OREANDA-NEWS. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced that 61 organizations in 22 states will receive nearly $2.6 million to support land and water conservation, energy efficiency and broad-based citizen participation in communities where Wells Fargo customers and team members live and work.

The Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program represents a five-year, $15 million collaboration with NFWF, and is part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to provide $100 million in grant funding by 2020 to nonprofits and university programs focused on environmental sustainability. Launched in 2012, the program awards grants to local organizations to promote environmental stewardship and strengthen communities across the U.S. Over the life of the program, grantees will have restored more than 83,000 acres of habitat, planted almost a million trees and engaged hundreds of thousands of community members in environmental protection activities nationwide. 

"We have long believed that there is a strong connection between economic development, community well-being, and the stewardship and health of the environment,” said Mary Wenzel, head of Wells Fargo Environmental Affairs. “We are proud to support local organizations that engage their neighbors and other members of the community in addressing local environmental challenges, and we are thrilled with the success of the Environmental Solutions for Communities program and its impacts to date.” 

The Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities program is in its final year. To date, the program has made grants to 267 nonprofit organizations for 312 projects, from Alaska to Florida, and from California to Maine. In addition to Wells Fargo Foundation’s $15 million investment, NFWF leveraged an additional $9.7 million in matching dollars during its five-year program administration.

“This year’s grantees will work with community leaders, volunteers and scientists to restore and enhance wildlife and habitats across the country,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “The 61 projects across the nation include wetland restoration work in Alaska that will benefit migrating salmon, and oyster reef projects in Florida that will improve water quality in the famed Indian River Lagoon. In California, high school and college students will perform restoration work in forests damaged by the catastrophic Rim Fire of 2013. These and other projects receiving funding support through the Environmental Solutions for Communities program exemplify Wells Fargo’s dedication to conservation and the well-being of local communities.”