CHICAGO, Sept. 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the United States Hispanic Chaber of Commerce (USHCC) announced a $700,000 grant from Wells Fargo to the USHCC Foundation, in advance of the USHCC's Chamber Training Institute (CTI) event to be held as part of the 2013 USHCC National Convention in Chicago. As part of this $1.8 million commitment by Wells Fargo, the USHCC has provided more than 350 local chamber leaders across the country with educational opportunities and micro grants to sustain and grow their businesses through the Chamber Training Institute, which is in its fifth year.
"As founding sponsor of the USHCC Foundation's Chamber Training Institute, and a longstanding sponsor of the USHCC National Convention, Wells Fargo shares our vision of empowering Hispanic small businesses across the country and we are proud to partner with them on this effort," said Javier Palomarez, President and CEO of the USHCC. "This contribution will allow us to continue serving our core constituency - local Hispanic chambers of commerce - by allowing us to provide additional education and training opportunities."
The USHCC Foundation's Chamber Training Institute -- a two-day intensive training moderated by the University of Notre Dame -- provides attendees a unique learning experience on best practices for social media, membership management and leadership. Since its launch two years ago, there have been 11 trainings, with an additional 10 scheduled well into 2015. The Chicago Chamber Training will focus on creating an innovative business culture in its thriving entrepreneurial community.
"At Wells Fargo we want to help small businesses flourish, and through our work with strong partners like USHCC, we're able to deliver important programs that support small business owners across the country," said Lisa Stevens, head of Small Business and president of Pacific Midwest Regional Banking for Wells Fargo. "We are pleased to support the USHCC Foundation Chamber Training Institute for local chambers, and particularly excited to help bring the training back to Chicago with the USHCC Foundation and the University of Notre Dame."
As the nation's No. 1 small business lender for 10 years running, Wells Fargo has a long track record of facilitating access to capital and providing financial services to Hispanic business owners. Since 1997, Wells Fargo has loaned more than $6 billion to Hispanic business owners. And more recently, Wells Fargo has committed to lend a cumulative total of $55 billion to women-owned businesses by the year 2020.
Wells Fargo and the USHCC provide resources to help Hispanics start, maintain and grow their businesses. For small business resources visit the Wells Fargo Business Insight Resource Center, and for chambers who are looking for educational and professional development resources to strengthen their member network visit www.ushccfoundation.org.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, and the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank's customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune's 2013 rankings of America's largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at blog.wellsfargo.com.
About the USHCC Foundation
The USHCC Foundation is committed to giving Latino entrepreneurs alternatives for life preparation and life-long learning by developing and implementing initiatives and educational campaigns to awaken and nurture their entrepreneurial spirit. The Foundation leverages corporate and public support to ensure that existing and aspiring Latino entrepreneurs gain access and achieve success in the world of business. Please visit www.ushcc.com for more information on the USHCC Foundation.