Wells Fargo Pledges $500,000 to International African American Museum
September 28, 2017
Wells Fargo & Company has pledged $500,000 to the forthcoming International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina.
The generous leadership investment illustrates Wells Fargo’s deep-rooted commitment not only to supporting cultural institutions and education, but to the African American community. In 2016, Wells Fargo donated $69.4 million to nonprofits across the United States that are focused on helping the African American community prosper and thrive.
“We are thrilled to support the International African American Museum and help bring this nationally significant institution to life,” said Wells Fargo Lowcountry Business Banking Manager and Charleston Market President Len Hutchison. “Our goal at Wells Fargo is to help build strong and vibrant communities, and the museum will contribute to a stronger and more vibrant community by providing a center of learning on one of the most sacred sites of African American history.”
Nearly half of all enslaved Africans entered America in Charleston, and the vast majority disembarked at the former site of Gadsden’s Wharf, where the IAAM will be built. The museum will house the Center for Family History, a leading genealogy center that will help people of African descent discover their pasts and potentially uncover personal connections to the museum site itself.
“This museum will not only be a historic and cultural institution, but a center of discovery and education,” said Michael Boulware Moore, IAAM President and CEO. “Our galleries will give guests opportunities to explore hundreds of years of history, our memorial gardens will provide a beautiful setting to contemplate those lessons, and the Center for Family History will provide a unique path into our visitors’ pasts.”
In addition, the IAAM will develop curricula available to students and teachers across the country, projecting the museum’s lessons far beyond its walls, and impacting communities across the country.
“At Wells Fargo, we are committed to strengthening our communities, and this grant to support the International African American Museum is one example of how our efforts will make a positive impact in the community,” said Wells Fargo South Carolina Community Affairs Representative Susan Bankson. “If our communities prosper, we all prosper.”
About the IAAM
Nearly half of all enslaved Africans forced to America through the Transatlantic Slave Trade arrived in Charleston, and the vast majority disembarked at Gadsden’s Wharf, the future home of the International African American Museum (IAAM) and one of the most significant and sacred sites of the African American experience in the Western hemisphere. The IAAM, a museum, memorial and site of conscience, will present unvarnished history and culture, commemorate and celebrate the foundational role that Africans and their descendants played in the making of America, and highlight their diasporic connections around the world. It will include immersive, interactive exhibits engaging to all ages and feature the Center for Family History, a leading genealogy archive that will help visitors identify their individual threads in the complex tapestry of history. For more information, please visithttps://iaamuseum.org/.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,500 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 271,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Wells Fargo No. 3 on its most recent list of the top corporate cash philanthropists. In 2016, Wells Fargo donated $281.3 million to 14,900 nonprofits and Wells Fargo team members volunteered 1.73 million hours with 50,000 nonprofits. Wells Fargo’s corporate social responsibility efforts are focused on three priorities: economic empowerment in underserved communities, environmental sustainability, and advancing diversity and social inclusion. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
