New philanthropic strategy to benefit underserved communities
through housing, financial health and small business programs; $20
million challenge grant aims to accelerate solutions for U.S.
housing needs
Industry veteran Brandee McHale joins Company to lead
philanthropy
Wells Fargo today announced an evolution of its philanthropic
strategy to help address three critical issues affecting
underserved communities: housing affordability, financial health
and small business growth.
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Wells Fargo is donating $1 billion in
philanthropy toward housing affordability to underserved
communities. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Company, through its business and the Wells Fargo
Foundation, will use its resources and expertise to develop new
ideas and implement solutions in communities of need in
collaboration with public- and private-sector organizations. In
particular, Wells Fargo will commit $1 billion in
philanthropy alone through 2025 to address the U.S. housing
affordability crisis, including homelessness, available and
affordable rentals, transitional housing and home ownership.
“Wells Fargo is focused on creating a path to stability and
financial success for individuals and families that lack access to
affordable housing, tools to manage financial health and capital
for small business growth,” said Allen Parker, interim CEO and
president of Wells Fargo. “Together, we can help spark systemic
change and economic development for underserved communities. When
people start businesses, build wealth and are able to afford homes
in their neighborhood, communities thrive.”
Last year, Wells Fargo donated a total of $444 million to more
than 11,000 nonprofits to help address economic and social needs in
underserved communities. Beginning in 2019, Wells Fargo is
targeting 2% of its after-tax profits for corporate philanthropy,
concentrating on housing affordability, small business growth and
financial health. The Company also will allocate funding for
particular community needs at the local level, such as education,
disaster relief and the arts.
To oversee this work, Wells Fargo also announced today that
financial services industry veteran Brandee McHale will join
the Company to head the Wells Fargo Foundation, effective Aug. 1,
2019. McHale brings more than 30 years of experience in public and
private philanthropy to Wells Fargo, most recently as head of
Corporate Citizenship at Citigroup Inc. and president of the Citi
Foundation. McHale also previously worked at the Ford Foundation,
developing a portfolio of investments designed to help low-income
households achieve financial success. She will be based in New York
City and report to Jim Rowe, head of Stakeholder Relations at Wells
Fargo.
In her role, McHale will succeed Jon Campbell, current head of
corporate philanthropy and community relations, who previously
announced his retirement from Wells Fargo as of Dec. 31, 2019,
after a distinguished 42-year career serving the Company in a
variety of roles.
Housing affordability
The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University
states that nearly one-third of U.S. households spend more than 30%
of their income on housing, and 18 million commit more than 50% for
a safe place to live. According to the National Low-Income Housing
Coalition, no state or metro in the U.S. has enough affordable
rental inventory to meet the existing demand for its lowest-income
residents. In addition, Urban Institute reports that 54 million
residents of rural communities are living in areas with a “most
severe” or “moderately severe” need for more affordable housing, as
defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To address challenges in construction, financing and support
services for low- and moderate-income families, the elderly and the
homeless, Wells Fargo is also launching a $20 million Housing
Affordability Challenge. The challenge grant is aimed at
uncovering new, more rapid ways to increase the availability and
sustainability of affordable housing.
“America’s housing affordability crisis isn’t restricted to
cities on the East and West Coasts,” said Jon Campbell, head of
Corporate Philanthropy and Community Relations at Wells Fargo.
“Families everywhere are sacrificing necessities like food,
healthcare and education in order to afford a place to live. Wells
Fargo will bring local and national nonprofits and policy leaders
together to better understand and address the full spectrum of
housing affordability — from homelessness to rental housing to
homeownership — and unlock more housing options for those in
need.”
Since 2012, Wells Fargo has provided more charitable grants for
homebuyers than any other bank in the U.S. through its
philanthropic NeighborhoodLIFT® and other LIFT
programs in collaboration with NeighborWorks® America. More than
21,000 homeowners, the majority from low- and moderate-income
households, have been created through over $460 million in
down-payment assistance grants.
Wells Fargo has also helped more than 170,000 African American
and Hispanic individuals purchase homes through 10-year lending
commitments to these diverse communities.
“The state of affordable housing is at a crisis point,” said
Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity. “Markets all over
the country that used to be affordable are seeing housing prices
soar. Some people who may not have experienced housing struggles
before are getting a glimpse into the impact that an unaffordable
home can have on a family’s health, educational opportunities and
financial stability. We are working diligently with Wells Fargo and
our other committed partners to find solutions and create policies
that will help millions of people meet their most basic needs.”
Financial health
The Federal Reserve Board reports that nearly 40% of adults
would have to resort to techniques such as borrowing money or
selling something to cover an unexpected expense of $400. Wells
Fargo will help expand access to financial education, financial
coaching, homebuyer counseling and other programs or products that
improve healthy financial habits and increase overall financial
success.
This work complements existing efforts by the Company to help
consumers — in particular, unbanked and underbanked individuals and
families who are living outside the financial mainstream — succeed
financially. In 2018, Wells Fargo team members volunteered more
than 47,000 hours in support of the financial health and
well-being of individuals and families, especially in underserved
communities. Wells Fargo is collaborating with the Bank On movement
to support local coalitions in delivering greater access to safe,
affordable banking products and financial education. In addition,
Wells Fargo offers Hands On Banking/El futuro en tus manos® — a
free, non-commercial financial education program in English and
Spanish — to teach people about responsible money management,
including through specific modules designed for youth, adults,
veterans, seniors and entrepreneurs.
Small business growth
Small businesses are growing, with 52% saying revenues increased
over the past year, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small
Business Index. In particular, however, diverse entrepreneurs need
consistent access to capital and training to stay in the
neighborhoods they love and bring well-paying jobs to the
community. Wells Fargo will intensify efforts to develop and
enhance technical assistance — such as business plan development,
budgeting and marketing — alongside initiatives that will deliver
more stability to startups and existing small businesses.
Wells Fargo already has committed $175 million through
its Wells Fargo Works for Small Business®: Diverse Community
Capital program with funding to Community Development Financial
Institutions to empower diverse entrepreneurs through innovative
loan products and technical training. The program, conducted in
collaboration with Opportunity Finance Network, has so far helped
create more than 46,000 local jobs through assistance to
minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses in 36 states;
Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico.
For an overview of Wells Fargo’s philanthropic strategy and look
at local community impact, visit www.wellsfargo.com/impact.
About Wells Fargo
Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo
& Company (NYSE:WFC) provides banking, investment and mortgage
products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance,
through 7,700 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, and the internet
(wellsfargo.com). With approximately 262,000 team members, Wells
Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. With its
corporate philanthropy, Wells Fargo aims to pave a path to
stability and financial success for underserved communities by
applying a problem-solving mindset to housing affordability, small
business growth, and financial health, among other local community
needs. In 2018, Wells Fargo donated $444 million to nearly 11,000
nonprofits. For 10 consecutive years, Wells Fargo has held the
honor of No. 1 in workplace giving by United Way Worldwide. Wells
Fargo team members also actively support communities by donating
more than 2 million hours of volunteer time in the last year. News,
insights and more information on the company’s overall corporate
responsibility are available at Wells Fargo Stories and
www.wellsfargo.com/impact.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190605005342/en/
MediaKim Erlichson,
201-463-4243kim.erlichson@wellsfargo.com
Jennifer Dunn, 202-320-8532Jennifer.G.Dunn@wellsfargo.com
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