Bank of America Awards More than $650,000 to Ventura and Santa Barbara Nonprofits in 2021

Ventura and Santa Barbara, Calif. – As part of its commitment to strengthening communities by addressing critical needs that help advance racial equality and economic opportunity, Bank of America has awarded a total of $665,680 to 36 local nonprofits across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties last year.

With a particular focus on closing the equity and wealth gaps in communities of color and other disadvantaged populations disproportionately impacted by the prolonged pandemic, Bank of America’s local giving this year was directed towards workforce development, basic needs such as hunger relief, healthcare and emergency shelter as well as affordable housing.

These philanthropic investments include:

• Basic Needs grant to the American Heart Association and Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) to help provide general health services in underserved communities
• Community Development grant to Ventura County Community Development Corporation to continue creating pathways to stable and affordable homeownership for minority and low-and-moderate income individuals and families; and
• Neighborhood Champion grant to Women’s Economic Ventures to provide micro-loans and a new entrepreneurial training pilot for women and minority entrepreneurs disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

In addition to philanthropic capital, Bank of America donated more than 200,000 Personal Protection Equipment including masks, gloves and bottles of sanitizer; and local employees volunteered 30,000 hours in the community.

“While the pandemic has taken a toll on us all, there’s no doubt it has had a disproportionate impact on the communities already grappling with the effects of economic and social inequality. The private sector has a responsibility to provide support that can serve as a catalyst to help advance equity and economic opportunity for everyone,” said Midge Campbell-Thomas, president, Bank of America Ventura and Santa Barbara.

As an essential business, Bank of America also invested in the health and economic stability of its own teammates this year by raising its minimum hourly pay to $21 as a next step in the company’s plans to increase hourly pay to $25 by 2025.