reconstruction; operates with similar mission to reduce earthquake/disaster losses and serves overlapping government and humanitarian clients.
Habitat for Humanity International: Global nonprofit building and improving housing for low-income families; Build Change is co-leading UNFCCC COP30 side events with Habitat for Humanity on financing resilient built environments, reflecting directly aligned mission and donor base.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): Global humanitarian network with major shelter and disaster-recovery programs; Build Change's Honduras program with the Honduran Red Cross demonstrates direct partnership and overlapping post-disaster housing reconstruction work.
ShelterBox: Specialized disaster-relief nonprofit providing emergency shelter and recovery support after disasters; narrower focus than Build Change but directly comparable in disaster-affected housing reconstruction.

Emerging players

Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation: Nonprofit advancing seismic risk assessment and open data; complementary rather than directly competing, but shares Build Change's structural-engineering approach to reducing earthquake mortality in vulnerable regions.

Broad incumbents

World Vision International: Large humanitarian and development NGO with disaster recovery and shelter programs; broader portfolio than Build Change but overlapping geographies, donor base, and vulnerable-population focus.
Mercy Corps: Large humanitarian NGO with disaster recovery programming including shelter; broader portfolio than Build Change but directly overlapping in disaster-affected geographies and vulnerable-population focus.
UN-Habitat: United Nations agency for sustainable urban development and adequate housing; Build Change partners with UN-Habitat on policy working groups but UN-Habitat is the larger institutional actor shaping housing policy.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS): International humanitarian agency with significant shelter and recovery programs; competes for similar institutional donor funding and works in overlapping disaster-prone countries.

Others

Holcim Foundation: Corporate foundation of a global building-materials company funding sustainable construction; Build Change's partnership with Holcim positions the foundation as a thematically-aligned enabler rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Build Change financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Build Change leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Build Change funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Build Change M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Build Change

What does Build Change do?

Is Build Change a public or private company?

Build Change is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Build Change founded?

Build Change was founded in 2004. It employs 101 to 250 people.

Where is Build Change based?

Build Change is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.

How does Build Change make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are foundation and Government Grants and corporate Partnerships.

Who are Build Change's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Miyamoto International, Habitat for Humanity International, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and ShelterBox. Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are World Vision International, Mercy Corps, UN-Habitat and Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Holcim Foundation is listed as an others.

Does Build Change have an API?

No public API is recorded for Build Change.

What industry is Build Change in?

Build Change's product category is Disaster-Resilient Housing Technical Assistance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSAPAEAH, Post-Disaster Whole-Home Rebuild (Fire/Water/Storm), with a secondary code of BPAGAAAK, Disaster Recovery, Reconstruction & Resilience Programs. Its NAICS code is 236118 and its SIC code is 1520.