Funding will impact over 10,000 individuals
across 13 states
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 14,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Truist Financial Corporation
(NYSE: TFC) today announced the initial recipients of its Truist
Community Catalyst Initiative, a three-year Community Reinvestment
Act program supporting local efforts with statewide impact. This
initiative will support 17 efforts across 13 states, impacting 54
communities, allowing local nonprofit organizations to better
respond to critical community needs within their state.
The funding, provided by the Truist Charitable Fund—a
donor-advised fund administered by The Winston-Salem Foundation,
totals $5 million and will create
significant impacts including placing over 1,000 individuals into
livable wage jobs, developing or preserving 700 affordable housing
units, deploying $65 million in loan
capital through 500 small business and home loans, and providing
3,100 low- to moderate-income individuals with new access to
essential community services.
"The goal of Truist's Community Catalyst Initiative is to
understand a state's top critical needs and partner with nonprofits
to address the issues by driving meaningful collaboration and
change for the benefit of the community," said Truist Chief
CRA/Community Development Officer Anthony
Weekly. "These organizations focus on creating innovative,
scalable and sustainable ideas, and we look forward to positively
impacting the lives of more than 10,000 individuals."
The 2023-25 Truist Community Catalyst Initiative focuses on
issues within four key focus areas: affordable housing, small
business access to capital, workforce development and essential
community services. As each program expands, grant recipients will
have the opportunity to reapply for additional funding annually
through 2025.
"Collaborating with the 17 lead organizations and their more
than 100 partners will expand existing programs or help introduce
new services to multiple communities across each state and bring to
life our purpose of inspiring and building better lives and
communities," added Truist CRA Managing Director of Strategic
Programs and Initiatives Heidi
Schoonover.
Funding will be provided to the following lead
organizations:
Affordable Housing
- Florida Community Loan Fund: Florida's first statewide community
development financial institution will use grant funding to support
new and existing loan programs that offer more flexible financing
options for affordable housing and to increase the nonprofit's
capacity.
- Center for Community Self-Help: Self-Help is a
North Carolina-based CDFI that
provides responsible financial services, lending to small
businesses and nonprofits, developing real estate and promoting
fair financial practices. Grant funding will expand the nonprofit's
Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Preservation Project and
Housing Loan Fund to finance and secure affordable housing
units.
- Virginia Supportive Housing: VSH's mission is to end
homelessness by providing permanent housing and supportive services
to the most vulnerable individuals in our society. Grant funding
will help VSH expand its geographic footprint to bring affordable
housing and permanent supportive housing developments to more rural
and suburban communities in Virginia.
- Enterprise Community Partners: A national housing
nonprofit, Enterprise Community Partners exists to make a good home
possible for the millions of families without one. Grant funds will
support expansion of Enterprise's Faith-Based Development
Initiative into Montgomery and
Baltimore counties. The program
helps houses of worship transform underutilized land into
affordable housing.
- Regional Housing Legal Services: RHLS helps create
thriving communities offering healthy and affordable housing for
lower-income Pennsylvanians through legal services and policy
solutions. Grant funds will expand legal and technical assistance
as well as training and education to owners and managers of
affordable housing developments to preserve and improve the
availability of affordable housing across Pennsylvania.
- LISC: As a CDFI, LISC provides grant dollars, loans, tax
credit equity, one-on-one technical assistance, access to
consultants and training to build the capacity of partner
organizations. Grant funds will create a standardized training
program for emerging developers in Houston and San
Antonio, with a focus toward those who have faced tremendous
barriers to success.
- CommunityWorks in West
Virginia: A CDFI focused on affordable housing,
CommunityWorks in West Virginia
will use the grant funds to expand lending capacity, providing more
opportunities for low-income home purchasers and homeowners in need
of repair financing. CommunityWorks in West Virginia also will create new loan
products to incentivize more organizations to develop affordable
rental housing and for consumers to repair their credit.
Small Business Access to Capital
- Ascendus Inc.: This nationwide CDFI empowers LMI small
business owners through access to capital and financial education.
Grant funds will support the nonprofit's launch of a revolving line
of credit product for LMI entrepreneurs across the state of
Florida.
