Listen to this articleTD Bank Group is offering $10 million in grants for nonprofits that offer solutions that support underserved small business owners.
Applications are now open for the 2024 TD Ready Challenge program that supports eligible nonprofits and charitable organizations focused on finding solutions that assist small business owners in developing, launching, or growing their businesses.
A total of 10 grants of $1 million each are available to organizations in the U.S. and Canada through the program.
“Small businesses are a crucial part of resilient communities and contribute to strong local economies by helping to drive job growth, innovation and business diversity” Mushtak Najarali, senior vice president for Sustainability, Strategic Sourcing and Enterprise Real Estate at TD, said in a company statement. “Despite their critical role, within their first five years roughly 40% of businesses in Canada fail, and in the U.S. an astounding 50% fail.”
Najarali added that data from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Senate committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship shows that the situation is even harder for those in underserved communities who often face systemic barriers when starting or growing a business.
“With the 2024 TD Ready Challenge, we aim to support innovative solutions developed by charities and non-profit organizations that can help cultivate a more supportive entrepreneurial landscape across our footprint,” he said. “We are looking forward to seeing the creative solutions that will be submitted.”
Through this year’s challenge, TD is seeking “to support novel strategies, technologies or partnerships that have the potential to help underserved entrepreneurs, especially those in industries such as the arts that are still recovering post-pandemic, overcome persistent barriers such as insufficient funding and support, lack of knowledge about effective business planning, and limited access to capital and credit history.”
Since 2018, the TD Ready Challenge has granted over $60 million CDN to 65 charitable organizations, according to the statement, to respond to societal issues connected to the four drivers of change of the TD Ready Commitment: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health.
TD is accepting grant applications until 4 p.m. on Sept. 5. For More information about the grant program is available at: td.com/readychallenge.