Philanthropy – Frequently Asked Questions

Our community giving and engagement is primarily focused on:

• Financial opportunity
• Housing access and affordability
• Business growth

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities including disaster relief. However, opportunities are limited as the intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our funding priority areas.

Wells Fargo or the Wells Fargo Foundation prefers to fund programs and projects rather than unrestricted sponsorships and events for nonprofits. However, we do consider a limited amount of sponsorship for fundraising events. To be considered, please apply online at least 90 days prior to the event. Priority is given to organizations that support the funding priority areas.

Yes. If your organization received an invitation to apply for a grant, please use the invitation code provided by your contact at Wells Fargo or the Wells Fargo Foundation to access and complete the online application.

Your submission should be thoughtful and concise and closely follow section guidelines. It’s important that it tells a compelling story of the problem or opportunity and how funding will help your organization address the needs effectively.

• Funding purpose and project description – Your executive summary should give a brief overview of who you serve, the need for support, what your project does, and what impact you plan to expand or sustain.
• Detailed project information – Please provide specifics on your project/program, including how the funding will be used and proposed marketing and communications plan.
• Ability to report quantifiable results for defined success metrics for outcomes and impact as well as share other key success measures tracked by your organization.
• Previous year funding – If you received a grant from Wells Fargo or the Wells Fargo Foundation in a prior year, explain the impact of that funding. What were the benefits, successes, and lessons learned? Why should you receive continued support?

Yes, you must complete all required fields and submit requested documentation as identified within the application in order to submit your grant request.

Due to the volume of requests we receive, it is usually not practical for us to do site visits. A site visit isn’t required for your grant to be approved.

Annual income of 80% or less of the area median income. Median Family Income can be accessed using the FFIEC website.

A confirmation email is sent automatically when an application is received. If you don’t see one, try:

• Looking in your spam/junk folder.
• Checking that your submission was completed. Go back to the online application portal and click Continue to access your application. Review it to make sure all required fields have been completed. On the final page, select Save and Proceed. On the final page, select Submit.

Payment is typically sent within 4 months after a proposal has been approved.

In the online application portal select "Need Support" and a customer support representative will contact you. Forgot your password? There is a link on the Log In page to reset it.

Due to the large number of requests we receive, we don’t discuss grant proposals before they are submitted.

Please wait at least 120 days after submitting your proposal. In most cases, you will have heard from us by then. If not, please send an email to wffound@wellsfargo.com.

The request may not be resubmitted in the same calendar year.

We make decisions based on alignment to our funding priorities, available funds, and ability to report measurable outcomes. Due to the high volume of grant applications received, we are unable to answer specific questions about why grant requests were declined.