In February of 1991, after a year of study, the South Carolina Affordable Housing Resources Council made a number of recommendations to increase the amount of adequate, affordable housing in the state. One of the primary recommendations was to create a public/private partnership to "act as a housing developer in areas of the state where no local partnership or agency exists which is capable of producing or rehabilitating the needed housing." In August of 1992, the South Carolina Low Income Housing Coalition established as one of its goals to encourage the creation of a sophisticated non-profit affordable housing developer which would have the capability of utilizing multiple sources of financing to build or renovate single and multifamily housing for low income families and individuals in the state. After careful study, the Coalition voted to endorse the establishment of the Nehemiah Corporation at their December, 1992 board meeting. Nehemiah was incorporated on February 17, 1993 as an interfaith-based non-profit affordable housing developer with a mission of providing decent, affordable housing to low income South Carolinians.

Consistent with Nehemiah's continuing belief in community-based non-profit planning and ownership, Nehemiah has established partnerships with Community Improvement Development Corporation (Aiken), Santee Lynches Housing and Community Development Corporation (Sumter), Lowcountry Housing Foundation (North Charleston), Upstate Homeless Coalition (Greenville) and other city or county-wide non-profit housing management and development corporations. Nehemiah has also established a close relationship with Volunteers of America of the Carolinas to work together across the state to provide the technical capacity to increase affordable housing production and management in the smaller towns and rural areas.

On June 17, 2004, the Board finalized plans to change the name of the corporation to Nehemiah Community Revitalization Corporation. They approved changes to the Bylaws to broaden the corporate mission to include creation of economic development opportunities. This new focus is particularly intended to target lower income neighborhood residents served by faith-based community development corporations throughout South Carolina.