U.S. Bank announced $100,000 in donations to Valley Leadership as part of its $15 million U.S. Bank Foundation Rebuild and Transform Fund, addressing systemic racial inequities in small business, housing and workforce advancement. This commitment follows $150,000 U.S. Bank provided in Phoenix to Trellis and the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in September to address social and economic inequities.
Valley Leadership is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering a broad spectrum of Arizonans through its leadership development programming and activating those leaders to meaningfully impact the most pressing issues facing the state through Impact Maker, which brings together Valley Leadership alumni, community organizations and community champions to work together to move the needle on those issues and strengthen the community. U.S. Bank’s donation will establish a fund to provide scholarships for leaders of color from nonprofit organizations and the small business sector.
“The people who lead our community should reflect the people who live in it,” said Dave Brown, CEO of Valley Leadership. “Successful leaders are inclusive – they know that by bringing more people to the table, with a variety of experiences, they will get to better, more innovative solutions. We want to support more diverse leaders to sharpen their skills so that they can make an impact on the community issues they are passionate about.”
The donation to Valley Leadership joins the previously announced funding in Phoenix to Trellis to help create sustainable wealth-building opportunities through increased homeownership, and the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to elevate racially diverse leadership among small businesses. Specifically, Trellis will use U.S. Bank’s investment to provide a down payment assistance pool for their clients, who are primarily people of color, going through Trellis’ homeownership training looking to purchase a home. The Arizona Hispanic Chamber will use the funds to create a series of workshops and support networks for women and emerging leaders, working in collaboration with the Black, Asian, Chinese and American Indian Chambers to recruit participants, promote the workshops and provide guest speakers.
U.S. Bank’s $250,000 in contributions to the Phoenix market is part of the $5 million in donations announced in September to local communities across the U.S. from the U.S. Bank Foundation Rebuild and Transform Fund, and follows $5 million that went to Twin Cities organizations in the first round. The Fund is part of the bank’s previously announced $116 million commitment to address social and economic inequities.
“Our focus is on listening to and learning from community leaders and responding to critical needs,” said Arturo Pérez, Vice President and Community Affairs Manager for the Arizona, Las Vegas and New Mexico markets at U.S. Bank. “While philanthropy can’t solve these challenges alone, we believe funding workforce advancement and providing access to capital for housing and homeownership creates opportunities for catalytic change.”
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