Santander Bank Awards Nearly $6.6 Million To 177 Non-Profit Organizations In Second Half Of 2017

BOSTON, Dec. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Santander Bank announced today that it awarded nearly $6.6 million in charitable contributions to 177 community-based non-profit organizations and 15 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) throughout its northeast footprint in the second half of 2017. These grants include more than $4.1 million awarded to non-profits providing financial education and small business support, including capital to low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals, families and business owners, and more than $1 million in grant funding to private sector CDFIs. Together, these grants are part of the Bank's recently announced $11 billion 'Inclusive Communities' plan, which outlines Santander's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) commitment across its eight-state northeastern U.S. footprint for 2017 through 2021 and details its strategy to increase its CRA activity by 50 percent and triple its investment in charitable grants.

Financial education and economic/small business development have been the primary areas of support for these funding rounds for the second half of the year along with affordable housing, community services and neighborhood revitalization. In addition, Santander solicited proposals from and earmarked over $1 million for CDFIs, private sector organizations that are dedicated to improving low-income neighborhoods through foreclosure prevention and neighborhood wealth building, providing capital and technical assistance to diverse small businesses, and supporting vulnerable populations including people with disabilities, the elderly and very low-income individuals and families.

"Community Development Financial Institutions are important partners for us," said Gwen Robinson, Santander Bank's Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. "They complement our financing by investing in small businesses and community development projects with technical assistance and support.  We are looking forward to building new relationships with CDFIs in our footprint as part of our grant funding, in addition to investing in over 100 strong community-based organizations."

CDFI grant highlights from around the Bank's footprint include:

• $110,000 to Union County Economic Development Corporation (UCEDC) to expand a pilot program that supports home-based childcare provider businesses operating in underserved areas in Greater New York City, Greater Newark, and Greater Philadelphia.
• $100,000 to Community First Fund to support the creation of a $2 million loan fund that provides business start-up and expansion loans to Hispanic and African-American entrepreneurs and small businesses operating in underserved neighborhoods in Central Pennsylvania.
• $75,000 to Dorchester Bay Neighborhood Loan Fund (Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation's CDFI) to support its micro lending program that provides loans and comprehensive pre- and post-loan technical assistance to entrepreneurs in low-income neighborhoods in Boston.
• $50,000 to The Enterprise Center Capital Corporation in Philadelphia to increase its lending capacity and provide one-on-one business training, technical assistance, and loan preparation services to LMI entrepreneurs and small business owners in Pennsylvania's Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties.
• $50,000 to First State Community Loan Fund to support an economic development initiative on Wilmington, Delaware's West Side that includes renovating a mixed-use property into supportive housing for people with disabilities and a future small business incubator, retail or office space.

A full listing of charitable grants awarded in these final funding rounds for 2017 is available at www.santanderbank.com/us/about/media-center.

Santander awards grants three times a year through the Santander Bank Charitable Contributions Program, which invests in programs serving LMI individuals, families, and communities. Non-profit organizations interested in applying for a grant can access Santander's grant application guidelines by visiting the Santander Charitable Contributions Program or sending questions to [email protected]. Deadlines for 2018's three grant rounds are as follows: Cycle 1: February 2; Cycle 2: June 1; and Cycle 3: September 14.

Santander Bank, N.A. is one of the country's largest retail and commercial banks with more than $79 billion in assets. With its corporate offices in Boston, the Bank's 9,700 employees, more than 650 branches, 2,100 ATMs and 2.1 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 more than 125 million customers in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. It is managed 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. 

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SOURCE Santander Bank, N.A.

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