Wells Fargo & Co. will donate over $400 million toward helping small businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic, giving away all proceeds from its participation in the Payroll Protection Program (PPP).
Through Wells Fargo’s new Open for Business Fund, the company will engage nonprofit organizations to provide capital, technical support, and long-term resiliency programs to small businesses with an emphasis on those that are minority-owned businesses.
Through June 30, Wells Fargo funded loans under the PPP for more than 179,000 customers, with an average loan amount of $56,000, totaling $10.1 billion.
Of the loans made, 84% of those are for companies that have less than 10 employees; 60% were for amounts of $25,000 or less; and, 90% of these applicants had $2 million or less in annual revenue.
According to data from Wells Fargo’s June Gallup/Small Business Index, more than half of small business owners surveyed expect either stagnant or decreasing revenues in the coming 12 months.
The Open for Business Fund is accepting applications from CDFIs and special purpose funds formed by CDFIs serving racially and ethnically diverse small businesses for its first grant cycle, open now through August 7.
Additional grant cycles focused on technical assistance and recovery and resiliency will open later this year.
Who can apply for the Open for Business Fund? Nonprofits who serve businesses owned by racially and ethnically underrepresented individuals. Nonprofits that focus on lending to these businesses are eligible for the initial grant cycle.
Where do they apply? Nonprofits can learn more at: www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate-responsibility/community-giving
Please click here and download the PDF file with guidelines to apply