OREANDA-NEWS. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced that it has donated $450,000 to four key nonprofits that help empower people with disabilities to succeed financially.  Grant recipients include National Disability Institute, National Federation of the Blind, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, and Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst for programs in 2016. The grants are in addition to the more than $25 million that Wells Fargo has donated since 2013 to U.S. nonprofits supporting people with disabilities.

“Wells Fargo’s goal is to work with philanthropic organizations that measurably improve the economic viability of people with disabilities,” said Kathy Martinez, People with Disabilities Segment Manager, Wells Fargo & Company. “This includes efforts that improve accessibility for everyone, offer educational tools for improving financial literacy, encourage qualified applicants to become Wells Fargo team members, and provide products and services that meet each person’s unique financial needs. We believe the organizations and programs we fund will help us do just that.”

Nonprofit programs include:

National Disability Institute (NDI)

  • Wells Fargo and NDI will design and disseminate a Financial Literacy Toolkit through American Job Centers that will help improve financial literacy and financial decision-making for youths and adults with disabilities. The Toolkit will feature material from the Hands on Banking® program and other Wells Fargo financial education resources.

National Federation of the Blind (NFB)

  • Wells Fargo is helping fund the NFB Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Academy which provides instruction in reading, writing, and independent living skills for blind children in more than 30 states to improve overall literacy and independence both at school and in the community. The NFB BELL Academy seeks to increase the number of students who receive Braille instruction, increase parents’ expectations for their child’s education and increase blind children’s exposure to competent blind adults.

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)

  • Wells Fargo is supporting the development of a model program that will help schools ensure that at-risk students with disabilities are participating in restorative justice programs aimed at keeping students in school and building a supportive environment for all students.

Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst

  • Wells Fargo will work with APSE to develop and test a scalable online institute that teaches employers new business models to provide people with disabilities real jobs in their communities at real pay, leading to economic self-sufficiency

Wells Fargo’s support for the disability community aligns with the company’s broader commitment to diversity –to serve diverse customers, to hire, develop and retain diverse team members and to encourage team members to value and respect each other for their differences.   In 2015, Wells Fargo prioritized people with disabilities as an area of business focus, sponsored America’s Disability Rights Museum on Wheels, and participated in events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.