We strengthen communities and help create local jobs by investing in underserved small business owners. We fund nonprofits that are focused on providing capital, technical assistance and networks of support for entrepreneurs.
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Following an April 2020 industry-leading commitment to donate all gross processing fees from the Paycheck Protection Program, Wells Fargo unveiled today the details of an approximately $400 million effort to help small businesses impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic keep their doors open
Wells Fargo announced another new boost to diverse small businesses today with $7.9 million in grants from its Diverse Community Capital program, which offers capital and technical assistance to minority-owned small businesses through Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). To date, the program has generated more than 103,000 jobs across the U.S.
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) announced that Wells Fargo is committing a $25 million grant to its Finance Justice Fund to help tackle systemic barriers to capital in communities around the country.
Today, the Black Economic Alliance Foundation (BEA), in collaboration with Wells Fargo, launched the Black Economic Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund (BEA Entrepreneurs Fund) to accelerate the growth of Black entrepreneurs and business owners.
Helping California small business owners make a way during the pandemic. Through its Open for Business Fund and the Paycheck Protection Program, Wells Fargo is continuing to support small businesses in California with the capital and resources they need to make a way to stay open, day after day.
Mayra Velazquez had just opened a second branch of her Mexican street food-inspired restaurant Xingones in Oakland, California, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March. Within weeks, the business she had spent the last four years growing from a farmer’s market pop-up into multiple eateries had vanished — along with 80% of her revenue.
It's not until she says it out loud that Roxanne Best truly realizes all of the different jobs she does. “I always think, ‘Wow, how do I do all of that?” Best said. Years ago, she was a scuba diving instructor and filmed students’ underwater trips, developing a knack for photography and videography. She then worked for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation’s casino and started her photography business on the side. Eventually, it grew into her full-time job.
At the age of 34, Brian Menges had achieved his life dream of owning a restaurant, 2nd Street Bistro, in Livingston, Montana. Business was good over the years for Menges, who now owns the restaurant group Slainte Mhath Inc., which also includes The Murray Bar, Gil’s Goods, and a commercial kitchen.
It is with great enthusiasm that Chicanos Por La Causa announces a $5 million award from Wells Fargo to help enhance relief programs in AZ, CA and NV for small businesses that continue experiencing hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PHOENIX, AZ.—Raza Development Fund (RDF), the nation’s largest Latino Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the Wells Fargo Open For Business Fund in support of its Small Business Initiative program which serves minority and women-owned small businesses suffering from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding will extend its reach to support small businesses in Arizona, Ohio, Texas, Minnesota, and Florida. RDF will continue to provide technical assistance to businesses in all markets and help them arrive to a state of readiness to receive long term capital (low-interest loans) as a resource that will enable minority-owned businesses to achieve sustainable growth and long-term self-sufficiency.
As many small businesses are still experiencing hardship from the COVID-19 pandemic, Wells Fargo is working to support its customers in another round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and continuing to provide additional small businesses support through its Open for Business Fund. To date, the Open for Business Fund has deployed more than $84 million in philanthropic capital to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which has helped an estimated 16,000 struggling minority-owned small businesses and helped keep in place 50,000 small business jobs.
There’s a myth in the small business world: if you give an entrepreneur enough access to capital, they will succeed. The truth is, access to technical expertise around areas like budgeting, marketing, customer development, and supply chain management can be just as important as financing.
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