Wells Fargo Donates $6 Million in Grants to Nonprofits Through Neighborhood Revitalization Effort

DES MOINES, IA - Wells Fargo & Company announced it will donate $6 million shared across 59 nonprofits through its 2012 Leading The Way Home® program Priority Markets Initiative to help stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods hard-hit by the economy. The Leading The Way Home® Priority Markets Initiative provides grant support for neighborhood stabilization projects that are located in areas designated for revitalization to stimulate growth, stability and investment in distressed areas.

“These grants are focused on stabilizing and rebuilding local communities,” said Kimberly Jackson, executive director of Wells Fargo’s Housing Foundation. “We’re increasing our grant commitments to help even more efforts led by nonprofits to revitalize neighborhoods in cities that have been deeply affected by the challenging economy.”

Grant recipients are nonprofits actively involved and experienced in community revitalization efforts and were selected from requests submitted by local team members and nonprofits Wells Fargo identified as being in need of extra help with large-scale neighborhood revitalization projects. Leading The Way Home® Priority Markets Initiative grants can be used for any costs associated with the development or redevelopment of the project except advertising and marketing. A maximum 20 percent of the grant can be used for homebuyer subsidies such as down payment/closing costs. Recipients must be IRS 501c3 organizations with successful histories of building or renovating housing for low- to moderate-income homebuyers.

The Leading The Way Home^® Priority Markets Initiative grants are administered through the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation. Since 2009, the Leading the Way Priority Markets Initiative grant program has provided more than $18 million to more than 75 communities. Since its inception in 1993, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has stewarded nearly $200 million dollars and 4.5 million team member volunteer hours in support of creating affordable housing and community revitalization programs. Wells Fargo Housing Foundation’s Team Member Volunteer Program has mobilized more than 175,000 volunteers to build or refurbish 4,000 homes in low-to-moderate income communities. In 2011, Wells Fargo programs delivered a record 1245 donated properties to support local affordable housing and community revitalization programs.