Wells Fargo presented a $25,000 grant to the Kim S. Miller Family Enterprise Institute of South Carolina (FEISC) at Anderson University to develop programs aimed at helping family-owned businesses and enterprises succeed.
Family-owned businesses and enterprises are the backbone of the American economy. They account for 64 percent of U.S. gross domestic product and generate 62 percent of the nation’s employment. At the same time, disparities exist when it comes to businesses owned and operated by women and minorities.
Funds from the Wells Fargo Foundation grant will go towards launching a program to recruit and provide scholarships to businesses owned by women or minorities to become members of the FEISC. The funds will also support participation in a one-year affinity group designed exclusively for small businesses owned by women or minorities that are members of the FEISC.
Brad Bechtold, executive director of the FEISC, points out challenges that still face many women- and/or minority-owned, small family businesses. One big challenges are access to capital and support resources that are essential to long term success and sustainability of a business.
“The mission of the Kim S. Miller Family Enterprise Institute of South Carolina at Anderson University is to assist family enterprises in South Carolina to be successful and plan for business continuity,” Bechtold said. “One of the strategic goals of the FEISC is to increase the percentage of women- and minority-owned small family businesses in South Carolina and to help them to be successful and have a plan for business continuity.”
Through its philanthropic efforts, Wells Fargo provides a full array of services to private and family foundations across the country, including grant-making support.
If you are a women and/or minority small business owner in South Carolina, please contact Brad Bechtold at 864-346-0405, or by email at bbechtold@andersonuniversity.edu and/or submit an application for grant funding online. Details about the Kim S. Miller Family Enterprise Institute of South Carolina can be found here.