BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Santander Bank, N.A. (“Santander” or “the Bank”) today announced its charitable commitments for the first half of 2021. Through two grant cycles, Santander has committed $7,590,000 in grants to 240 nonprofit organizations throughout Santander’s operating footprint.
“Santander Bank values the incredible work our partners do in the communities we serve,” said Seth Goodall, Executive Director, Corporate Social Responsibility for Santander. “Through our charitable giving, we can advance our partners’ efforts to help our customers and communities prosper.”
Santander’s charitable giving across its footprint is focused on nonprofits that create opportunities for prosperity in three key areas: financial empowerment and workforce development, small business and entrepreneurship, and affordable housing and healthy neighborhoods, particularly in low- to moderate-income communities that Santander serves. The Bank’s charitable giving is a pillar of its Inclusive Communities Plan, an $11 billion, five-year commitment of lending, investments, and charitable contributions that began in 2017 and culminates at the end of this year.
The Bank’s first half 2021 contributions of $7,590,000 included:
- $2.59 million to 84 nonprofit organizations focused on financial empowerment, through programming and services for financial education, workforce development, and career readiness for youth, students and adults
- $2.65 million to 61 nonprofit organizations supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship, through programming and services providing technical assistance, business coaching and mentorship, education and capital grants
- $2.34 million to 95 nonprofit organizations that increase access to affordable housing and create healthier neighborhoods through programming and services providing education, housing preservation, and support to individuals and families lacking housing stability
Santander also announced its $3 million initiative focused on Black, Indigenous, People of Color-led (“BIPOC-led“) Community Development Financial Institutions (“CDFIs”) focused on small business and entrepreneurship. The Bank awarded $100,000 annual commitments to 10 CDFIs for three years. These multiyear grants are focused on providing financial support to advance diverse small business efforts, as well as addressing the lack of capital, resource and technical assistance investment within communities of color.
“Our longterm commitments to these CDFIs will help build organizational capacity and increase resources in historically under-invested communities,” said Patrick Smith, Head of Small Business Banking at Santander Bank. “Over the next three years, we’re eager to partner with these critical organizations to increase capital access, lending opportunities, and resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners of color throughout our footprint.”
The 10 CDFIs, each of which will receive $100,000 grants annually this year and the next two years, are:
- Accompany Capital, Inc.
- Ascendus, Inc.
- Capital Impact Partners
- Community First Fund
- Enterprise Center Capital Corporation
- Greater Newark Enterprises Corporation
- La Fuerza Unida Community Development Corporation
- Local Enterprises Assistance Fund, Inc.
- Renaissance Economic Development Corporation
- True Access Capital Corporation
Santander Bank, N.A. is one of the country’s largest retail and commercial banks with $89.5 billion in assets. With its corporate offices in Boston, the Bank’s approximately 9,200 employees and more than 2 million customers are principally located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) - one of the most respected banking groups in the world with 150 million customers in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. It is overseen by Santander Holdings USA, Inc., Banco Santander’s intermediate holding company in the U.S. For more information on Santander Bank, please visit www.santanderbank.com.
