Wells Fargo Supports Diverse-Owned Small Businesses, Distributes $22.3 Million
May 05 2016 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
CDFIs receive loan, grant funds as part of
Diverse Community Capital program; Round two now open
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced it is
providing $22.3 million in lending capital and grants to 15
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) selected for
round one of the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business®: Diverse
Community Capital program. CDFIs are private, nonprofit financial
institutions that assist underserved populations. The three-year
Diverse Community Capital (DCC) program will provide a total of $75
million in lending and grant capital over six selection rounds to
CDFIs that support diverse-owned small businesses. CDFIs interested
in the program’s second round can submit an interest form through
June 1.
The program launched in November 2015 by providing $4.45 million
in loan and grant funds to three CDFIs and encouraging others to
submit interest forms for the program’s first official round. More
than 100 CDFIs responded, and Wells Fargo will distribute a total
of $5.67 million in grants and $16.67 million in lending capital to
the 15 CDFIs selected.
“The Diverse Community Capital program is one of many ways Wells
Fargo demonstrates its commitment to helping small businesses
start, stabilize, and grow, and we’re excited that CDFIs are
showing such interest in the program,” said Mike Rizer, Wells
Fargo’s head of Community Relations. “CDFIs are vital to the
success of many small businesses and the additional capital,
technical assistance and other support these 15 CDFIs will be able
to provide to the diverse-owned small businesses in their
communities will help make those businesses, and ultimately, our
communities, even stronger.”
The DCC program is a component of Wells Fargo’s four-point plan,
which seeks to address challenges that diverse small business
owners face when starting or growing businesses. The program is a
collaboration between Wells Fargo and Opportunity Finance Network,
a national network of CDFIs.
Round One Grant and Lending Capital Recipients
The round one DCC recipients are:
- Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs,
Inc. (ACE) – Atlanta, Georgia
- Albina Opportunities Corporation -
Portland, Oregon
- Bridgeway Capital, Inc. - Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
- Community Investment Corporation (CIC)
- Chicago, Illinois
- CommunityWorks - Greenville, South
Carolina
- Craft3 - Ilwaco, Washington
- ECDC Enterprise Development Group -
Arlington, Virginia
- Forward Community Investments, Inc. -
Madison, Wisconsin
- Metropolitan Economic Development
Association (Meda) - Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Montana & Idaho Community
Development Corporation - Missoula, Montana
- Natural Capital Investment Fund, Inc.
(NCIF) – Shepherdstown, West Virginia
- Pacific Community Ventures - San
Francisco, California
- Pathway Lending - Nashville,
Tennessee
- The Support Center - Raleigh, North
Carolina
- WWBIC, The Wisconsin Women's Business
Initiative Corporation - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Each CDFI focuses on providing loans, technical training and
business development resources that create and sustain jobs and
wealth in traditionally underserved communities and
populations.
How CDFIs make a difference: A small-town sheep farmer’s
business goes national
James Joyner is a disabled African-American U.S. Army veteran
whose work with DCC recipient Natural Capital Investment Fund
(NCIF) transformed his family’s farm from a labor of love to a
profitable enterprise. Fulfilling a promise to his parents to keep
Joyner Farm in the family following their deaths, Joyner returned
home to Faison, North Carolina and decided to raise sheep — a new
venture for the farm, and for Joyner. He turned to NCIF for
help.
The CDFI focuses on helping entrepreneurs and enterprises that
are good stewards of natural resources. NCIF helped Joyner develop
financial projections for his business and connected him with an
innovative solar farm company that helps market his lamb and allows
him additional pasture land for grazing. NCIF eventually made a
loan that helped Joyner expand his flock, upgrade pastures and
fencing, and build a lambing shed for shelter during bad weather.
Today, Joyner Farm is profitable, and Joyner sells his grass-fed,
antibiotic-free lamb to a well-known national organic and natural
foods grocery chain.
“NCIF didn’t just loan me money,” said Joyner. “They took extra
time, made an extra effort to help me with different aspects of my
business which let me know the success of my business is just as
important to them as it is to me.”
“We’re fortunate to work with good businesses with good
prospects, but like James, they simply need to develop a track
record so they can qualify for traditional financing,” said Rick
Larson, senior vice president of NCIF. “The DCC program provides
critical support so we can help more small business owners get to
that point.”
NCIF is receiving $1.6 million in lending and grant capital from
Wells Fargo during round one of the DCC program. They and each of
the DCC recipients will help business owners like Joyner through
various lending and support initiatives. Visit Wells Fargo Stories
to learn about more small business owners who benefited from the
support of CDFIs.
Interest forms now being accepted for second round
Wells Fargo is accepting interest forms for round two of the DCC
program through June 1st. CDFIs can visit www.wellsfargo.com/cdfi
to learn more about the program’s guidelines and to access the
online interest form. In addition to lending and/or grant capital,
the program also offers CDFIs support known as social capital.
Offered through Opportunity Finance Network, this component focuses
on activities such as mentorship, peer learning,
marketing/outreach, and guidance on tailored products.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified,
community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion
in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco,
Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and
consumer and commercial finance through 8,800 locations, 13,000
ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has
offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business
in the global economy. With approximately 269,000 team members,
Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.
Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015
rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is
to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed
financially. Wells Fargo donated $281.3 million to 16,300
nonprofits in 2015 and team members volunteered 1.8 million hours
serving their communities. Wells Fargo perspectives are also
available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.
Wells Fargo serves approximately 3 million small business owners
across the United States and loans more money to America’s small
businesses than any other bank (2002-2014 CRA government data). To
help more small businesses achieve financial success, in 2014 Wells
Fargo introduced Wells Fargo Works for Small Business® – a broad
initiative to deliver resources, guidance and services for business
owners – and a goal to extend $100 billion in new lending to small
businesses by 2018.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160505005101/en/
Wells Fargo & CompanyErica Van Ross,
704-715-9749Erica.vanross@wellsfargo.com@EricaVanRossWFJen Hibbard,
415-396-4609Jen.hibbard@wellsfargo.com@jenhibbardwf
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