Santander Bank Contributes Nearly $4 Million to 135 Non-Profit Organizations

BOSTON, Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Santander Bank today announced that it has donated nearly $4 million to 135 non-profit organizations that support low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals, families and communities primarily located in its Northeast footprint. This is the second of three rounds of funding in 2018. One quarter of the funding – $1 million – is allocated to 13 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) through the Bank's CDFI Initiative, a special funding opportunity targeted to CDFIs working to stabilize neighborhoods, create and preserve affordable housing, deliver services to vulnerable populations, and provide assistance to diverse entrepreneurs and small businesses.

CDFIs are private financial institutions that are 100 percent dedicated to providing responsible, affordable lending to help disinvested people and communities join the economic mainstream and develop innovative ways to deliver capital and resources to distressed communities.

"It is our mission at Santander Bank to help people and businesses prosper and to play a meaningful role in improving the quality of communities in which we live and work," said Jesse Villarreal, Executive Vice President, Interim Corporate Social Responsibility Director and Head of Government Relations and Public Policy. "By leveraging our charitable giving and volunteering with other public and private resources to drive positive change in our neighborhoods, we believe there is an opportunity to build community and family wealth and well-being."

The Santander Bank Charitable Contributions Program awards grants in the spring, fall and winter by investing in programs that improve the quality of life for the residents in the neighborhoods where the Bank's customers and colleagues live and work.

Awardees of the CDFI Initiative multi-year grants include:

• Union County Economic Development Corporation (UCEDC) - $300,000 over three years to help leverage additional loan capital for small businesses and provide technical assistance, training and mentoring to small businesses throughout New Jersey and the Greater New York and Philadelphia metro areas.
• First State Community Loan Fund - $300,000 over three years to support the organization's efforts to lend nearly $11 million to local small businesses helping to create more than 1,000 jobs in Wilmington, Delaware, and Chester and Coatesville in Pennsylvania.
• Accion East - $225,000 over three years to support key improvements in the organization's loan processes leading to the disbursement of nearly $19 million in microloans and SBA 7a Community Advantage loans to small businesses, resulting in the creation or retention of more than 4,700 jobs within the Bank's footprint.

Other large grants awarded during this funding cycle will support our partners' efforts to provide community services and financial education to LMI youth, adults and families:

• Junior Achievement USA - $350,000 to support the implementation of financial literacy programs in schools throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic.
• City Year - $320,000 to support a team of stipend volunteers providing classroom support for teachers and students in LMI public schools.
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston - $125,000 to support afterschool programs providing education enhancement and other activities focusing on literacy, science, math and the arts.
• Friends of the Children-Boston - $115,000 to support the innovative Achiever Entrepreneurship Program and the organization's annual fundraising event.
• New Jersey Citizen Action Education Fund - $105,000 to provide free financial empowerment programs to 8,000 LMI families across New Jersey.
• Philadelphia Youth Network - $100,000 to support citywide campaigns and evidence-based program models for youth and young adults aged 12 to 24 in LMI Philadelphia communities.
• Phipps Neighborhoods - $50,000 to support college access and career readiness programs in three Bronx-area high schools.

Non-profit organizations interested in applying for a grant can access Santander's application guidelines by visiting the Santander Charitable Contributions Program or sending questions to santandercharitablecont@santander.us.

A full listing of charitable grants awarded in the second round of funding for 2018 is available at www.santanderbank.com/us/about/media-center.

Santander Bank, N.A. is one of the country's largest retail and commercial banks with $74.5 billion in assets. With its corporate offices in Boston, the Bank's approximately 9,600 employees, over 600 branches, more than 2,000 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 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.

Media Contact:         
Nancy Orlando
617-757-5765
nancy.orlando@santander.us

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SOURCE Santander Bank, N.A.