Ep. 70 How the Wells Fargo Foundation Supports Financial Health and Community Growth

Episode Transcript
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Tom (00:00):
Militarily Speaking, Episode 70, Wells Fargo Foundation.

Jodi (00:05):
This episode, we talk with Bonnie Wallace, Senior Vice
President, Head of Financial Health,Philanthropy and Community Impact
with the Wells Fargo Foundation.

Tom (00:25):
So welcome to Militarily Speaking, brought to you by Armed Forces Bank.
This is Tom McLean and Jody Vickery.
I'm the Military Retail Exec forArmed Forces Bank, and Jody is
our Executive Vice President,Director of Consumer Banking.
I hate said that with force.
Is it your name or the title?

Jodi (00:42):
It's my name.
A lot

Tom (00:44):
of pent up

Jodi (00:44):
rage.

Tom (00:45):
I know.
I shouldn't, I shouldn't do that.

Jodi (00:47):
No, I'll take it personal.
Again, welcome to our show.
We're excited to have you listeningand learning about our guest, Bonnie
Wallace from the Wells Fargo Foundation.
Bonnie, we're going to take just asecond and tell our audience a little
bit about you before we dive in.

Tom (01:00):
Wait, before you talk about her.
Yes.
There's a lot of good stuffthat she's done in her career.
I

Jodi (01:05):
know.
I know.

Tom (01:06):
So maybe you should, maybe you should take a little bit off.
Okay.
Because he's pretty accomplished.
All right, so

Jodi (01:13):
go ahead.
We'll make you feel unaccomplished.
Right.
We're going to talk all about Bonnie.
Bonnie leads financial health philanthropyfor the Wells Fargo Foundation, one of the
largest corporate foundations in the U.
S.
As a member of Wells Fargo's socialimpact and sustainability leadership
team, she drives strategies acrossthe business focused on fostering an
inclusive economic future for all bysupporting financial health, housing

(01:36):
affordability, small business growth, andsustainability and environmental justice.
With 28 years in financial services,Bonnie's background includes diversified
experience in strategy development,business development, product development,
marketing, sales, operations, management,process improvement, and training.
Basically, Bonnie has done All of it.
Previously, Wallace served as the channelmanager in the Wells Fargo Foundation,

(01:59):
focused on financial health philanthropyand the hands on banking program, an
award winning program that provides freefinancial education tools and resources
to children, teens, adults, seniors,military, and entrepreneurs throughout
the company's national footprint.
In this role, she worked to improvethe financial capabilities of
underserved and unbanked communitiesthrough strategic partnerships with
nonprofit and government organizations.

(02:21):
She's an active community leaderbased in Buffalo, New York, and
currently serves on JumpstartEducation Committee and as a board
member for the Asset Funders Network.
She has her bachelor of sciencedegree at State University of
New York and a master's degree atRochester Institute of Technology.
I read all of it becauseit's all very impressive.
And I just want to say welcome, Bonnie.

(02:42):
It's such an honor to have you onour show today to share with us
about the Wells Fargo Foundation.
And thank you for being with us.
at the top of the podcast, we'dlove to just give you a chance
to tell us a little bit about thefoundation at a big picture level.
And then we'll, we'll jump intoa lot of different questions
that we've got for you.

Bonnie Wallace (02:57):
Thank you so much.
It's such a pleasure to be with you today.
And you know, I'll start by talkingjust a little bit about Wells Fargo.
So since 1852, Wells Fargo and companyhas dedicated itself to helping customers
build businesses and manage money andreally a very rapidly changing world.
Wells Fargo has seen a lot sinceits inception in the mid 1800s.

(03:20):
Today, Wells Fargo is the leadingfinancial services company with about 1.
9 trillion in assets.
In the U S we serve onein three households.
And more than 10 percent of smallbusinesses and we're a leading
middle market banking provider.
What I really want to emphasizeis that Wells Fargo has proudly
supported military veterans and theirfamilies for more than 170 years.

(03:42):
I haven't been herethat entire time, but a

Tom (03:46):
good

point of clarification, not with

Tom (03:48):
the stagecoach days.
Yeah, you're good.
Not the

stagecoach, but I have been in Wells Fargo
for 18 years, so quite a while.
And throughout all that time, we havesupported military service members
and veterans through initiativesto hire and retain veterans and
through foundation donations.
financial health resourcesand event sponsorship.
So at Wells Fargo, the militaryis really part of our DNA.

(04:12):
It's part of who we are as a company.
Now the Wells Fargo Foundationis part of Wells Fargo.
As a corporate foundation, ourfunding actually comes from
the revenues of Wells Fargo.
So we are inextric, youknow, we are completely tied.
to the success of the bank.
So when we think about what we needto do in the community to serve the

(04:34):
communities that we live in and arepart of, we really try and leverage
our own skills, experience, andresources and focus in areas where
we think we can be most effective.
At the Wells Fargo Foundation,we go well beyond writing checks.
We're highly engaged in the work.
So our areas of focus with the WellsFargo Foundation include financial

(04:56):
health, small business growth,housing access and affordability,
and climate and sustainability.
And again, these are all areas wherewe feel like we've got some unique
attributes, resources, experiences.
to bring to the, to the effortsof the community to improve the
communities that we're living in.

Tom (05:16):
Well said, I guess I'm going off topic, but I'm going, I'm staying on
script, Bonnie, but I'm going off topic.
I met you years ago.
You and I are active with theAssociation of Military Banks
of America at the workshop.
I met you, saw you on a panel.
I've been on a panel there, but youalways have some great Great preparation,
great content, great informationthat you share with the audience.