- Scale Link: A nonprofit that supports the growth and
development of CDFI small business lenders by creating secondary
markets for their loans. Grant funds will support Scale Link
expansion to more CDFIs across North
Carolina.
- Pathway Lending: Based in Tennessee, this CDFI has lent over half a
billion dollars across the Southeast and is committed to supporting
the development, growth and preservation of underserved small
businesses, affordable housing and sustainable communities, through
its lending products and coaching programs. Grant funds will
enhance and expand Pathway's coaching and technical assistance
programs through its Tech-Enabled Coaching to Capital Initiative,
amplifying its impact on small businesses.
Workforce Development
- Tallatoona Community Action Partnership Inc.: With a
mission to assist low-income individuals and families to acquire
useful skills and knowledge, gain new opportunities and achieve
self-sufficiency, Tallatoona CAP is bringing together multiple
organizations to implement its Pathways to Empowerment Workforce
Development Initiative. Grant funds will help provide the training
and support individuals need to gain jobs as certified nursing
assistants, CNC machinists or certified industrial maintenance
professionals.
- JUMPSTART South
Carolina: JUMPSTART SC assists current and former
prisoners across the state of South
Carolina by creating pathways to a successful re-entry,
including transitional housing, employment, education, job skills
training, health care and a healthy support network. Grant funds
will create a new Opportunity Center to offer workforce
development, education, housing support and financial literacy
training.
- Paths for Success: A nonprofit organization designed to
assist Alabama citizens in
obtaining skills, credentials, and/or certifications that lead to
gainful employment. Grant funds will power the nonprofit's new
TruEd Initiative, which will allow adults to complete the Alabama
Career Essentials training, obtain GEDs or complete high school and
get professional certifications to obtain a livable wage job while
providing key workforce barrier removal resources, such as child
care and transportation.
Essential Community Services
- Inspiredu: A nonprofit helping underserved youth and
families develop the skills needed for education and career success
by providing devices, training and access to technology while
engaging in activities with families, communities and schools.
Grant funds will support the expansion of the program to more
southeast Georgia communities and
markets.
- HumanKind: A Virginia
nonprofit that serves as a statewide network of sponsored homes for
adults with intellectual disabilities, foster care services, family
support services, the Central
Virginia region's first Early Head Start centers, and
Economic Resource Centers. Grant funds will expand the nonprofit's
Ways to Work program, which provides vehicle loans to individuals
with credit profiles that prevent them from accessing mainstream
financing along with targeted financial education and credit repair
assistance.
- Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corp.: SKED's
mission is to improve the quality of life and vitality by promoting
sustainable economic development and employment opportunities with
creativity, professionalism and integrity. Grant funds will expand
essential community services by increasing access to child care
services for LMI families, with a focus on women-owned child care
businesses throughout the state in partnership with the Small
Business Development Center of Kentucky.
- Capital Good Fund: A CDFI with a mission to create
pathways out of poverty and advance a green economy through
inclusive financial services. Grant funds will support the
expansion and scaling of their low-cost, credit-building
Impact and Impact Plus Loan programs into the state
of New Jersey, which will provide
small loans to address critical housing-related needs.
Additional details on each commitment will be shared by the
individual organizations in the future. For more information about
how Truist invests in communities, please visit
www.truist.com/purpose/community.
About The Truist Charitable Fund
The Truist Charitable
Fund (TCF) is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's purpose
to inspire and build better lives. TCF was established as a
donor-advised fund and is administered by The Winston-Salem
Foundation. TCF invests in local community organizations, focusing
on grants that support initiatives and programs in the areas of
educational equity, leadership development, career pathways, small
business and community services. To learn more about Truist's
purpose, visit https://www.truist.com/who-we-are/about-truist.
About Truist
Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC) is a purpose-driven
financial services company committed to inspiring and building
better lives and communities. Truist has leading market share in
many high-growth markets in the country and offers a wide range of
products and services through our retail and small business
banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking,
insurance, wealth management, and specialized lending businesses.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North
Carolina, Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with total
assets of $535 billion as of
Dec. 31, 2023. Truist Bank, Member
FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.
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