CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bank of America is doubling its investment in the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, committing $100 million in capital to connect women small business owners to affordable loans. Since the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program launched five years ago, more than 2,500 women entrepreneurs have received $46 million in loans through community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to help them grow and refine their businesses.
“We recognize that women entrepreneurs help fuel economic growth in communities across the U.S., and that access to capital remains a key challenge,” said Andrew Plepler, global head of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Bank of America. “Partnering with the Tory Burch Foundation to advance women in small business is one way we invest in the future of local economies.”
Launched in 2014, the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program is a partnership between Bank of America and the Tory Burch Foundation that aims to increase the number and size of businesses owned and led by women. Only 1 in 23 loan dollars is distributed to women-owned businesses in the United States. The program connects women business owners to affordable loans that are administered through local CDFIs, which provide capital and financial services to underserved markets and populations, including women entrepreneurs. Bank of America is the largest investor in CDFIs, with more than $1.5 billion in investments to 255 CDFI partners across the U.S.
“We know women pay back loans at higher rates than men, but because of cultural bias, they are denied critical capital to grow their businesses,” says Tory Burch, founder of the Tory Burch Foundation. “Over the past five years, the Capital Program has allowed us to reach women businesses owners at scale, and we’re looking forward to doubling that investment."
Through the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, business owners such as Mia Parton, who founded Aeparmia Engineering, a minority woman- and LGBTQ-owned professional civil engineering firm, are able to grow strategically. Parton leveraged the funds provided through the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program for working capital to design and manage infrastructure projects, such as water distribution and wastewater collection systems that help advance and protect communities.
The program operates in 17 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. CDFIs participating in the capital program offer a 2 percent interest rate reduction on loans for qualifying borrowers. CDFI partners work with women representing a range of industries, including accounting, hospitality, home improvement, fashion, and child care.
Through partnerships like the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, Bank of America has helped more than 11,000 women entrepreneurs through mentoring, training and access to capital. The company has a long-standing history of supporting women within the company, making the financial lives of women clients and customers better and advancing economic empowerment of women in communities around the world. The bank’s investments to advance women entrepreneurs are part of its approach to responsible growth and an example of how the company deploys capital to advance economic and social progress.
For more information on the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/toryburchfoundation or www.ToryBurchFoundation.org.
Tory Burch Foundation
The
Tory Burch Foundation advances women’s empowerment and
entrepreneurship in the United States by providing access to capital,
education and digital resources: The Fellows Program has provided over
$600,000 in grants to help women grow their businesses; the Tory Burch
Capital Program, powered by Bank of America has distributed more than
$46 million in loans to more than 2,500 women entrepreneurs; more than
200 women have completed an in-depth business education course through
the Tory Burch Foundation cohort of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small
Businesses Education Program; and the Foundation’s website, www.ToryBurchFoundation.org,
is a go-to destination for women entrepreneurs. The Foundation’s global
initiative #EmbraceAmbition launched in March 2017, encouraging women
everywhere to own their power, their drive and their dreams. Each month,
the Foundation provides online tools and digital education to more than
270,000 women, and more than 10,000 women have created their business
plans on ToryBurchFoundation.org.
Follow the Tory Burch Foundation on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter with #EmbraceAmbition.
Bank of America
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