(05:37):
And I know you've probablydone other speaker engagements,
other panels around the country.
You just came back from a conferenceeither yesterday or this morning, right?
Yesterday, probably, right?
And so you're used to being inthat environment and the great work
that the Wells Fargo Foundationdoes for the military community.
I think that's what we're going to tryto bring to the occasion here and rise to
the surface of, of, of how our audienceand how companies can benefit from.

(06:03):
What you have to offer in the spaceof the military lifestyle too.
And so why is it important for you togo on, if you will, a tour of the Bonnie
Wallace show, if for the foundation,because you do, you represent your
brand really well, and you represent theorganization and foundation well with
some great messaging out there, but.

(06:23):
Why do you enjoy doing that?
And why is it important for youto go out there and and share the
share the good word about whatyou what you do for businesses
and what you do for individuals?

Yeah, thank you, Tom.
And it's been such a pleasureto get to know you a bit.
And you know, I think youknow that I'm pretty direct.
So I'm going to giveyou a direct response.

Tom (06:43):
Okay.

So the first reason why it's important for me
to get out in the community, aswell as as many of my colleagues.
is that we need to talk about thesethings so that people that we're seeking
to cert have awareness of the programsthat are available to support them.
So when we think about people inneed, and specifically my area of

(07:06):
focus is financial health, so I'mfocused on people that are financially
vulnerable or financially struggling.
What we often find is we canconnect them to a resource.
We find that there are programsand benefits and support that they
didn't even know were available.
So a big part of what we dois simply create awareness.

(07:28):
The second reason why I like to goout and talk about the great work that
Wells Fargo and our partners are doingis because it boosts our brand and a
reputation of impactful community giving.
And as, as that happens, what we findis that that brand and reputation
can actually be leveraged by ournonprofit partners that we fund.

(07:51):
to secure additional funding fromother foundations and sources.
So we're able to use our funding asa catalytic spark for organizations
to get additional funding.
We have a really strong track recordof identifying programs with potential
and helping them fine tune and scalethose programs to the point that they

(08:13):
have impressive results, which allowsthem to attract additional funders.
So, as I mentioned before, we gowell beyond writing the check.
We work closely with ourpartners that we fund.
We leverage our resources and ournetwork to help them really do the work
that they're meant to do and have atransformative impact on people's lives.
And the last thing that I willshare with you, and this should be

(08:35):
no surprise, you know, I mentionedthat we are a corporate foundation.
It's just good business, to get the wordout, you know, the work, the work we do
in the community brings us closer to ourcustomers and to prospective customers.
It helps our employees learn aboutthe communities that we serve,
and it builds employee morale.
And probably more, you know, themost important thing I, I think

(08:56):
that I would share is that we arereally thoughtfully and intentionally
enabling financial inclusion andequitable access, which ultimately
will drive improvements to the economy.
And that's going to benefit everyone.

Tom (09:11):
Agreed.

Jodi (09:12):
And I want to dig into those four, four focal areas that you talked
about a little bit, Bonnie, you, youmentioned that the, the foundation
focuses on affordable housing, smallbusiness, financial health, which
you said is kind of your primaryarea of focus and sustainability.
Those all are of interestto us for different reasons.
You know, we're focusedclearly on serving the military
community and we see a lot of.

(09:33):
touch points to those topics withinthe military community, whether that be
veteran homelessness, opportunities for,for military or spouse owned businesses,
for sure, small businesses, and thenfinancial health for military families.
When we're in the economic environmentthat we're in, you know, obviously
their income's not keeping upmuch like, you know, Many people,
but there's in particular isn'tkeeping up with the demands of

(09:56):
what it means to run a household.
So what, what is it that drove theselection of those four key focal areas?
And are there any, any things youwould do or share with our audience
to elaborate on, on what those, whatthose mean to Wells Fargo foundation?

Sure.
I'm going to.
Explain it in two ways.
You know, the, the first thingthat I will share with you is that
for many years, the Wells FargoFoundation has been a very significant
funder, one of the largest corporatefoundations in the country for decades.
And for many years, ourfunding was very decentralized.
So the local markets had theirown budgets and they were able to

(10:31):
fund whatever they deemed was mostappropriate in their communities.
And they were funding great programs withgood results, but it was so different
and scattered kind of across the U.
S., it was hard for us toreally understand the full
impact of our contributions.
So one of the driving factors in tryingto narrow the number of things that

(10:52):
we fund, the types of things that wefund, is simply to have greater impact.
So kind of centralizing our resourcesagainst some of the country's, you
know, biggest challenges and problems.
The other big consideration was where dowe think that we have the most to offer?
So going beyond the check, where dowe have expertise that we can lend?

(11:16):
Where can we leverage our employees?
Where can we kind of driveoutcomes that are needed by the
communities we live in and serve?
And that's how we arrivedat those four priorities.
So for example, housingaccess and affordability.
Wells Fargo has been one of theprimary mortgage lenders and
servicers for many, many years.

(11:37):
We recognize how importanthousing is, and that it's more
than just housing, it's a home.
And so, when you look at the statsthat we have right now, this is
more important than ever, I think.
You know, every single city, you cantalk to any mayor and ask them what the
biggest challenge they have in that city.

