BOSTON, Dec. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Santander Bank
announced today that it awarded nearly $6.6
million in charitable contributions to 177 community-based
non-profit organizations and 15 Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFIs) throughout its northeast footprint in the
second half of 2017. These grants include more than $4.1 million awarded to non-profits providing
financial education and small business support, including capital
to low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals, families and
business owners, and more than $1
million in grant funding to private sector CDFIs. Together,
these grants are part of the Bank's recently announced $11 billion 'Inclusive Communities' plan, which
outlines Santander's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) commitment
across its eight-state northeastern U.S. footprint for 2017 through
2021 and details its strategy to increase its CRA activity by 50
percent and triple its investment in charitable grants.
Financial education and economic/small business development have
been the primary areas of support for these funding rounds for the
second half of the year along with affordable housing, community
services and neighborhood revitalization. In addition, Santander
solicited proposals from and earmarked over $1 million for CDFIs, private sector
organizations that are dedicated to improving low-income
neighborhoods through foreclosure prevention and neighborhood
wealth building, providing capital and technical assistance to
diverse small businesses, and supporting vulnerable populations
including people with disabilities, the elderly and very low-income
individuals and families.
"Community Development Financial Institutions are important
partners for us," said Gwen
Robinson, Santander Bank's
Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. "They complement our
financing by investing in small businesses and community
development projects with technical assistance and support.
We are looking forward to building new relationships with CDFIs in
our footprint as part of our grant funding, in addition to
investing in over 100 strong community-based organizations."
CDFI grant highlights from around the Bank's footprint
include:
- $110,000 to Union County
Economic Development Corporation (UCEDC) to expand a pilot
program that supports home-based childcare provider businesses
operating in underserved areas in Greater
New York City, Greater
Newark, and Greater
Philadelphia.
- $100,000 to Community First
Fund to support the creation of a $2
million loan fund that provides business start-up and
expansion loans to Hispanic and African-American entrepreneurs and
small businesses operating in underserved neighborhoods in
Central Pennsylvania.
- $75,000 to Dorchester Bay
Neighborhood Loan Fund (Dorchester Bay Economic Development
Corporation's CDFI) to support its micro lending program that
provides loans and comprehensive pre- and post-loan technical
assistance to entrepreneurs in low-income neighborhoods in
Boston.
- $50,000 to The Enterprise
Center Capital Corporation in Philadelphia to increase its lending capacity
and provide one-on-one business training, technical assistance, and
loan preparation services to LMI entrepreneurs and small business
owners in Pennsylvania's
Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties.
- $50,000 to First State
Community Loan Fund to support an economic development
initiative on Wilmington,
Delaware's West Side that includes renovating a mixed-use
property into supportive housing for people with disabilities and a
future small business incubator, retail or office space.
A full listing of charitable grants awarded in these final
funding rounds for 2017 is available at
www.santanderbank.com/us/about/media-center.
Santander awards grants three times a year through the Santander
Bank Charitable Contributions Program, which invests in programs
serving LMI individuals, families, and communities. Non-profit
organizations interested in applying for a grant can access
Santander's grant application guidelines by visiting the Santander
Charitable Contributions Program or sending questions to
santandercharitablecont@santander.us. Deadlines for 2018's three
grant rounds are as follows: Cycle 1: February 2; Cycle 2: June
1; and Cycle 3: September
14.
Santander Bank,
N.A. is one of the country's largest retail and
commercial banks with more than $79
billion in assets. With its corporate offices in
Boston, the Bank's 9,700
employees, more than 650 branches, 2,100 ATMs and 2.1 million
customers are principally located in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and
Delaware. The Bank is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN)
- one of the most respected banking groups in the world with more
than 125 million customers in the U.S., Europe, and Latin
America. It is managed by Santander Holdings USA, Inc., Banco Santander's intermediate
holding company in the U.S. For more information on Santander Bank, please visit
www.santanderbank.com.
Media
Contacts:
Ann
Davis
617-757-5891
ann.davis@santander.us
Nancy Orlando
617-757-5765
nancy.orlando@santander.us
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SOURCE Santander Bank, N.A.