Wells Fargo gives nearly $3 million to Atlanta organizations for housing, small business

Two prominent Atlanta organizations have received grants totaling $2.8 million from Wells Fargo and its foundation, they announced Monday. The funding aims to support small businesses and housing across the city.

The banking giant is giving $2.25 million to the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta for housing stability, which will go toward resolving title issues, funding home repairs, supporting emerging developers and affordable housing strategies.

Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm, will receive $550,000 as part of its BizLabs program to purchase commercial real estate space and help small businesses ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

Kimelyn Harris, head of small business growth philanthropy at Wells Fargo, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the city is an important market for the bank, and it’s focused on supporting Atlanta’s growth. Wells Fargo ranks third in metro Atlanta by deposit market share, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

“We have so many employees and clients and customers that are part of the Atlanta community, so it’s really important that we continue to invest in Atlanta’s economy,” Harris said.

“The World Cup is certainly key. What we want to ensure as part of this amazing opportunity that’s happening in Atlanta is that entrepreneurs are part of the conversation, they’re part of the opportunity, they have exposure and access, and are prepared and ready to take part in all of the economic benefits that are going to come to Atlanta as a result of the World Cup,” she added.

Since 2021, Wells Fargo and its philanthropic arm have given more than $40 million to organizations in metro Atlanta. A large portion of that came four years ago in the form of a $20 million grant to Invest Atlanta and the United Way of Greater Atlanta for small businesses.

“It takes public-private partnerships to help these programs come to life. We all don’t have endless pockets of funding, and so when you’re able to bring several dollars together, or buckets together, we’re able to leverage and do a lot more for the targeted businesses we’re trying to tap into and support,” Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“With the federal government cutting and, you know, restrictions at different levels, we all need to come in and pitch in and work together to support the businesses that are so important to us,” she added.

The $550,000 to Invest Atlanta will be split three ways:

• $325,000 toward the purchase of a commercial space that Invest Atlanta, or a similar partner agency, will own and rent to businesses at below-market rates.
• $125,000 will go to technical assistance grants for a variety of services, like marketing and site design.
• $100,000 will be used to subsidize rent for two pop-up storefronts in downtown ahead of the World Cup. Kindred Paper, a local stationery business, opened its storefront on Monday at the corner of Peachtree Street and Andrew Young International Boulevard. It will be in the space until August.

“As Atlanta continues to grow, … how do we ensure that our legacy, small businesses, our minority businesses, can continue to afford to do business in this city because they’re getting a lot of pressure from increase in rents or their leases go up,” Klementich said.