(11:57):
And it's likely that they will sayhousing, access to affordable housing.
The problem is large.
We are doing all that we can.
And I would say that we all need to figureout a way to work together to solve this
problem across public, private, nonprofit,across jurisdictions, to figure out how

(12:18):
we can get more housing and how we can getsome of these costs down to enable access.
Set in a similar way,small business growth.
We, we have a substantial business.
It's focused on small businesses,but when we look at where the capital
goes and we think about things likefinancial inclusion and access.

(12:40):
We see that there are underservedpopulations, very often populations
of color, where they do not havethe same equitable access to
capital for their small businesses.
So the work that we do in the smallbusiness area is really looking
at, at populations that have beenhistorically marginalized, that have
less access to capital and support,and trying to provide those resources

(13:05):
as well as technical assistance tohelp them take their small business.
and grow it so that it not onlygrows for them, so they can
become an employer and benefit thecommunity that they're living in.
And we do that for veterans as well.
We mentioned financial health and Ithink that's the core focus of a bank.
And if you look at any ofthe banks, they all have this

(13:27):
focus within their foundation.
And the last one is around sustainability.
And I think that's another other problemwe're all trying to address and solve.
And that, again, aligns verymuch with what we're doing
on the business side as well.

Tom (13:41):
Bonnie, if you, if you actually had to define financial health, I think it's
just, it feels a little bit ubiquitous.
It feels a little bit like it's,um, sort of arbitrary when you
say that too, just in general.
But is there, is there a place?
that we can all land that says,I am in good financial health.
We talk about financial readiness.

(14:01):
We talk about DOD readiness and militaryterms, but financial health is that, is
that a different definition for everybody?
And how do you know from a WellsFargo perspective, if you are doing
good work when it comes to achievingfinancial health goals for people?
That's a little off the cuff,Bonnie, but I'm just thinking, how

(14:22):
does, What is financial health?
How is that?
How is that sustained?
And how is it?
How is that utopian realized?
All

right.
I'm going to try and not, uh, trynot to geek out too much on this.
I love

Tom (14:33):
this.
Do it.

And I also want to tell you that, you know, I'm impressed, Tom,
with your, impressed with the questionbecause it shows a lot of insight.
So I'm, I'll start by saying this overthe years, if you've paid any attention
to this space, You've heard financialeducation, financial literacy, financial
capability, financial empowerment,financial wellness, financial health,

(14:58):
like what are these people talking about?

Tom (15:00):
Just financial dot, dot, dot.

I'm going to Combine a couple of them, I'm going to say like
financial health and financial wellness,I would put in the same category.
Financial education and financialliteracy, I'm going to put
those in the same category.
So financial education andfinancial literacy are really
speaking to the knowledge.
Do you understand thebasics of personal finance?
Do you understand the topics, right?

(15:26):
And we like to sayeducation without access.
Or income or resources is not very useful.
We can't teach someonenot to be poor, right?
You need more than education so thatthe field has kind of moved away
from the terminology of educationand literacy, because it really

(15:48):
is focused on that knowledge pieceand it kind of perpetuates this.
kind of outdated idea that ifsomeone just understood, they'd
be in different circumstances.
If they just had the knowledgeon how this all works, they could
move themselves out of poverty.
And we know that that's not the case.
The term financial capabilityreally means, are you able

(16:09):
to apply your knowledge?
And that's important as well.
But again, it also says, if you don't haveaccess to it, to products and services.
If you haven't been included kindof in the economy, then that's
not going to be terribly helpful.
When we use the terms financialwellness and financial health,
what we're really looking at issomething very comprehensive.

(16:31):
When you're financially healthy, youhave knowledge, you have access, and
you have income or cash equivalents.
You've got resources.
In addition, you're able to lookbeyond just day to day existence.
And you're able to plan for the future.
You're also able towithstand economic shock.

(16:52):
So you've got some levelof emergency savings.
So people who are financially healthy,Aren't worried about keeping the
lights on or putting food on the table.
They're not going to be devastatedeconomically if their car breaks down
or their hot water heater goes, becausethey've got some cushions, some emergency
savings for those unexpected expenses,and they're able to plan for the future.

(17:18):
So they may have some savings for goalsthat they have, like buying a home.
They may have a home.
They may have assets.
They can plan for retirement.
They could plan to have a vacation.
So you asked a really astutequestion, which is, is financial
health the same for everyone?
And I would tell you, the answer is no,your definition of financial health,

(17:40):
what, what it means to be financiallyhealthy for you may be different than it
is for me because we have different goals.
So I may consider myself very financiallyhealthy and comfortable because I can
do all the things I just talked about.
But my goal may simply be toleave a legacy for my children.
Right, where someone else's goalmight be, I want to travel the world.

(18:02):
So financial health doesn'tnecessarily mean you're wealthy.
It means you have managed yourfinancial situation in a way that you
are secure, that you're empowered andyou have a level of financial freedom
that allows you to make choices.
It's really about freedom of choice.

Tom (18:23):
I would say that she was just reading that right and
scripting it, but she gets it.
She does.
Yeah.

Jodi (18:29):
I just, I'm worried, Bonnie, that I'm going to have to hear
him talk all week about yourcompliments of his question.

Tom (18:35):
I know.
So every, so when her next question,just make sure you demoralize her.
Yeah.
Terrible question.
And prop me up like she did.
So I will.
Let's, let's go into the, Bonnie,the foundation has awarded them,
correct me if I'm wrong aboutthis number, but it's 64 million.
That's with an M to military, to militarynonprofit organizations focused primarily

(18:59):
on career transition and financial healthand a little bit behind the curtain.
If you are behind the scenes about whatgoes on at the foundation, as there are
probably a lot of people knocking at yourdoor to want to get some help or ask for.
financial support for their initiatives.
But so from a prioritization, Bonnie,without giving away the store and, and

(19:21):
the process you use as organizationscome to you, whether it's for a
grant or whether it's determining howthose dollars are allocated to those
organizations, what What is that process?
And are there any best practices youcan give to the audience that wants
to, wants to contact you, reach outand, and be part of your organization
when it comes to that process?

