Santander Consumer USA Foundation announces $1.7 million in grants » Dallas Innovates

Dallas College’s Eastfield Campus. Dallas College was one of the colleges that received grants totaling $1.7 million from the Santander Consumer USA Foundation. [Photo: Dallas College]

Dallas-based Santander Consumer USA and the Santander Consumer USA Foundation announced more than $1.7 million in grants to support community and economic development in the Dallas region.

Santander said the foundation will provide funding and resources to a total of 11 organizations: seven in Dallas and four in cities across the U.S. in Texas, Arizona and Florida. The company said the grants are the latest step in the foundation’s longstanding commitment to investing in Dallas and helping the most vulnerable people in communities across the country learn, grow and thrive.

“We are pleased to announce these new grant recipients as part of our ongoing commitment to driving social and cultural change through thoughtful, strategic investments in our communities,” Santander Consumer CEO Bruce Jackson said in a statement. “These efforts further our bank’s mission to provide our local Dallas community, and communities across the nation, with the critical resources and tools they need to achieve happier, healthier, more successful and fulfilling lives.”

Priority areas of donations

In every investment it makes in the community, the SC Foundation says it is focused on continuing its commitment to supporting organizations that align with the five pillars of charitable giving.

• Educational mobility: Nurturing talent and preparing students for the workforce
• Physical Mobility: Addressing the physical modalities and transportation issues of individuals that impact economic mobility
• Economic Mobility: Financial literacy, job and workforce readiness, and fostering entrepreneurship and innovation
• Sustainability, Crisis and Resilience: Providing environmental and urban development, disaster relief and immediate response recovery in times of crisis
• Social Justice and Racial Equity: Investing to address issues that affect justice and equality for all people

Through grants and other important initiatives, the foundation said it seeks opportunities to align its goals with those of the communities in which it operates, plays an active role in improving the communities where Santander U.S. employees live and work, and strives to partner with organizations to advance social and economic development for all.

Grant Recipients

According to Santander, grants were awarded to the following organizations:

• Dallas College (Dallas): Funds will support Dallas College’s entrepreneurship and small business initiatives and recruiting efforts through the School of Business, Hospitality and Global Trades. The collaboration will leverage strong partnerships with the North Texas SBDC Network and the Texas Restaurant Association to increase awareness and participation in Santander US Small Business Development programs.
• Dallas Innovation Alliance (Dallas): Funds will support the Connected Digital Ambassador Program, establish hyper-local community anchor sites, expand the Mobile Learning Labs program with STEM programming and Wi-Fi support, and support the second Get Connected Dallas Community Festival and Resource Fair, strengthening Dallas’ smart city strategy based on the convergence of community, data, and technology to drive resource efficiency, inclusive economic development, and improved quality of life.
• Genesis Women’s Shelter (Dallas): Funds will support transitional housing programs that promote economic independence and support Genesis’ efforts to help women and children build stable, financially independent futures. The SC Foundation will also match funds to 20 families who save before moving out of transitional housing.
• Momentus Research Institute (Dallas): This funding will provide safe, reliable transportation for at least 150 youth mental health clients each year for field visits across North Texas and trips to Momentous Institute Camp in East Texas.
• New friends, new life (Dallas): Funds will support an economic empowerment and barrier removal initiative that addresses the economic and legal barriers faced by more than 230 adult victims of exploitation and human trafficking. A portion of the funds will support financial literacy, employment coaching and benchmarked financial services, while another portion will support a recently launched legal aid clinic to develop legal action plans that address employment barriers for women and girls.
• Consiglio (Dallas): Funds will go toward the Parents Advocating for Student Excellence (PASE) parent engagement program, a nine-week initiative that teaches parents how to tackle homework, paperwork and other important tasks so they can actively contribute to their children’s academic success. Funds will also go toward Consiglio’s Latino Development Program, which increases cultural intelligence through training and resources for organizations that work with Latino and Hispanic people.
• Vogel Alcove (Dallas): Funds will support Redbird’s expansion campaign to provide Vogel’s child care services to approximately 100 additional children and help them recover from the trauma of homelessness.
• The new year has begun (Texas, Florida): Funds will help fund job training for more than 2,000 students in 10 cities for workforce development, with the goal of graduating into high-paying jobs or attending higher education institutions.
• A new step (Mesa, Arizona): Funds will support the BankWorks Workforce Program, which prepares participants for meaningful careers in the financial services sector, and help enroll 200 individuals in an eight-week career training program that will prepare them for employment opportunities at financial institutions. Additionally, funds will be allocated to the organization’s Assets to Opportunity Match program, which will provide higher education and small business development support to 60 individuals.
• Save your family (Mesa, Arizona): Funds will support the Step Up to Independence program, providing family services including case management, career development and parent and child services to more than 20 families in a 12-month program.
• Sojourner Center (Phoenix, Arizona): Funds will be used for the shelter’s program support services, including outreach, helplines, legal services and housing.

Donate both money and time

“A lot of time, effort and consideration went into selecting these grant recipients, and each organization was chosen for their notable impact in their local community,” Christopher Furman, chief legal officer and general counsel for Santander Consumer USA, said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of the partners we selected and look forward to all we can accomplish together to improve the lives of people in need in the great city of Dallas and other cities across America.”

According to the company, including the newly announced grants, SC Foundation’s donations to local community organizations have exceeded $35 million since 2021. In addition to monetary donations, Santander Consumer USA employees have provided more than 90,000 volunteer hours to these and many other organizations over the past five years, finding meaningful ways to address today’s toughest challenges and contribute to the continued success and prosperity of their communities.

Santander Consumer USA said it is also participating in parent company Santander US Community Plan, which commits $4.6 billion in community reinvestment and $9 billion in sustainable financing over three years through 2025, as well as 100,000 employee volunteer hours and $100 million in charitable donations on behalf of Santander’s operations across the U.S.

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