Bank of America will donate over $22 million in grants to support education, jobs, health and housing in communities of color, according to an announcement on Monday.
Among other gifts, the effort will include a $10 million grant to Spelman College and Morehouse College to create a Center for Black Entrepreneurship, in collaboration with the Black Economic Alliance Foundation. It also supports the Way Forward Initiative, which will offer strategic advising to five historically Black colleges and universities through a partnership with the education company EAB.
Tribal college students will receive support, with grants going to the American Indian Institute at Mesa Community College, Navajo Technical College, United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc. and the American Indian College Fund. UnidosUS’s Latinos in Finance program and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Support Services will also receive grants.
The initiative is a part of Bank of America’s four-year commitment to put a billion dollars toward closing racial and economic gaps, announced last June.
“Workforce development, job creation and access to health and housing services are some of the most pressing needs facing Black, Hispanic-Latino and Native American individuals,” said Bank of America’s racial equality and economic opportunity executive Ebony Thomas in a statement. “By providing this support alongside our national and local partners, we are further addressing many of the challenges facing under-resourced and underserved communities across the U.S.”