Santander Consumer USA Foundation Announces $1.7M in Grants

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

Santander said that in total, the foundation is granting funding and resources to 11 organizations: seven in Dallas, and four in cities across the United States in Texas, Arizona, and Florida. The company said the grants represent the latest step in the foundation’s longstanding commitment to investing in Dallas and helping the most vulnerable in local communities across the nation to learn, grow, and prosper.

“We’re thrilled to announce our newest grantees as part of the bank’s ongoing efforts to drive social and cultural change through thoughtful, strategic investments in our local communities,” Santander Consumer CEO Bruce Jackson said in a statement. “These commitments further advance our mission to empower the local Dallas community—and communities nationwide – with the essential resources and tools required for achieving a happy, healthy, successful and fulfilling life.”

Areas of focused giving

With every investment in the community, the SC Foundation said it is focused on continuing its commitment to supporting organizations that align with its five philanthropic pillars of charitable giving which include:

Educational Mobility: Developing talent and preparing students for the workforce
Physical Mobility: Addressing personal physical modality and transportation issues that affect economic mobility
Economic Mobility: Promoting financial literacy, job and workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and innovation
Sustainability, Crisis and Resiliency: Providing environmental and urban development, disaster relief and immediate response recovery in crisis situations
Social & Racial Justice and Equity: Investing to address issues affecting justice and equality for all

Via grants and other important initiatives, the foundation said it strives to seek out opportunities to align its goals with those of the local communities in which it operates, play an active role in enhancing the neighborhoods in which Santander US employees live and work, and partner with organizations to help drive greater social and economic progress for all.

Grant recipients

Per Santander, the following organizations were awarded grants:

Dallas College (Dallas): Funding will support recruitment efforts through Dallas College’s entrepreneurship and small business initiatives, as well as the School of Business, Hospitality, and Global Trade. This alignment leverages strong partnerships with the North Texas SBDC Network and Texas Restaurant Association to enhance awareness and participation in Santander US Cultivate Small Business Program.
Dallas Innovation Alliance (Dallas): Funding will support the Connected Digital Ambassadors Program with hyper-local community anchor site locations and expansion of the Mobile Learning Lab programs with STEM programming and Wi-Fi support, and support of the second annual Get Connected Dallas community festival and resource fair. This will help bolster Dallas’s smart cities strategy, which is based on the intersection of community, data, and technology to enable resource efficiencies, inclusive economic development and improve quality of life.
Genesis Women’s Shelter (Dallas): Funding will support the Transitional Housing Program that promotes economic independence and help Genesis’ efforts to assist women and children build a stable and financially independent future. SC Foundation will also provide matching funds for 20 families that have saved prior to exiting transitional housing.
Momentous Institute (Dallas): Funding will provide safe and reliable transportation for at least 150 youth mental health clients annually on field trips across North Texas, and trips to the Momentous Institute Camp in East Texas.
New Friends New Life (Dallas): Funding will support the Economic Empowerment and Barrier Removal Initiative, which will address economic and legal barriers facing more than 230 adult survivors of exploitation and trafficking. A portion of funding will support financial literacy, employment coaching and benchmarked financial services, and another portion will fund the recently launched legal advocacy clinic to create a legal action plan to address barriers to employment for women and girls.
The Concilio (Dallas): Funding will support the Parents Advocating for Student Excellence (PASE) parental engagement program, a 9-week initiative that shows parents how to navigate homework, paperwork, and other important subjects so they can take an active role in their child’s academic success. It will also support Concilio’s Latino Capacity Building program, which increases cultural intelligence through training and resources for organizations working with Latino and Hispanic populations.
Vogel Alcove (Dallas): Funding will support the Expansion Campaign at Red Bird that will serve approximately 100 additional children with Vogel’s childcare services to help them recover from the trauma of homelessness.
Year Up (Texas, Florida): Funding will support financing for job training for more than 2,000 students in 10 cities for workforce development, with the goals of graduates gaining well-paying positions or enrolling in post-secondary education.
A New Leaf (Mesa, Arizona): Funding will support the BankWorks Workforce Program, which prepares participants for a meaningful career in the financial services sector. It will also support the enrollment of 200 individuals in an 8-week career training program where they will obtain employment opportunities with financial institutions. Additionally, funding will be allocated to the organization’s Assets to Opportunity Match program, which will provide support for post-secondary education and small business development for 60 individuals.
Save the Family (Mesa, Arizona): Funding will support the Step Up to Independence program, offering families services such as case management, career development, and parent and children’s services in a 12-month program for more than 20 families.
Sojourner Center (Phoenix, Arizona): Funding will support program supportive services for the shelter including advocacy, helplines, legal services and housing.

Contributing both funding and time

“A lot of time, effort, and consideration went into choosing these grantees, and each was selected for the notable impact they’re making in their local communities,” Christopher Pfirrman, chief legal officer and general counsel at Santander Consumer USA, said in a statement. “We’re incredibly proud of the partners we’ve chosen, and we look forward to everything we’ll be able to achieve together to improve the lives of people in need here in the great city of Dallas, and in other cities throughout America.”

Including the newly announced grants, the SC Foundation’s contributions to local community organizations have surpassed $35 million since 2021, the company said. In addition to monetary donations, Santander Consumer USA employees have donated more than 90,000 volunteer hours over the past five years to these and many other organizations, addressing today’s most difficult challenges and discovering meaningful ways to contribute to their community’s ongoing success and prosperity.

Santander Consumer USA said it also participates in its parent company’s Santander US Community Plan, a three-year commitment of $4.6 billion in community reinvestment and $9 billion in sustainable finance, as well as 100,000 employee volunteer hours and $100 million in charitable giving through 2025, on behalf of Santander’s businesses across the United States.