New York – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced that 12 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) around the U.S. have been selected to receive $6.6 million in lending capital and grants under the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business: Diverse Community Capital program.  These CDFIs are private, nonprofit financial institutions that are dedicated to delivering responsible, affordable lending to underserved populations and communities.

Diverse Community Capital funds are used by CDFIs to:

• Increase lending to diverse small business owners.
• Support initiatives that increase access to capital and resources, including technical assistance, marketing and outreach.
• Help more diverse small business owners get the coaching and education resources they may need to grow their business. 

Under the program, awardees also have the opportunity to participate in a social capital component, delivered by Opportunity Finance Network, a national network of CDFIs.  Opportunities are provided for CDFIs to learn from other organizations through a Knowledge Network, working groups on specific topics, consulting, mentoring and industry resources.

“The combination of debt, grant and social capital makes the DCC program unique,” said Connie Smith, Wells Fargo’s Diverse Community Capital program manager. “The social capital component allows CDFIs to collaborate, innovate and better serve diverse small businesses — and when our small businesses succeed, so do the communities they serve.”

By financing community businesses — including small businesses, microenterprises, nonprofit organizations, commercial real estate and affordable housing — CDFIs spark job growth and retention in communities across the U.S.

Wells Fargo has committed $75 million to CDFIs through the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business: Diverse Community Capital program. The program has now awarded more than $55 million to 56 CDFIs.

The Round Four Diverse Community Capital Recipients:

• Accion East – New York
• AmPac Tri-State CDC – Grand Terrace, Calif.
• Cooperative Business Assistance Corporation (CBAC) – Camden, N.J.
• Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) – Columbus, Ohio
• Initiative Foundation – St. Cloud, Minn.
• LiftFund – San Antonio, Texas
• Pacific Coast Regional Small Business Development Corp. – Los Angeles
• San Diego Region Small Business CDC – San Diego
• South Carolina Community Loan Fund – Charleston, S.C.
• Southern Bancorp Community Partners – Little Rock, Ark.
• UCEDC – Cranford, N.J.
• Ventures – Seattle

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,400 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 268,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Wells Fargo No. 3 on its most recent list of the top corporate cash philanthropists. In 2016, Wells Fargo donated $281.3 million to 14,900 nonprofits and Wells Fargo team members volunteered 1.73 million hours with 50,000 nonprofits. Wells Fargo’s corporate social responsibility efforts are focused on three priorities: economic empowerment in underserved communities, environmental sustainability, and advancing diversity and social inclusion. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

‡ We provide links to external websites for your convenience. Wells Fargo does not endorse and is not responsible for their content, links, privacy policies, or security policies.