Company collaborates with the Nasdaq
Entrepreneurial Center to provide coaching and its Open For
Business Fund invests over $55M to help women and diverse-owned
businesses gain expertise
Wells Fargo today announced a new wave of support for
entrepreneurs including an initiative focused on mentoring 500
women-owned businesses called Connect to More℠, and a second phase
of funding from its Open for Business Fund aimed at providing 93
nonprofits with access to experts that can help grow their
businesses.
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Wells Fargo Delivers Mentorship for 500
Women-Owned Businesses; Announces Grants to Over 90 Nonprofits
(Graphic: Wells Fargo)
“Access to trusted expertise helps small businesses move from
surviving to thriving,” said Jenny Flores, head of Small Business
Growth Philanthropy at Wells Fargo. “For many small businesses,
having access to mentorship and trusted experts in areas like
marketing, business planning, technology and legal can be a
critical turning point for getting back to growth.”
Connect to More for women entrepreneurs
Connect to More is one example of how we’re supporting the
success and sustainability of women-owned businesses through access
to expertise and specialized resources. As part of the program,
Wells Fargo partnered with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center where
women entrepreneurs can gain complimentary support through its
signature Milestone Mapping Coaching Circles. Born from the
challenges of COVID-19, participants get hands-on help setting and
reaching business goals from a network of peer mentors and industry
experts.
“As an entrepreneur, you don’t always have the time to sit and
reflect on your business, it’s always go go go,” said Ruby Taylor,
owner of Financial Joy School, and a current Circle participant.
“Not only does this program give you that time, but it also
includes a support system of amazing women. So far I’ve walked away
with concrete marketing and social media strategies to promote more
brand awareness for my business.”
"I love this program's heart-centered approach and how it’s
helping me clarify the value and mission of my business,” said Amy
Li, Founder & CEO of Dance4Healing, another current Circle
participant. “Because my company is all about bridging creative
arts and health care using technology, I’ve struggled with how to
make it sustainable while also doing good. The Circle has helped me
set milestone goals to develop a sales channel strategy and connect
with the right support I need for my business to thrive toward a
greater ecosystem.”
Connect to More will offer Milestone Mapping Coaching Circles
throughout the year and into 2022 with the goal of helping 500
women-owned businesses. Each Circle is open to all
women-identifying business owners in the U.S. and provides a
biweekly opportunity for women entrepreneurs to work through
specific challenges, celebrate milestones, attend workshops, and
connect with small business experts and mentors. Those interested
in applying must complete an application, and upon acceptance, will
be placed in a Circle.
“As a non-profit committed to access and equity in
entrepreneurship, we are grateful for this opportunity to help 500
women-owned businesses accelerate their personal growth as leaders
and gain support as they solve big problems that make their
families and communities stronger,” says Nicola Corzine, executive
director of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. “We believe
accelerating women business owners’ influence and economic
opportunities are critical to addressing the intolerable wealth
gap.”
Open for Business Fund announces technical assistance
grants
The company is also distributing more than $55 million to 93
nonprofits from its Open for Business Fund, a roughly $420 million
small business recovery effort. These grants will make experts in
business planning, accounting, financial management, legal,
marketing and more available to small business owners for coaching
and guidance.
According to the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO),
small businesses with access to expertise have a lot to gain
including a “30% difference in average annual revenue growth for a
sample of businesses that got support compared to their peers that
did not. In fact, with the right mix of resources and support
systems, employment from microbusinesses in low-wealth communities
alone could grow by well-over 10%.”
The nonprofits selected to join the Open for Business Fund range
from universities to local chambers of commerce to economic
development funds with an emphasis on reaching small business
owners most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. For a
complete list of grantees, visit here.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial
services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets,
proudly serves one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of
small businesses in the U.S., and is the leading middle market
banking provider in the U.S. We provide a diversified set of
banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as
consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable
operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial
Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth &
Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 37 on Fortune’s 2021
rankings of America’s largest corporations. In the communities we
serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a
sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing
affordability, small business growth, financial health and a
low-carbon economy. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells
Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com |
Twitter: @WellsFargo.
Cautionary Statement about Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements about our
future financial performance and business. Because forward-looking
statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions
regarding the future, they are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties. Do not unduly rely on forward-looking statements as
actual results could differ materially from expectations.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and we
do not undertake to update them to reflect changes or events that
occur after that date. For information about factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations,
refer to our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the “Forward-Looking Statements” discussion
in Wells Fargo’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as well
as to Wells Fargo’s other reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the discussion under “Risk Factors”
in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2018, available on its website at www.sec.gov.
News Release Category: WF-SB
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210818005701/en/
Media Brittany Anthony, 925-451-0769
Brittany.Anthony@wellsfargo.com Kim Erlichson, 201-463-4243
Kim.Erlichson@wellsfargo.com Matt Paget, Extension PR for The
Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center mpaget@extensionpr.com
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