Yeah, again, I apologize, but it is another great question.

Tom (19:46):
See, Jodi?

Yeah, it's a great question.
And I will tell you, like, we're verytransparent with organizations and we are
very clear about what we're looking for.
And it's.
It's not insignificant.
And the first thing I want to shareis that 64 million number, right?
Is really impressive.
It even impresses me each time I hear it.

Tom (20:07):
And

I just want to give some context for it.
That's actually over the past fiveyears, it's been 64 million in grants
to nonprofit organizations thatserve military members or veterans.
And again, the focus, as youmentioned, Tom, is really on housing,
career transition, financial health.
And small business, but that's, youknow, this idea of like, how, you know,

(20:30):
I know there's people out there, right.
Listening to this podcast, they're like,how do we get a piece of that 64 million?
You know, how do we get a piece?
So we talked about the focus areas and Iwill tell you that most foundations have
some Focus or they they set priorities Andso if you've got a non profit that you're
looking to fund Try and find a foundationthat aligns with your priorities.

(20:51):
That's the first thing I'll tell you.
So there are non profits thatcome to us looking for assistance.
They may have incredible programs doingwonderful work, but if they don't align
with our priorities, we don't fund it.
The second thing that I will emphasizewith organizations that talk to
us is we are very data driven.

(21:12):
So for financial health, I willshare with you that our key metrics
that we look for are around savings,debt, credit and asset acquisition.
So the programs that we lookto fund are programs that are
able to drive those outcomes.
and are able to measure and report.

(21:32):
So again, not every foundation isthe same, but we really need to
demonstrate that the, that the moneythat we're providing philanthropically
is being used in the best way possibleand that we're choosing nonprofits
and programs that are getting thegreatest return on that investment.
So those metrics and thoseoutcomes become really important.

(21:55):
We also look for programs andorganizations that have proven track
records So if you come to us and youcan demonstrate either with a current
program that you're looking for fundingthat schema, we've been doing this for
five years and here's the results todate, or if you're starting something
new because we do fund innovation aswell, if you can either demonstrate
that the leaders for this innovativeprogram have a proven track record.

(22:20):
Or you've done like work, somethingsimilar and had success with that.
And the last thing that I'll share iswe do look for organizations that are
financially stable, that have diversifiedfunding, because the last thing we would
want to do is fund a program, put WellsFargo funds into it, have the organization

(22:40):
become somewhat dependent on that.
And if we are not able to continuefunding, have a program that's working.
Have to be shut down because WellsFargo wasn't able to fund it.
So we really, you know, we're carefulwith that again, and it's, it's
all about being able to sustainthe programs and those outcomes.

Jodi (23:00):
I appreciate that.
What'd you say?
Look behind the curtain.

Tom (23:03):
Yeah.
But I don't think it'sformula driven, right?
Cause someone likecheck in the box, right?
I've got to be in businessfor two years, three years.
I've got to be this diversified.
I've got to serve this population.
I have to have this vision with mymission statement for my nonprofit that
hits one of your four areas, Bonnie.
But so I don't think it's a formula.
It is you, you get into the weedswith these organizations and you

(23:26):
really understand their business.
And you know what makes sense ifit, if it's a good fit for you.
So it, so I don't want to discourageanybody from going through with
a conversation with you, but itsounds like there's sort of a
method where our audience can comeprepared to the table and have the
information that makes sense to you.

Yes, absolutely.
You're, you're spot on Tom.
We don't have a formula that,and, and I think, you know, you
and I may have talked about this,like, how does it actually work?
What happens?
This year, I've probablytalked to at least a hundred
organizations, if not more.
We have exploratory conversations.
So I might meet someone or they come tous, there's a way to come to us through

(24:09):
the website or we get introduced.
And we initially have like an, a reallyintroductory type of conversation.
Tell us what you do.
We're going to tell you, tell you what wedo and how things work and give you some
examples of other other organizations thatwe fund that might have similar missions.
And it's a more of a get gettingto know you kind of conversation.

(24:29):
We then ask if we think thatthere's opportunity there for the
organization to provide us with.
a concept paper.
So we're not looking forsomething that's 10 pages long.
We're looking for one or two pages justto kind of explain what is your mission?
What is the programyou're looking to fund?
Have you, you know, what are theoutcomes that you've observed so far?

(24:49):
Where do you see some fits?
So again, it's just next stage alittle bit deeper in that conversation.
And if we think that there'ssomething there that, that we
could be more effective together,then what we'll do is ask them to
actually complete an application.
And the application does gointo a little more detail.
And we are looking for informationaround what, what do you think

(25:13):
you can drive with this program?
Against the key metrics that I mentioned.
And while we track against thosetargets, I also want to share that if
you don't meet, you meet your targets.
It's not like you get cut off.
Like this is, this is, It's akinder, gentler type of approach.
There's a lot of reasons why you may notachieve the goals that you set out in

(25:35):
the first year or in the second year.
So we, again, part of the reasonwe get so engaged in the work that
we do with these nonprofit partnersis because we want to understand.
what their challenges are,what their opportunities are.
And that helps us make sure thatwe're providing them with the support
that they need to, to be successful.

