T.D. Jakes Foundation and Wells Fargo Invest $9M in Community Development Projects Across U.S.

The Dallas-based foundation said the funding supports the creation of financial wellness and innovation centers, helps organizations convert underutilized land into affordable homes, and drives impactful change for college students across the U.S.

By Lance Murray

The T.D. Jakes Foundation is collaborating with banking industry giant Wells Fargo to create opportunities for historically underrepresented communities with a philanthropic investment of $9 million in grants to 16 community-based organizations across the nation.

“This partnership allows both of our organizations to catalyze change in a myriad of sectors and to help craft better lives for those benefiting from the work of the T.D Jakes Foundation and other community organizations funded by the partnership,” T.D. Jakes, CEO of T.D. Jakes Group, said in a statement.

“While our work is just beginning with Wells Fargo, this is a continuation of our organization’s commitment to providing financial literacy, career development opportunities and financial resources for underserved students and communities,” Jakes added. “Disruption is the only solution to systemic inequality. Partnerships with impactful and relevant organizations enable us to provide even more opportunities to transform historically marginalized groups and areas across the entire nation.”

Up to $1B in capital and financing for underserved communities

Last April, Dallas Innovates told you about T.D. Jakes Group and Wells Fargo announcing a 10-year partnership that could result in up to $1 billion in capital and financing to support underserved communities across the U.S.

The partners said their philanthropy spans diverse communities, including “Black, Brown, and impoverished White populations.”

The alliance is a commitment to narrowing divides and empowering marginalized communities with tools and resources for generational wealth, the foundation said. The grants are funded via a donor-advised fund managed at the Communities Foundation of Texas on behalf of T.D. Jakes Foundation and Wells Fargo.

“To create transformational change, we need to collaborate simultaneously across the multitude of issues facing our communities,” Darlene Goins, head of philanthropy and community impact at Wells Fargo, said in a statement. “With our philanthropic investment, Wells Fargo is aiming to expand the reach of the T.D. Jakes Foundation across housing, small business, and financial health to help tackle the complexities of the wealth gap.”

The foundation said that the 16 community-based organizations represent a combined effort to strengthen the economic, entrepreneurial, and cultural infrastructure across the nation. The grant recipients will use the funds to further financial literacy in Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), build career centers and offices, support affordable housing projects, and cultivate top-tier careers for college students.

Grant Recipients

Organizations receiving grants include:

Community Foundation of Central Savannah River Area (CFCSRA): $500,000, Fund the introduction and development of a grocer in the Laney Walker neighborhood of Augusta, Georgia
The Dallas Entrepreneurs Center (DEC): $250,000, Fund the DEC’s Capital Access Resource Center to support underrepresented founders.
Enterprise Community Partners: $1,000,000, Invest in Faith-Based Developers’ Initiative to help houses of worship convert underutilized land into affordable homes.
Fort McPherson (T.D. Jakes Foundation): $1,500,000, Build T.D. Jakes Foundation office, located within the Fort McPherson development, to provide wraparound services to citizens within Metro Atlanta.
Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center: $25,000, Support Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood Rising’s Homecoming event honoring icons of Wall Street and inspiring action needed for financial inclusion.
Greenwood Cultural Center: $25,000, Support of Tulsa’s Greenwood Cultural Center’s educational programs
HBCU Community Development Action Coalition: $100,000, Further the “Our Money Matters” program for HBCU students
HomeFreeUSA: $1,250,000, Support new technology platform to develop a housing counseling and financial education program pilot in Dallas and Atlanta
Jackie Robinson Foundation: $1,500,000, Support JRF Impact for broadened support of Black college students.
The Milken Institute: $1,000,000, Support the HBCU Fellows Program equipping students with similar access to tools and resources historically afforded only to Ivy League institutions.
Operation Hope: $600,000, Develop the functionality of On-Demand Services to connect clients to financial health programs.
Paul Quinn College: $150,000, Establish an on-campus Financial Wellness Center for financial health and literacy.
Society for Financial Education & Professional Development (SFEPD): $200,000, Support of Seminars & Workshops initiative for HBCUs in Texas
SoLa I CAN FOUNDATION: $250,000, Promote a Career Development Initiative in the South Los Angeles community.
Westside Future Fund: $500,000, Support the Cradle to Career Education initiative for next generation Atlantans.
Wiley University: $150,000 Establish an on-campus Financial Wellness Center for financial health and literacy.

Improving access to ‘life-changing and uplifting resources’

“We have worked at the local and national level to build meaningful partnerships that help us cultivate cultural and economic shifts, and our relationship with Wells Fargo advances what we are aiming to achieve at T.D. Jakes Foundation,” Kelley Cornish, CEO of T.D. Jakes Foundation, said in a statement. “The grantees will use the funds to arm the next generation of college students with financial literacy and career building skills and will create much needed support for entrepreneurs, homebuyers and the underserved population who have not had access to life-changing and uplifting resources.”

The aim of the T.D. Jakes Foundation is to build bridges by unlocking the power of global competition through workforce training that prepares workers to compete in today’s economy through STEM/STEAM education, financial literacy and inclusion, and a laser focus to close the racial wealth gap and support minority women in corporate leadership.

The foundation said that for more than 40 years, T.D. Jakes has connected diverse communities across socio-economic divides.

The T.D. Jakes Group is a global conglomerate that’s worked for more than four decades at the intersection of mission, ministry and marketplace to solve society’s problems through strategic alliances creating equity and providing solutions for underrepresented and underserved communities.

As published in Dallas Innovates, Febuary 7, 2024