Opportunity Finance Network Gets Largest Grant in 35-Year Background from Wells Fargo

WASHINGTON–(Business WIRE)–Prospect Finance Network (OFN) announced that Wells Fargo is committing a $25 million grant to its Finance Justice Fund to support deal with systemic limitations to capital in communities about the country. Managed by Possibility Finance Community, the Finance Justice Fund aims to address the racial prosperity hole and persistent poverty by delivering funding via community enhancement fiscal institutions (CDFIs) to Black, Latinx, Native, rural, and other communities with fewer access to common economical solutions.

“Wells Fargo’s historic grant contribution sets a precedent for companies searching for to make an impact in low-revenue and underserved communities. CDFIs can supply the greatest impression packages when financial debt funds is coupled with grants that permit them to create their ability and internet assets. This grant indicates that CDFIs will be in a position to go deeper into their communities to serve much more folks and neighborhoods,” mentioned Lisa Mensah, president and CEO of OFN.

“Developing small enterprises, supporting very affordable housing developers, and revitalizing economic corridors enrich communities for the extended term,” claimed Monthly bill Daley, vice chairman of General public Affairs at Wells Fargo. “We have prolonged understood the knowledge of CDFIs having engaged OFN as a result of our Various Local community Capital system and now with our Open up for Business enterprise Fund. The Finance Justice Fund is a pure evolution of our deep collaboration with OFN and appreciation for the purpose CDFIs participate in in the economic system.”

Target of the Finance Justice Fund

CDFIs will get awards from the Finance Justice Fund to increase lending and offer business advisory help to tiny corporations. The Wells Fargo grant assists OFN deploy the Finance Justice Fund personal debt as it catalyzes its lengthy-expression, small-price tag, flexible capital and accelerates the operate of OFN member CDFIs in communities of color, rural markets, and areas of persistent poverty. OFN envisions that when the Finance Justice Fund achieves its intention of $1 billion in funds, the fund will help financing somewhere around $420 million for tiny corporations, $420 million for economical housing, $70 million for shopper and other economic assist, and $90 million for group amenities in those people markets.

Wells Fargo expenditure in CDFIs

Wells Fargo has a history of operating with CDFIs and OFN. From 2015 to 2021, Wells Fargo presented CDFIs who have been growing their lending to Black, Latinx, and other assorted compact organizations with extra than $80 million in financial debt and additional than $94 million in grant funds by the Diverse Neighborhood Funds application. This initiative designed cash, engineering, and infrastructure for these CDFIs, strengthening them for the lengthy term and enabling them to mobilize quicker to meet the unforeseen demand from customers from small corporations during the pandemic. On top of that, the Wells Fargo Future Awards for Possibility Finance awarded the nation’s most promising CDFIs more than $76 million from 2007 to 2016.

This $25 million grant is portion of Wells Fargo’s Open up for Organization Fund, a roughly $420 million smaller small business restoration work. By means of May possibly 31, 2021, the Open for Company Fund is projected to attain around 35,000 tiny firms, aiding them preserve nearly 90,000 positions.

About OFN

Possibility Finance Network, the nationwide community of CDFIs, strives to make certain very low-profits and other beneath-resourced communities have accessibility to economical, responsible financial products and services. Users of OFN are CDFIs that supply dependable lending to assistance minimal-money communities sign up for the financial mainstream. By way of 2019, OFN’s network originated $82.7 billion in funding in rural, urban, and Native communities. This funding has helped to develop or manage far more than 1,751,000 jobs, commence or broaden 448,541 firms and microenterprises, and support the growth or rehabilitation of a lot more than 2,148,000 housing units and a lot more than 12,000 community facility tasks.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Corporation (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, neighborhood-dependent money solutions company with $1.92 trillion in property. Wells Fargo’s eyesight is to satisfy our customers’ money requirements and assistance them succeed economically. Launched in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo offers banking, financial commitment, and mortgage loan solutions and companies, as well as customer and commercial finance, through 7,200 locations, extra than 13,000 ATMs, the world wide web (wellsfargo.com) and cell banking, and has workplaces in 31 international locations and territories to help buyers who carry out business enterprise in the world-wide economy. Wells Fargo serves just one in 3 households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Business was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2020 rankings of America’s premier companies. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Tales.

Extra data may possibly be located at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo.

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