Wells Fargo Announces $18.5 Million in Grants to Nine OFN Members
On February 27, the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business: Diverse Community Capital program announced the nine recipients of its latest $18.5 million round of grant funding. A collaborative effort established by OFN and Wells Fargo in 2015, the Diverse Community Capital aims to create increased access to capital and capacity-building for diverse small business owners nationwide.
Since the program launch, 92 CDFIs in rural and urban areas have received $94.8 million in Wells Fargo grants, resulting in 45,000 local jobs created and sustained by the first 44 CDFI awardees alone, as well as $393 million in loans closed through more than 8,000 loans to diverse small business owners. The $175 million in committed program funding will extend through 2020.
“Over the past three years, OFN has been privileged to work with the talented individuals at the many CDFIs that have received Diverse Community Capital Program awards from Wells Fargo,” stated Donna Fabiani, OFN’s EVP of Knowledge Sharing. “We congratulate the new Activator Award recipients and are eager to see how far they will take their diverse small business lending with the help of these new awards.”
Congratulations to our nine OFN member awardees!
- Accion, Inc. ($2.7 million)
- Carolina Small Business Development Fund ($2.8 million)
- Community Reinvestment Fund ($2.7 million)
- Hope Enterprise Corporation (HOPE) ($2.8 million)
- Main Street Launch ($2 million)
- Metropolitan Economic Development Association ($1.5 million)
- Self-Help Ventures Fund ($1.5 million)
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation ($1 million)
- PathStone Enterprise Center, Inc. ($1.5 million)
Learn more in Wells Fargo’s press release.