RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo today announced the company donated $6 million through 561 grants to local nonprofits, schools and community organizations in 2018 to help the communities and people of Virginia.

Wells Fargo’s philanthropic contributions build on a long history of collaboration with local nonprofits and community leaders to make a positive impact by addressing urgent community issues such as affordable housing, small business growth, access to education and sustainability.

When combined with the more than $1.1 million donated by more than 8,800 Virginia team members during the company’s internal Community Support Campaign, nonprofits in the state received a total of $7.1 million from Wells Fargo and its team members in 2018. That amounts to an average daily donation of $19,452.

“Across our community, many residents are working hard to make ends meet,” said Ravi Chandra, Wells Fargo region bank president for Virginia West. “Here in Virginia, we want to help people find a stable place to live, help small business owners expand and help young people gain a high-quality education that prepares them for the workforce.

“We are determined to help people and communities, especially in underserved areas, succeed financially. We will continue to provide philanthropy, volunteers, expertise and other resources to revitalize and strengthen local neighborhoods.”

Beyond philanthropy, Wells Fargo team members in Virginia volunteered more than 50,000 hours in 2018 to support nonprofits and causes important to them — including organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together and Junior Achievement. The Independent Sector estimates the value of one volunteer hour is $24.69. At 50,000 hours, the value of Wells Fargo team members’ 2018 volunteerism in Virginia was more than $1.2 million.

When you combine the Wells Fargo and team member giving totals of $7.1 million and the $1.2 million value of the volunteerism, it means Wells Fargo and its team members made a $8.3 million charitable impact in Virginia last year.

“Part of what makes Wells Fargo unique is the generosity of our team members, who help multiply our community impact,” said Janet Tope, region bank president for Virginia East. “Sometimes giving time is even more valuable than money, because it puts our desire to build a strong community into action and gives us a tangible way to personally make a difference.”

United Way Worldwide recently recognized Wells Fargo for having the No. 1 workplace giving campaign in the U.S. for the tenth consecutive year.

Making an impact in Virginia

Wells Fargo concentrated its 2018 local philanthropic contributions on addressing urgent community issues such as:

• Affordable housing. To help increase affordable, stable housing and homeownership in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, the Better Housing Coalition and Project Homes were recipients of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Priority Market Grants totaling $150,000. These grants are awarded to large-scale community revitalization efforts. The grants help drive the program’s continued mission of supporting projects, programs and initiatives that remove barriers to sustainable housing for low- to moderate-income communities.
• Small business growth. Small businesses are critical to job creation and a vibrant community. Many diverse-owned small businesses, especially those in rural and low- to moderate-income communities, face unique challenges and often lack access to the full spectrum of resources necessary for growth and success. Wells Fargo provided the Community Investment Collaborative (CIC) with a grant to support its 16-week entrepreneurship program, which also provides financing, mentoring and networking for participants. Since its creation, the CIC has helped form 267 businesses and generated nearly $6.5 million in wages from new jobs.
• Economic Equity and inclusion. Support included grants to nonprofits that directly serve diverse and historically underserved groups, including initiatives focused on the development of women and diverse talent, education and vocational training. For example, Wells Fargo collaborated with Appalachian Sustainable Development on its farmer and rancher mentoring program, the University of Virginia’s young women leaders mentoring program, the Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Network2Work job assistance program and the African American Teaching Fellows Teaching leader institute.
• Access to education. Throughout Virginia, Wells Fargo supports colleges and universities that enable students to excel through academic achievement in workforce development, STEAM programs, entrepreneurship and other academic programs. During 2018, Wells Fargo in Virginia donated more than $240,000 to several of these designated educational programs in Virginia including Virginia Foundation for Community College Education and Virginia Latino Higher Education Network.

“Wells Fargo and its employees help lead in giving across Virginia through their annual giving campaign, which provides millions of dollars to critical programs in the commonwealth,” said James L.M. Taylor, president & CEO of United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg. “Wells Fargo employees volunteer their time and energy to help their local United Way empower people in the region and drive real, systemic change. Wells Fargo is a trusted, valuable partner in our local service area and across Virginia.”

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 7,800 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com). Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. With approximately 259,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 2018 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In 2018, Wells Fargo donated more than $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits in support of affordable housing, small business growth, financial education, and sustainability, among other community needs. 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 make a difference by donating more than 2 million hours of volunteer time in the last year. News, insights and more information on the company’s corporate responsibility are available at Wells Fargo Stories.