U.S. Bank Announces $1 Million in Grants to Black-Led CDFIs; Additional Support for African American Alliance
August 10 2020 - 11:33AM
Business Wire
U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation (USBCDC) today
announced $1.15 million in grants to more than a dozen Black-led
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) partners and—in
partnership with the U.S. Bank Foundation—a grant to the African
American Alliance of CDFI CEOs. This is part of U.S. Bank’s overall
$116 million commitment to addressing social and economic
inequities.
“These grants will directly support Black communities by
providing immediate funding in the wake of COVID-19 and by
strengthening relationships between U.S. Bank, our partners, and
the communities that we all serve,” said William Carson, USBCDC
Vice President. “This emphasis on closing racial gaps is consistent
with our ongoing allocation and investment strategy and is a
framework for lasting impact.”
A total of 15 CDFIs will receive grants ranging from $50,000 to
$100,000 while the African American Alliance will receive $150,000
to support Black-led CDFIs to help measure their combined impact
and speak as a united voice for the industry.
The CDFIs include:
- Black Business Investment Fund – Orlando, Florida
- Capital Impact Partners – Arlington, Virginia
- Carver Financial Corporation – Savannah, Georgia
- Chicago Community Loan Fund – Chicago, Illinois
- City First – Washington, D.C.
- Enterprise/ESIC New Markets Partners – Columbia, Maryland
- Harbor Bank of Maryland Community Development Corporation –
Baltimore, Maryland
- Hope Enterprise Corporation – Jackson, Mississippi
- Liberty Bank & Trust – New Orleans, Louisiana
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation – New York, New York
- Opportunity Finance Network – Washington, D.C.
- Southern Bancorp Community Partners – Little Rock,
Arkansas
- Texas Mezzanine Fund – Dallas, Texas
- The Housing Fund – Nashville, Tennessee
- TruFund Financial/Empowerment Reinvestment Fund – New York, New
York
Grants will be used for direct support to Black businesses,
families and individuals to offset financial stresses caused by
COVID-19, or for organizational capacity building. Many of these
CDFIs were founded and historically operated by Black leaders to
help overcome the structural barriers that often have limited
access to capital. Historically Black organizations also tend to
have a deeper understanding of where and why resource gaps exist
within Black communities and how to close those gaps.
“We’re grateful for U.S. Bank’s partnership,” said James H.
Bason, president and CEO of TruFund Financial Services, Inc. “This
investment will allow TruFund to deploy affordable, flexible
capital and put additional resources to work in the communities
that most need them. Now more than ever, support of small minority
owned businesses is critical.” TruFund promotes economic
development in underserved communities in New York, Alabama, and
Louisiana.
“This grant from U.S. Bank helps to strengthen The Harbor Bank
of Maryland Community Development Corporation’s ability to bring
necessary and available access to capital and technical assistance
to some of the most impacted businesses in the Baltimore
community,” said John Lewis, president of The Harbor Bank of
Maryland CDC, which focuses on underinvested communities in the
greater Baltimore area.
The African American Alliance represents 29 Black-led CDFIs
focused on increasing capital and financial services to African
American-owned businesses with a goal to change the odds and
outcomes for African Americans in underserved communities across
the country.
“The African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs (AAA) is deeply
grateful for the recent investments made by U.S. Bancorp’s
Community Development Corporation and the U.S. Bank Foundation,”
said Donna Gambrell, chair of the Alliance. “The funding will
enable AAA to focus on the organization and to build its
infrastructure, focus on the leaders and their development, and
focus on African American families, small businesses, and
communities that have been hard hit by the pandemic.”
U.S Bank has a long history of support for CDFIs, providing them
more than $400 million in capital by end of 2019. In May, USBCDC
also announced $50 million in capital to help seven CDFIs provide
loans through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck
Protection Program.
About U.S. Bank
U.S. Bancorp, with more than 70,000 employees and $547 billion
in assets as of June 30, 2020, is the parent company of U.S. Bank
National Association, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the
United States. The Minneapolis-based bank blends its relationship
teams, branches and ATM network with mobile and online tools that
allow customers to bank how, when and where they prefer. U.S. Bank
is committed to serving its millions of retail, business, wealth
management, payment, commercial and corporate, and investment
services customers across the country and around the world as a
trusted financial partner, a commitment recognized by the
Ethisphere Institute naming the bank one of the 2020 World’s Most
Ethical Companies. Visit U.S. Bank at www.usbank.com or follow on
social media to stay up to date with company news.
About U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation:
With $33.2 billion in tax credit equity committed as of June 30,
2020, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary
of U.S. Bank, provides innovative financing solutions for community
development projects across the country using state and federally
sponsored tax credit programs. USBCDC's commitments provide capital
investment to areas that need it the most and contribute to the
creation of new jobs, the rehabilitation of historic buildings, the
construction of needed affordable and market-rate homes, the
development of renewable energy facilities, and the generation of
commercial economic activity in underserved communities. Visit
USBCDC on the web at www.usbank.com/cdc.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200810005523/en/
Cassie Wagner, U.S. Bank Cassie.wagner@usbank.com
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