Wells Fargo Reports 5 Percent Increase in Nonprofit Giving to $226 Million
SAN FRANCISCO, April 8, 2009 — Despite the down economy, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) giving to nonprofits – combined with Wachovia Corporation – increased 5 percent to $226 million in 2008. Wells Fargo’s stand-alone 2008 giving rose 11 percent from the previous year to $102 million.
“The merger of Wells Fargo and Wachovia makes our presence twice as strong in the communities we serve,” said Jon Campbell, head of Wells Fargo’s Social Responsibility Group, which was formed in 2008. “Both companies have long histories of consistently investing financial capital and, more importantly, human and social capital in our communities, thanks to thousands of caring team members who are local community leaders and volunteers. Our merger is on track as planned and we believe our combination will help us be even more involved in our communities than the two companies would have been separately. Together, we want to help create even more economic growth and prosperity for the communities where our team members live and work across the U.S.”
Wells Fargo reported its 2008 community investments for the combined company, including homeownership, community development, volunteerism, financial education, diversity and environmental stewardship. The combined Company reported:
* $6.4 billion in community development loans and investments for affordable housing, schools, economic development, community revitalization and job creation.
* 1.4 million team member volunteer hours. Team members also serve on 16,000 nonprofit boards and raised a record $39.3 million during the Community Support/United Way campaign.
* $45.8 million in grants to nonprofit housing organizations in the last two years and establishment of a grant to fund energy-efficient “green” affordable homes.
* $53.9 million in grants to 5,360 educational organizations, and $14.6 million in matched educational donations from team members.
* $7.68 billion in tax-exempt debt financing to local governments, health care providers and nonprofit organizations to support improvements to public services such as homeless shelters, hospitals and schools.
* $4 billion in environmental financing, including large-scale wind-and-solar energy projects, since 2006.
* $942 million spent with diverse-owned and women-owned suppliers — $4.8 billion in the last six years.
For more on Wells Fargo’s Social Responsibility efforts: wellsfargo.com/about/csr/reports/. The Company, which is integrating the Social Responsibility programs of Wells Fargo and Wachovia, will release its next Social Responsibility report in spring 2010.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 11,000 stores, over 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally.
