VEDC Awarded $150,000 Grant from Wells Fargo Earmarked for Small Business Programs in Southern California
LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) June 07, 2018 -- VEDC was recently announced as the recipient of a $150,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank to expand ongoing programs benefiting small business owners in Los Angeles County and throughout Southern California.
“This grant will provide even more entrepreneurs across our markets access to highly successful VEDC educational and lending programs in otherwise financially under-served communities,” said Ray Vadalma, CEO/CCO at VEDC. “Wells Fargo has a long history of supporting small businesses with us, and we’re proud to continue our partnership in providing additional resources to help people succeed.”
Wells Fargo Regional Bank President Patrick Nygren said the $150,000 grant exemplifies the company’s commitment to recognizing organizations that are making a tangible difference to Southern California’s economy. “VEDC has been doing incredibly valuable work on behalf of small businesses for many years,” said Nygren. “It’s important that organizations like ours pull together to make a lasting and meaningful impact in the lives of entrepreneurs striving to realize their dreams.”
One specific example of how the grant has assisted business owners is Juan Gonzales, owner of Tamales House – a restaurant specializing in Mexican tamales and authentic Hispanic food in North Hills, California. “The [VEDC] BusinessSource Center was able to introduce me to the community leaders, and they assisted in the grand opening,” said Gonzales. VEDC staff also worked to make him bankable. The result has been job retention and additional hiring within the community.
Meanwhile, VEDC also announced their participation in Univision’s POSiBLE event sponsored by Wells Fargo. The one-day entrepreneur summit will take place at the Pasadena Convention Center on June 23rd and includes a panel discussion featuring VEDC and Wells Fargo experts. The panel is held to empower aspiring business owners to build their ideas and grow their companies. “This event dovetails beautifully into everything we’re doing in the community, “said Vadalma. “It’s a great opportunity for attendees to learn from L.A.’s top entrepreneurs and self-made professionals on how to plan, finance, structure, launch and grow a business.”
To learn more and register for the POSiBLE L.A Entrepreneur Summit, as well as the many financial programs and services offered by VEDC to assist small business owners and entrepreneurs, call 818-907-9977 or visit vedc.org.
About VEDC
VEDC works to create and sustain jobs and businesses in California, Illinois, and New York by making high-quality small business development services more available, sustainable and impactful. As a non-profit CDFI and small business lender with community-based loan funds and unique technical assistance programs, VEDC supports minority and low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs with powerful lending solutions and educational resources.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,200 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
Matt Chimento, VEDC, https://vedc.org, +1 800-304-1755, [email protected]
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