MIAMI – Last week, Wells Fargo announced a $20 million grant to The Miami Foundation. The grant is the largest the nonprofit has received to date and will be used to help racially diverse small business owners own more of their businesses as well as improve technology to better serve customers.
“Fostering an inclusive economic recovery and helping small businesses sustain themselves and grow in the wake of COVID-19 is a priority for us,” said Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo’s CEO. “As a company, we have a commitment to make the communities where we operate stronger, and to do it at a very local level.”
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The donation came from the financial institution’s Open for Business Fund, which was created from the gross processing fees that Wells Fargo received from Paycheck Protection Program loans made in 2020. Wells Fargo has donated funds to nonprofits across the nation, and The Miami Foundation was chosen to disburse the funds in Miami-Dade County.
“Minority-led small businesses and nonprofits are vital to the strength of our region,” said Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, president and CEO of The Miami Foundation. “This is a transformational investment from Wells Fargo that builds upon the Foundation’s commitment to racial equity. It will help create generational wealth and support a stable future for diverse small businesses as we work to foster a strong, equitable, and thriving Greater Miami, which is at the core of our Foundation’s mission.”
Local business owners who have received support were in attendance at the presentation Friday, along with elected officials including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. The event took place at The Urban, located at 1000 NW 2nd Ave. in Miami.
For more information on The Miami Foundation and the grant, visit miamifoundation.org/miamiopenforbusiness.
