Business
Charter Invests $10 Million Dollars With National Urban League And National Action Network To Assist Black-owned Small Businesses In Underserved Communities
STAMFORD, Conn., June 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Charter Communications, Inc. today announced the company will invest $10 million in partnership with both the
About this update from Charter Communications, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"STAMFORD, Conn., June 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Charter Communications, Inc. today announced the company will invest $10 million in partnership with both the National Urban League (NUL) and National Action Network (NAN) to support Black and other minority-owned small businesses in underserved communities. This investment will help strengthen small businesses and provide a long-term economic impact vital to the continued development and growth of these communities. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nCharter's Spectrum Community Investment Loan Fund (the Loan Fund) will invest $3 million in NUL's community development financial institution (CDFI), the Urban Empowerment Fund (UEF), which will make individual loans to minority-owned small businesses and, under the direction of and on behalf of NAN, the Loan Fund will invest an additional $3 million in low-interest loans directly to CDFIs. In addition, Charter will provide $3.5 million in PSA value to promote its partners' Loan Fund opportunities, and will contribute a $500,000 capacity grant to the NUL for revitalizing its CDFI platform including funding for staffing, infrastructure, and operations.\n\"In all communities, small business ownership and growth are fundamental to developing and sustaining economic power, which is critical to their long-term success,\" said Tom Rutledge, Chairman and CEO of Charter Communications. \"Building on our valued partnerships with the National Urban League and National Action Network, these investments will support small diverse-owned businesses through access to much-needed low-interest capital and help build thriving communities across the country.\"\nThe NUL's small business lending subsidiary, UEF, provides loans and coaching to minority-owned businesses that provide jobs and revenue to economically distressed areas and other underserved communities. \n\"Small Black-owned businesses, a primary economic driver in Black neighborhoods, are less likely to be approved for loans than their White-owned counterparts, and when they are approved, they receive smaller amounts and at higher interest rates,\" said Marc H. Morial, National Urban League President and CEO. \"As we face the most daunting economic landscape since the Great Depression, committed and enlightened partners like Charter are more valued than ever before. Charter is helping the National Urba...