Tom (25:55):
I also think if, if you're going to take time and invest in a nonprofit,
they should take time and investin putting together the most sound
application that, that gives you eyesand an understanding of what it looks
like three, five, 10 years from now.
It's just like Jody, when Iinterviewed someone, the first.
I think the next question I ask is, whatdo you know about Armed Forces Bank?

Jodi (26:15):
Because if

Tom (26:16):
you don't invest the time or energy into something, then
why should we reciprocate?

Jodi (26:21):
Interview over?
Yeah.

Tom (26:23):
Sometimes they are 38 second interviews.
So that's the beauty of that.
But yeah.
So yeah, thank you forthe great answer, Bonnie.
But now that Jodi's going to askyou the next question I'm sure
it's going to be pretty average.

Jodi (26:34):
Well, I, I was, I did have an observation before
I asked my average question.
Yes.
So, I mean, what you're describing,whether it's Wells Fargo Foundation being
asked to contribute and invest in it,I mean, that's what any small business
should be prepared to put on the table.
Yeah.
If they're asking for moneyfrom a nonprofit or a for profit

(26:55):
investment body, if you will.
And so I think you're just asking for, youknow, a well thought out plan, honestly,
in ways to measure against that plan.
And so.
Yeah, I think, I think companies that are,are ripe for investment would probably
have that stuff in hand would be my guess.
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Tom (27:17):
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Jodi (28:21):
But I want to, I want to talk about another area of focus, Bonnie, that, that
I noticed that you guys have in, and thatis specific to women in entrepreneurship.
I love that.
I used to have my own smallbusiness before I came to the bank,
particularly in the military community.
I'm a military spouse of 20 years, andI found a lot of my military spouse
friends and acquaintances would have smallbusinesses that they would start up as a,

(28:45):
as a means to help with the family budgetas their counterpart bounced around.
Active duty.
It was transferable employment,I guess you could say.
Portable

Tom (28:54):
skills.

Jodi (28:55):
Portable skills, portable employment.
It can bounce from dutystation to duty station.
So I was really intrigued bythis whole concept of focusing
on women and entrepreneurship.
And I'd love for you to share with ouraudience why you see supporting that
subsection of small business ownersas a priority for the foundation
and why that's important to you.

Thank you, Jodi.
You know, I, I'm learning more andmore as I'm stepping into this space.
So I don't have a military background,and as I learn what the challenges
are, you, you can't help but bekind of stopped in your tracks.
So I understand that it's not uncommonto experience difficulties when it comes
to finding and retaining employment.

(29:34):
due to the frequent relocation.
But it wasn't until I saw astatistic that I really fully
realized how difficult this is.
And, and the statistic is that 81percent of military personnel experienced
a permanent change of location withtheir spouse in the past five years.

(29:55):
And I think about my own careerand I think about hiring people.
And if I see frequent moves, I always kindof question, do I want to hire someone
who's going to be gone in 18 months?
And it's just a reality of the situation.
So that statistic kind ofstopped me in my tracks.
Now, the second piece of that,and you'll see that we really

(30:16):
focus on women entrepreneurs.
is that the majority of themilitary spouses are female.
And so when you think that you'vegot a layer on top of it, some of
the other gender disparities inemployment and education that we are
seeking to address in the civilianpopulation, it just shows the level
of, you know, kind of exacerbationof the issue for military spouses.

(30:41):
So we are just generally speaking, reallysupportive of women business leaders.
And we recently released a report.
And I can provide you with this linkTom and Jody later, if you'd like,
but it's, it's called the Wells Fargoimpact of women owned business report.
And in that report, it shows thatwomen own 14 million businesses.

(31:03):
So this isn't specific tomilitary and veterans, just
generally 14 million businesses.
which represents 39.
1 percent of all businesses.
And these women ownedbusinesses employed 12.
2 million workers and generate 2.
7 trillion in revenue.
So, you know, these are reallyimpressive numbers, but we also

(31:26):
recognize that it could be even greaterand the impact could be even greater.
If the gaps between diverse womenand white women owned businesses,
as well as between women andmen, if those gaps were closed.
So there's a projection that womenowned businesses have the potential of
generating billions, if not trillions.
So in addition to this report, in 2021,we established an initiative to support

(31:54):
the development and growth of womenowned businesses called Connect2More.
And that Connect2More initiativeprovides access, expertise,
and specialized resources.
And as part of this program, wework with the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial
Center to provide women entrepreneurswith complementary support, Through

(32:15):
the Milestone Circles Program.
So I'm giving a lot of names here.
So this is connect to more, and it'swith the NASDAQ entrepreneurial center.
And the program iscalled Milestone Circles.
So this really helps participantsin the program get hands on help
on setting up and reaching theirbusiness goals through a network of

(32:36):
peer mentors and industry experts.
So it's bringing themtogether in a community.
And this is something we see work reallyeffectively with military Spouses and
veterans is this kind of communityapproach where they're learning from one
another as well as getting some guidedhelp from industry experts as well.
So there's a, this, I would encouragepeople if you have an interest to check

(33:00):
this out again, it's called Connect More.
We also have a long standing historyof sponsorship and collaboration
with women focused organizations,including the National Association
of Women Business Owners.
Women's Business EnterpriseNational Council and the Association
of Women's Business Centers.
So we've been reallyworking hard in this space.

(33:20):
And again, it's, it's focused onwomen because we see that great
opportunity there and, and kind ofreflecting on my earlier comments,
not only is it good for these women,it's good for our overall economy.

