U.S. Conference of Mayors, Wells Fargo Address Community Housing Needs

2020 CommunityWINS® program offers $1 million in grants for nonprofits to support access to safe, affordable housing

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo today announced that eight nonprofits will share $1 million in grants through the 2020 CommunityWINS® grant program to create opportunities for people in communities across the U.S. to have a safe and affordable place to call home.

“This Wells Fargo grant program is a great example of an effective collaboration that will bring real solutions to help address local housing challenges,” said Tom Cochran, CEO and executive director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Wells Fargo and our members share a deep-rooted commitment to communities across the country and we are thrilled that CommunityWINS will help to spur housing solutions in many cities.”

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo have teamed on CommunityWINS since 2015, including $6 million invested by Wells Fargo over six years for nonprofits in municipalities across the U.S. Wells Fargo’s philanthropic strategy focuses on creating solutions to address housing security, small business stability, and consumer financial health and includes a $1 billion philanthropic commitment by 2025 to address the growing housing affordability crisis.

“As the effects of COVID-19 are disproportionately impacting people of color and low-income communities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo continue to support nonprofits’ efforts to create more affordable housing solutions in local municipalities,” said Eileen Fitzgerald, head of housing affordability philanthropy with the Wells Fargo Foundation. “Wells Fargo is committed to the importance of home for everyone in our nation.”

Mayors representing USCM member cities can nominate up to three eligible nonprofit housing initiatives. Projects must address housing affordability solutions designed to increase availability and affordability of rentals, transitional housing, or sustainable homeownership. Grant requirements and the online application form are now available for submission at www.usmayors.org/communitywins. Nonprofits must submit applications by October 9, 2020. Grantees will be named during the Mayor’s 89th Winter Meeting in Washington, DC.

In 2019, CommunityWINS grants were presented to eight nonprofits: CNM Film Production Center of Excellence at the Albuquerque Rail Yards (Albuquerque, New Mexico); Wellspring Living, Inc. (Atlanta); Continuum of Care, Inc. (New Haven, Connecticut); Lewis Innovation Hub (Romeoville, Illinois); Affordable Central Texas, Inc. (Austin, Texas); Appetite For Change, Inc. (Minneapolis); Ecolibrium3 (Duluth, Minnesota); and Second Street Youth Center, Inc. (Plainfield, New Jersey).

The CommunityWINS grant program collaboration between the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo follows a national alliance formed in 2011 to address foreclosure prevention, property disposition, homeownership promotion, and community development.

About the U.S. Conference of Mayors

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the U.S. today, and each city is represented in the conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. The organization is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/usmayors and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/usmayors.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.98 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, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,400 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 31 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 263,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2020 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

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Chris Hammond, 415-310-9152 [e-mail] @ChrisHammondWF

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