Wells Fargo Awards $200,000 Grant To First State Community Loan Fund To Expand Services
March 20, 2019
Wells Fargo Awards $200,000 Grant To First State Community Loan Fund To Expand Services
The Diverse Community Capital Grant Award will be used to concentrate efforts within the African-American and Hispanic small business communities.
Wilmington, Del. (March 2019) – First State Community Loan Fund (CLF), announced it has been awarded a $200,000 grant from Wells Fargo to support an initiative to press into some of the most economically distressed regions within their target markets: the Northeast neighborhood in the City of Wilmington, the City of Chester in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and the City of Coatesville in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
The grant was administered through the bank’s Diverse Community Capital (DCC) program, a collaboration between Wells Fargo and Opportunity Finance Network, which was developed to lend to diverse small business owners, support initiatives that increase access to capital and resources, and help more diverse small business owners get the coaching and education resources they need to succeed. The resources that are provided through the DCC program come in the form of loan dollars and grants geared towards bolstering the capacity of diverse-owned small businesses. The Wells Fargo DCC grant award will allow First State CLF to:
- Build partnerships with Community Development Corporations (CDCs) in target markets that serve communities of color and provide business planning courses, support, and loan funding to residents
- Develop a Capitalization Strategy to increase loan capital and support for programs.
- Invest in improvements in its impact analysis and reporting systems
- Invest in new staff
Photo by Kaique Rocha from Pexels
“We take diversity very seriously,” said Van Hampton, CEO of First State Community Loan Fund. “With this additional funding, we will be able to support entrepreneurs in distressed areas and empower them to serve as economic hubs in their communities. There is much work to be done, and the DCC grant allows us to be agents of change and economic growth.”
“While there has been a sharp increase in commercial and housing development in the City of Wilmington, there has been a failure to create the imagined sustained economic boom for our neighborhood residents. First State CLF, under the leadership of Van Hampton, has partnered with Destiny CDC in an effort to help equip members of our community to be agents of economic change,” noted Destiny CDC Executive Director Azeez Weeks. “First State CLF continues to do an amazing job of setting business owners up for success. We are so excited to see the fruits of this partnership and look forward to empowering a community of entrepreneurs and business owners to take control of their financial futures.”
“I congratulate the First State CLF on being awarded a $200,000 DCC Grant from Wells Fargo,” said Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. “First State CLF is doing fantastic work in Wilmington through its DCC Initiative, particularly in the City’s Northeast, and their partnership with New Destiny Fellowship is helping minority entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive. As we are well aware, when our small local businesses are successful, Wilmington and all of its people reap the benefits.”
“Small business owners in Wilmington and Delaware County who would not otherwise have access to the resources needed to start or grow their businesses will now have resources through our support of First State Community Loan Fund. The DCC program is just one of the ways we’re proud to support the growth of the region’s economy,” said Lauren Tobiassen, Delaware Valley region bank president for Wells Fargo.