Tom (33:33):
You know, with all that information, that plethora of information that you
provided and the resources is if, ifthey went, if our audience went to one
website, would there be then a connectionto all these different programs and
organizations that you've createdthat are helping military spouses or
civilian spouses as they run businesses?

(33:53):
Should they go to the foundation siteor should they go somewhere else?

Well, I'm.
I'm embarrassed to say theanswer is no, but I made a
note that we better set it up.
I would also, and I'll make the offer.
I am on LinkedIn.

Tom (34:08):
Okay.

And again, it's Bonnie Wallace.
And if you reach out to me onLinkedIn, I will connect you.
to the resources you're looking for.
So my self deprecating comment isI don't know a whole lot, but I
know a whole lot of people who do.
So I can probably get youto, to a resource that you
would, that would be helpful.

Tom (34:26):
Bonnie's on LinkedIn and her cell number is 555.
She lives in.
Yeah.
I'm surprised you haven'tresearched that already.
Yeah.
Let's just, let's shift gears a littlebit, Bonnie, and talk about Vetsense.
Are you familiar with that?

Yeah, I get really excited about it, Tom, so I'm kind of excited.

Tom (34:46):
Contain yourself, Bonnie, yeah.
We're waiting for you to popout another awesome question.
It's not going to be a question.
I'm just going to haveBonnie talk about Vetsense.

Jodi (34:56):
Go for it, Bonnie.

I get excited about Vetsense and the Veterans Benefits
Banking Program for a number of reasons.
I'm going to try to be succinct.
And not get too carried away.
So the history of this program is thatthe Veterans Administration went to the
Association of Military Banks of America,which is a trade association of banks
that serve the military and veterans.

(35:18):
And the Veterans Administration said,we're having this horrible problem.
This was back in like 2019, wherethere were, there's a, you know,
large number of veterans who weren'tbanked and they were receiving
their benefits via check or prepaidcards, specifically direct express.
And long story short, it was fraughtwith problems that they lose the

(35:40):
check or they would, you know,empty the prepaid card all at once
and the money would get stolen.
There were just all kinds of issues.
And the DA said, please help usget these unbanked veterans banked.
Get them bank accounts so we can dispersetheir benefit funds directly into their
bank account where it's safe and secure.
So the Association of MilitaryBanks of America created this

(36:03):
Veterans Benefits Banking Program.
And again, this is inpartnership with the VA.
And they brought all thesedifferent banks together that
serve the military and veterans.
And had a very driven kind of focusedeffort on getting veterans banked.
This launched, I think, in like 2020and in the last less than five years,

(36:24):
they have opened, I think it's closeto 300, 000 bank accounts for veterans.

Tom (36:31):
And Bonnie, I think there's over a hundred financial institutions
that are in the program too, right?
For BBP.
That's right.
Yeah.

Right.
And, and to, for the audience too,this is not just any bank, right?
So in order to participate in theVeterans Benefits Banking Program,
your deposit accounts, yourchecking accounts, savings accounts.
have to meet a set of requirements.
You have to be vetted through thisprogram so that we're offering
veterans accounts that are safe andaffordable, that they can trust.

(37:01):
That these are safe and affordable.
So this was just a tremendous effortwith the association and military
banks of America and the veteransadministration, it went incredibly well.
But then what happened is theveteran said, this is great.
Happy to have a bank account, but couldsomeone please teach me how to use it?
I have, I have some other issues, right.

(37:23):
That I need to address.
So at that time, two otherorganizations that Wells Fargo
has funded for many years.
One organization is calledthe Association for Financial
Counseling and Planning Education.
The other is the NationalFoundation for Credit Counseling.
For the audience, again, they'reboth really doing kind of financial
counseling or credit counseling.

(37:45):
They came to Wells Fargo and said,we have this ask from the Association
of Military Banks of America.
They're interested in providingfree financial counseling to these
veterans who are newly banked.
Wells Fargo, will you provideus with the funding to provide
these free financial counseling?
And we, we know these organizationswell, we know they do great work and
we are very committed to veterans.

(38:05):
And we said, yes, let's give it a shot.
I was, I'm going to tell you absolutelyfloored by the results of it.
It is difficult to take, toget people to take advantage
of free financial counseling.
It's a little bit surprising,but it's across the board.
People just do not do it.
It's almost like going to the dentist.
These veterans took full advantage of it.

(38:28):
And in fact, Ask for more.
So as, as we looked at that, thoseresults, I said, wow, there is
something here and the need is so great.
How could we ever fund it?
Like, how could we possibly provide it?
Because financial counselingisn't inexpensive.
So what we did is we brought to the tableand not, um, part of this equation and

(38:48):
the organization's name is LifeSense.
And they have a digital financialeducation and coaching platform.
So it's a digital tool that is highlycustomized and personalized to the user.
And it allows someone essentially to kindof provide some self service in terms
of financial coaching and counseling.

(39:10):
And in that way, bringing thistechnology solution into this
mix, it did a number of things.
One thing it did is it, it allowed Theveterans using it, their caregivers, their
family members, active duty military, it'snot really, no one's excluded to within
the comfort of their home with anonymity,without having to sit in front of anyone

(39:30):
and tell their whole story, they'reable to assess their financial health.
They're able to complete a number ofsurveys that helps them identify where
they have needs and opportunities.
They can chart their own path.
for how they want to see theirfinancial plan get developed
and what their actions are.
And they can connect to resources tohelp them achieve their financial goals.

