In 2023, Santander Holdings USA, Inc. (“Santander US” or “Santander”) achieved the greatest level of volunteerism in its history. With over 65,000 hours of community service and more than 50% of employees participating in volunteer activities, Santander made a significant impact in the communities it serves throughout the past year and will continue to further its commitment to help people and businesses prosper in 2024. More than 20,000 of the volunteer hours provided financial empowerment solutions to under-resourced communities, a core component of Santander’s mission to help individuals build wealth and neighborhoods grow their economies.
Santander US committed to 100,000 employee volunteer hours and $100 million in charitable giving through 2025 in its latest Community Plan, a three-year commitment of $4.6 billion in community reinvestment and $9 billion in sustainable finance, on behalf of Santander’s businesses across the United States.
“At Santander US, we have a long history of investing in the communities in which we live, work and serve. This incredible service milestone, along with all our efforts throughout the entire year to help people and businesses prosper, is a testament to the deep commitment of our team members and their dedication to our communities.”
Tim Wennes
Santander US CEO
In addition to its record-breaking number of volunteer hours, Santander US marked several other significant community milestones throughout 2023:
- Launched a new consumer checking offering, Santander® Essential Checking, to make banking easier for customers, which is certified by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund as meeting over 25 features for customers who are looking for a safe, affordable and useful banking offering to access and manage their money.
- Underwrote $4.8 billion in sustainable structured finance, supporting transactions of $9.6 billion in total deal size.
- Reached more than 180 entrepreneurs in six major markets, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Greater Philadelphia, Greater Miami and Greater Dallas, through the Cultivate Small Business program, providing MBA-style curriculum, mentorship and $600,000 in capital grant funding to woman-, minority-, and immigrant-owned small businesses within the food ecosystem. Since its inception, Cultivate Small Business has reached over 540 entrepreneurs.
- Joined community stakeholders to lead educational sessions for over 700 small business owners at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City Conference in Miami late last year, providing entrepreneurs with invaluable networking opportunities, programming, and tools necessary for sustained growth and success.
“I’m extremely proud of the progress we’ve made in 2023 and I know there is great opportunity ahead of us. I am looking forward to leading, developing and driving the strategies that support Santander US’ CSR goals into 2024 and beyond, and with the vital contributions of both our team members and community partners, we can continue to make a significant impact.”
Christina DeLay
Head of Small Business & Corporate Social Responsibility
Santander US is being recognized for these efforts in 2023. The organization was honored with a Community Collaboration Award from the Boston Business Journal for its partnership with CommonWealth Kitchen on Cultivate Small Business and the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL) chose Santander US as their ‘Small Businesses Need Us Volunteer Partner of the Year’ for volunteering nearly 1,000 hours to help minority small business owners develop implementation plans focused on social media marketing, financial projections, competitive analysis and website presentation.