The Santander Consumer USA Inc. Foundation is donating $5.6 million in charitable grants to 39 nonprofit organizations in order to make a positive impact in the communities in which it serves, especially amid the pandemic.
Dallas-based Santander Consumer USA (SCUSA) has given the foundation $66 million in the past year in support of the foundation’s mission to “be significant to communities,” SCUSA Chief Legal Officer Christopher Pfirrman told Auto Finance News.
“The foundation is separate from Santander Consumer, but we share the DNA of wanting to be innovative and really wanting to solve problems for customers and communities,” Pfirrman said.
In December, the foundation committed to supporting organizations through monetary donations and projects supported by its five philanthropic pillars: educational mobility, physical mobility, economic mobility, sustainability, crisis and resiliency, and social and racial justice and equity, according to a SCUSA statement.
One of the 39 organizations receiving a grant is Dallas-based nonprofit After8toEducate, which provides a place for unsheltered students to go at night, according to its website.
“It’s the time period after eight in the evening where there’s the least amount of support to provide a safe environment for students to go to,” Pfirrman said.
After8toEducate is being granted $170,000 for capital expenses, which will aid in housing, management, mental and physical support, life skills, support groups and counseling among other resources, according to the SCUSA statement.
Another organization receiving funding is CityYear Dallas, a nonprofit that allows young adults to seek new opportunities, according to its website.
Along with a grant for $200,000, the SC Foundation has committed to matching CityYear Dallas’ fundraising up to $500,000 per year for the next three years, Pfirrman said. “The donations support teacher and students technologically, socially and emotionally,” he said.
Other nonprofits receiving grants from between $20,000 to $300,000 include Dallas Hope Charities, Meals on Wheels Tampa, United Way Metro Dallas and Vogel Alcove Texas, among others, according to the SCUSA statement.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit underserved communities hard “but even without COVID there’s a need,” Pfirrman said. “It’s really important that Santander Consumer and entities like the SC Foundation be consistent supporters of the solutions to these problems and not just jump in when you get something like COVID.”
Looking ahead, the SC Foundation has already committed $56 million of the $66 million given by SCUSA with two project launches on the horizon for early 2022, Pfirrman said. “This money is going to be at the core of the foundation’s mission for the next several months,” he said.
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