(39:54):
So they can do all ofthat within the tool.
So those who want to self serve anddo a lot of the exploratory piece
on their own are free to do that.
If someone is in need forimmediate help, they can connect
immediately to those resources.
So this kind of this group thatwas formed, this collaborative.
Where we had the association of militarybanks, the veterans administration,

(40:18):
these financial counseling andcredit counseling organizations,
and now this technology tool thatkind of acted as an infrastructure
or the glue that all together hasjust, you know, it, it evolved.
The origin story is kind of importantbecause it wasn't a mastermind.
It evolved over time and theresults that we're seeing out of
it are just absolutely staggering.

(40:41):
And it's.
It's creating a model forother populations as well.

Tom (40:46):
It's a lot of stuff going on there.
There is a lot of good,a lot of great stuff too.
I've met a few of yourteam members, right?
You've I don't know how big yourteam is as far as number of people,
number of initiatives, number of.
within a program, if you will, asfar as the composition of your team.
But is there, I mean, how, how big is it?
Cause that's like you said, you've metwith a hundred nonprofits, just yourself.

(41:09):
How many people do you haveassembled around you that
are doing that good work too?

So we've in each of the, we're, we're organized
both nationally and locally.
So at the national level, we have.
Leaders for each of thosefocus areas we've talked about.
And on each of those teams,there's probably, you know,
anywhere between, you know, likesix, six to eight people on each.
We're doing the national work andthe national work that we do, some

(41:35):
of it's related to, to research andin kind of advancing policy, but
it's also working with large nationalnonprofits that have local impact.
We also have a team that's called thecommunity relations team, and they
are located in the local markets.
And they are the connective tissuebetween the bank and the community.

(41:55):
So our national teams work very closelywith the community relations team as well.
And that's what keeps usclose to those communities.
Within my team, we docover a lot of ground.
So I have someone who's focused onyouth, really in the K 12 space.
We do work with teachers, but wealso work with a lot of nonprofits
that focus on youth as well.

(42:18):
We also have someone who's focusedon young adults and a lot of that
work is happening with minorityserving institutions like historically
black colleges and universities.
We have a focus on LGBTQ peoplewith disabilities and we also
fund probably about eight or ninemillion in scholarships every year.
For higher ed, I have another personthat focuses primarily on financial

(42:42):
coaching and counseling and credit.
And then the last person that Ihave is focused on more of kind
of like the innovative work.
So new things that require alot of kind of care and feeding.
And for those programs, we have, youknow, it's less likely that every
single one of them is going to succeed,but we are trying to get there.

(43:02):
Do things differently so wecan see some different results.

Tom (43:06):
Thanks for sharing that.

Jodi (43:07):
So if, if folks are listening in our audience and they're curious
to learn more about the organizationsthat you do fund and you do support
and all of these various ways, canthey learn about that on your website?
I know you said to access resources,sometimes the best option is to reach
out to you via LinkedIn, but in termsof highlighting organizations that
Wells Fargo foundation has chose toinvest in and help, help flourish.

(43:30):
Is there a place where folkscan go to learn about them?

You can see some of it.
We have a Wells Fargo stories channeland that, that has some really great
human centered stories around theimpact of the work that we fund.
You can also go to the communitygiving section of the wellsfargo.
com site, and there's amailbox there as well.
So you can submit a requestthrough the mailbox and that will

(43:53):
make it to the appropriate team.

Tom (43:55):
Excellent.
So you were a banker.
Do you still call yourself a banker?

I'm still a banker.
Yep.
Working for a bank.
I'm a banker,

Tom (44:05):
but you're, but you're also inspired by philanthropy.
You can tell it in your voice.
You can tell it in your, in thepassion for what you do, but is what,
what inspired you to focus reallyalmost exclusively beyond hands
on banking, beyond Citibank whenyou were there on the, on the, on
the direct auto side of the house.
But now, now it's allabout philanthropy, right?
And, and helping people.

(44:26):
Was there something that happened?
Like the opportunity came your wayor you, you went out and found it.

It was very deliberate.
Um, it was super, so I had beenon the revenue side of the house,
as we say, you know, for a longtime, I had many great experiences.
I loved the work that I did,but I always thought to myself,
what do I want to do next?
What's, you know, what'sthe next turn in my career?

(44:52):
And I thought, I wonder if Icould work in the nonprofit space,
would my skills be transferable?
And it's a little bit scary tojump out of a lifetime working for.
Big companies right intothe nonprofit space.
So I, at the time I thought maybe Icould test it out in the foundation.
Now it is very difficult to get a job ina foundation because you get to wake up

(45:15):
every day and do what you love, right.
And really connect with community.
So I had a plan, which tookmany, many years where I just
started building relationships.
with different people thatworked in the foundation.
So on the rare chance that oneof those jobs did become open,
that they would think of me andpull my resume out of the pile.
So eventually it worked and I gota job in the foundation and I did

(45:39):
realize that despite many, many,many years, couple decades of
working, it was a brand new ballgame.
It was the biggest leap I had in terms ofhaving to learn new things and test myself
that I'd had in, in a couple decades.
And I, I'm really happy with the move.

Tom (45:56):
Bondi, I have a, I tell my kids every day, I say, if you love what you
do, you never work a day in your life.
And I think that's where you are.
I'm going to leave it at that.

Do they listen, Tom?

Tom (46:07):
No, no, they think, they think I've kind of lost it, I guess.
Some people think of it as a job, butthey say it's just, it's the pay bills.
But if you, so if that's the case,then you're doing something wrong.
Go find something you love to do.

