Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders Initiative Provides Volunteer Opportunities in up to 30 Countries
Washington, DC, August 5, 2014 – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced today that it has joined forces with Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders® to expand its Global Fellows program —an international volunteer program that lends employees’ professional expertise to nonprofits in up to 30 countries.
“Wells Fargo team members have a long history of giving their time and talent to selflessly serve their communities, and our engagement with Grameen Foundation will give them a unique new opportunity to do even more,” said Jon Campbell, Wells Fargo’s head of Government and Community Relations. “We are very excited to be working in such a meaningful way with Bankers without Borders.”
Through Bankers without Borders, Wells Fargo’s Global Fellows will have the opportunity to volunteer their skills and expertise on projects supporting some of the world’s most promising microfinance and poverty-focused organizations around the world. Members of the Global Fellows program will also have exclusive access to expanded volunteer and professional development offerings, including remote and on-site consulting opportunities that will allow employees to use their skills to create long-term, lasting impact.
“We applaud Wells Fargo’s commitment to leveraging their talent and core competencies to make a difference in the lives of some of the world’s poorest people,” said Grameen Foundation President and CEO Alex Counts. “By working with our Bankers without Borders initiative, employees will have a chance to do good in the world, leverage their professional skills and knowledge, and gain a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the world’s poorest people.”
Wells Fargo has been recognized for its achievements in CSR, including – World’s 35th Most Admired Company by Fortune (2014); #17 Best Company for Diversity by DiversityInc (2014); America’s No. 1 Most Generous Cash Donor by Chronicle of Philanthropy (2013); and one of the Top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by CR magazine (2014). For more information, visit Wells Fargo's Corporate Social Responsibility, @WellsFargo on Twitter or Wells Fargo's Environmental Forum.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.5 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 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2014 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In 2013, the Company invested $275.5 million in grants to 18,500 nonprofits, and team members contributed more than 1.69 million volunteer hours around the country. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives and stories are also available at blogs.wellsfargo.com and at wellsfargo.com/stories.
About Bankers without Borders®
Established in 2008, Bankers without Borders, Grameen Foundation’s skills-based volunteer initiative, is on a mission to end abject poverty around the world by powering a global "skillanthropy" movement. Bankers without Borders harnesses the skills and services of the world’s brightest minds and institutions to accelerate the progress of social entrepreneurs dedicated to connecting the poor to their potential. Bankers without Borders offers pro bono consulting, employee engagement opportunities, fellowship and internship programs, and volunteer management services. Visit our website at www.bankerswithoutborders.com or follow us on Twitter @GrameenBwB.
About Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation is a global nonprofit organization that helps the world's poorest people achieve their full potential by providing access to essential financial services and information on health and agriculture that can transform their lives. Founded in 1997, it delivers solutions that respond to the needs of the poor, as well as tools that help poverty-focused organizations become more effective. It focuses on initiatives that can achieve widespread impact and uses an open-source approach that makes it easy for other organizations to adopt them broadly. Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and the Grameen family of companies, is an inaugural member of its Board of Directors, and now serves as director emeritus. Grameen Foundation is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in the U.S., Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information, please visit www.grameenfoundation.org or follow us on Twitter @GrameenFdn.
Contacts:
Nicole Herman, Bankers without Borders, Grameen Foundation
1.202.628.3560 x177, nherman [at] grameenfoundation.org
Jim Nawrocki, Wells Fargo
1.415.222.1940, jim.nawrocki [at] wellsfargo.com