On Wednesday, May 5, Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf announced $3,225,000 in grants during a special event held in Johnson C. Smith University, to help local nonprofit organizations address critical community needs and advancing entrepreneurship for the next generation of business leaders. Johnson C. The nine recipients of this grant are — Smith University, United Way of Central Carolinas, Central Piedmont Community College’s Small Business Center, Aspire Community Capital, Charlotte is Creative, City Startup Labs, the Latin American Chamber of Commerce Charlotte, the Women’s Business Center of Charlotte, and Prospera.
“Wells Fargo is being intentional about supporting a more inclusive economic recovery, with a focus on racial and social equity, economic mobility, and investments in low- and moderate-income communities. We are pleased to announce these grants for the Charlotte area and will continue to focus on ways we can support positive change.” Said Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo CEO. “This gift from Wells Fargo is going to allow us to support them and help them keep the lights on so they can deliver on their mission.”
Prospera North Carolina Vice President Jose Alvarez stated that Wells Fargo’s grant will allow the nonprofit to continue helping Hispanic-owned businesses thrive by breaking down language and other cultural barriers with bilingual training and other consulting support.
Underscoring the need for the assistance, he said, is that Charlotte is home to the state’s largest and fastest-growing number of Hispanic entrepreneurs and that North Carolina itself experienced the third-largest growth (54%) of Hispanic-owned businesses between 2012 and 2017. “Wells Fargo has been a great supporter of our mission in North Carolina since we expanded to the state four years ago,” said Jose Alvarez. “By helping this fast-growing demographic start and grow their businesses with the right culturally sensitive support, their chances of succeeding will dramatically increase.”
Find out more about what happened at the grants announcement event, here.
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