Yeah.
And you asked me the question, like,why am I out in the community so much?
And I'll tell you, like, thistime of year I'm exhausted.
I think I have traveled somethinglike 189 days this year.
It makes it really difficultto get the work done.
And I wanted to spell the myth,you know, people will say to me
like, wow, you've got the best job.
You get to give away money.

(46:44):
It is so much more complicated than that.
And we're subject to regulationsand there's a lot that goes into it.
But what makes all the difference.
is when I am with the organizations thatare doing the work and I'm able to engage
with their clients in their communityand see the impact that they're having
in my contribution to that impact.

(47:04):
That's what keeps us all going.
And that's why I think to some extentwe run ourselves ragged, you know,
on the road, but it really is very.

Jodi (47:11):
Yeah.
I think when your why is clear,then you're, you're willing to
push the limits like that, if Ican hear that in everything you've
described to us today, for sure.

Tom (47:20):
That 189, you know, you know, John Broda, I mean, John Broda at FIS.
I mean, he, he's an RF and justto be on the road as much as he
is during the year, living out ofa suitcase, that is a tough life.
And I.
I probably did that for five yearsearlier in my banking career.
And yeah, it's

Jodi (47:38):
a lot of unpack your bag when you swap out the dry cleaning.
Yeah,

Tom (47:45):
let's play the minute.

Jodi (47:46):
Did you warn her about the minute?

Tom (47:48):
No.
So Bonnie, I know you, you're you're,you do all your research before you get.
Before you get engaged in somethinglike this with a Tom McClane or
Jody Vickery, but we play a littlegame called the military minute.
Just a little trivia question.
Okay.
So no pressure.

(48:08):
We'll, we'll, we'll give you, Jody'sgoing to read the question from the
last podcast and she's going to read afuture question for future listeners.
That you can't answer, butyou can answer the first one.

Jodi (48:19):
If you know the answer to this first one, you

Tom (48:21):
can answer

Jodi (48:21):
one.
I would be more impressedthat I already am with you.

Tom (48:24):
I know she's going to know she's going to Google it the same time.
You're

Jodi (48:27):
right.
She might be a fast typer.
Let's say so last our last podcast,we had a representative from Hutz
for vets out of Aspen, Colorado,just as context for the question.
And I think most people haveheard of the song Rocky mountain
high sung by John Denver.
But I learned that very day thatJohn Denver was not his actual name.

(48:47):
He has a different last name.
Well, his actual name isdifferent than Denver.

Tom (48:52):
So do you know, do you know John Denver's original name?

No.
And I was just going to offerto sing the song as a diversion.
I would love that.

Tom (49:02):
You want to, or do you want to sing?
Take, take me home country roads.
Which one?
Oh, that's

right.
Like I hope.
Yes.
Yeah.
No, the best one.
We're all going to have that

Tom (49:10):
earworm for is Sweet Caroline, right?
That's not John Denver.
Oh, come on.
I know it's Neil Diamond.

Jodi (49:16):
I was going to say Wayne Newton.
That's Neil Diamond.
I bet.

Tom (49:19):
Just sing a Hank Williams Jr.
song.
Okay, Jill.

Jodi (49:21):
Anyway, so I didn't know this either, Bonnie, to be fair.
So, and I'm probably going tobutcher it in the pronunciation.
No, you did it right.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.

Tom (49:27):
You did it right.
But

Jodi (49:28):
I know, but it's been like an hour since I practiced.
So if you are in our audience andyou told us that John Denver's
real last name originally was
Deutschendorf, then you shouldwatch for your name to be dropped
on our social media as the luckywinner of 50 for yourself and
50 to a charity of your choice.
I will never again listen toRocky Mountain High the same way.

Tom (49:49):
Because you'll say, I know the artist.
I'll be

Jodi (49:51):
like, oh yeah, hey, that's old John Deutschendorf.
Don't you think about it before I say it.
But this week's Military Minute,you can't answer, Bonnie,
because I'd bet at least 1.
50 that you know the answer.
I think

Tom (50:00):
she knows.
This is a three part question.
I think she Well, I would have

Jodi (50:03):
got

Tom (50:04):
one part of the answer.
Well, she already said one of the answers.
Yeah, that's true.
When she first started the podcast.
That's true.
Okay.

Jodi (50:09):
So the actual question in its full glory is what are the names of
the two founders and in what yearwas Wells Fargo founded and what is
the enduring symbol for Wells Fargo?

Tom (50:21):
I think we've actually said two of podcast.
I can tell

Jodi (50:23):
her face.
She's like, I know this.
I'm getting that 50.
So if you know the answer, when thispodcast drops, put your answer in
the comments and then you too couldbe eligible to win 50 for yourself
and 50 for a charity of your choice.
I think folks have a prettygood chance at that one.
It's crazy how aligned

it is with other things that have been shared today.

Tom (50:43):
I know.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Man, I, I know I learneda lot from you, Bonnie.
I know our audience is goingto benefit from this too.
So we appreciate the time and thesacrifice that you gave today and
thank you for being a wonderful guest.
We enjoyed the time and I always like tosay if you enjoyed this episode as much as
Bonnie Wallace did, then go out to afbank.

(51:05):
com and subscribe to the show.
Also, make sure to rate us, leaveus a comment on your favorite
podcast platform, such as ApplePodcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Well done, Bonnie.
Yes, thank you so much.
Did a great job.

Thank you.
Thank you.
Take care.

Tom (51:29):
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(51:51):
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Ep. 70 How the Wells Fargo Foundation Supports Financial Health and Community Growth

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