The grant will provide assistance to 500 Black
and Latine entrepreneurs and finance 100 minority-owned businesses
to create and retain 400 jobs
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 25,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Truist Foundation today
announced a $2.25 million commitment
to Community First Fund, a nonprofit Community Development
Financial Institution (CDFI) dedicated to aligning capital with
social justice. The grant will help launch Community First Fund's
Economic Justice Fund (EJFund) that will support lending activities
to minority entrepreneurs, with an emphasis on Black and Latine
small business owners, across Community First Fund's service
footprint in eastern and central Pennsylvania, including in the Greater Philadelphia region.
Truist Chairman and CEO Bill
Rogers and President of Truist Foundation Lynette Bell joined Community First Fund's
Senior Executive Vice President Joan M.
Brodhead, Chair, Board of Directors, Jonathan Bowser, and Senior Vice President and
Chief Lending Officer Dragan Dodik,
to formally announce the grant and discuss the future of Community
First Fund's EJFund. Community First Fund is embarking on a
campaign to grow this fund to $50
million over the next five years.
"The Truist Foundation supports intermediaries which provide
capital at favorable rates and terms for small business owners and
individuals in historically excluded communities," said Bell. "The
work of Community First Fund provides essential financial and
technical assistance to help diverse entrepreneurs scale their
businesses across Greater
Philadelphia."
The $2.25 million grant is part of
Truist's recent $120
million commitment to strengthen and support small
businesses nationally, with a focus on women and diverse business
owners. Community First Fund's work to create financial equity
through wealth building opportunities embodies Truist's commitment
to the diverse communities it serves.
The work of Community First Fund is centered around creating
sustainable prosperity for communities and individuals by providing
loans and investments to small businesses, and real estate
financing to non-profit developers and entrepreneurs for commercial
and affordable housing projects.
"The Truist Foundation grant of $2.25
million helps us close the opportunity gap for small
business owners and entrepreneurs to start, grow and expand their
businesses, create jobs, advance economic mobility and increase
financial stability in their community," said Community First Fund
President and CEO Daniel
Betancourt.
Truist's commitment to Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia region goes beyond its
partnership with Community First Fund; Truist contributed over half
a million dollars in grants while its employees completed 4,434
volunteer hours in the Philadelphia region in 2021.
"This grant and partnership with Community First Fund
underscores our commitment to supporting entrepreneurs throughout
Pennsylvania," said Travis Rhodes, Delaware Valley and Lehigh Valley regional president for Truist.
"Small businesses are the bedrock of Philadelphia's economy, and the work of
Community First Fund is creating opportunities for more individuals
while supporting employees, families and neighborhoods throughout
the Greater Philadelphia
region."
About Truist Foundation
The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial
Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives
and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes
strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the
communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality
of life. The Truist Foundation's grants and activities focus on
building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening
small businesses. Learn more at
Truist.com/Purpose/Truist-Foundation.
About Community First
Fund
Community First Fund is a private, independent non-profit
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) whose
mission is to provide capital in places where it is not usually
available. We seek to create positive change in the community by
providing entrepreneurs, commercial real estate and affordable
housing developers as well as nonprofits with access to
loans for projects that generate jobs, create housing
opportunities, essential community facilities, and that help to
revitalize communities. For more information, visit
www.communityfirstfund.org.
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/community-first-fund-receives-2-25-million-grant-from-truist-foundation-to-launch-fund-supporting-minority-small-business-owners-301612162.html
SOURCE Truist Financial Corporation