Wells Fargo Donates $400,000 to California Wildfire Relief Efforts

Business Wire

Company activates customer relief efforts; donations being accepted through the bank’s ATM locations and Go Far Rewards

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Recent wildfires have had a devastating effect on California and its residents. With a continuing commitment to local communities, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced a $400,000 donation from the Wells Fargo Foundation to aid in the state’s relief efforts as well as accommodations for affected customers, team members and more. Following this initial response, the company will assess the need for additional actions.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of California who are impacted by wildfires across the state,” said Brandee McHale, head of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “Wells Fargo is committed to supporting relief efforts for those who are being displaced or who have lost homes, as well as for those who are vigilantly trying to save people, homes and land.”

The $400,000 donation will be split between local nonprofits in Northern California and Southern California. Specifically, $300,000 will go to local organizations in support of relief efforts for the Kincade Wildfire and $100,000 will go to local organizations for Getty Wildfire assistance.

Kincade Wildfire (Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties)
American Red Cross*: $150,000
Salvation Army: $100,000
California Fire Foundation: $50,000

Getty Wildfire (Los Angeles)
LA County Fire Foundation: $25,000
LA City Fire Foundation: $25,000
Red Cross Los Angeles: $50,000

Customer donations

Customers who wish to contribute to the American Red Cross for relief efforts may do so by making donations through Wells Fargo ATMs in California through Nov. 12 or donating through Zelle^® in Wells Fargo Online^® or Wells Fargo Mobile^®. To donate funds, go to the Wells Fargo mobile banking application, select “Send Money with Zelle^®.” Enter “American Red Cross” as the recipient, and type the e-mail address, [email protected] in the contact field. For more information, go to https://www.wellsfargo.com/zelledonation. Customers also can redeem available Go Far Rewards for donations to American Red Cross relief efforts through Nov. 13.

Disaster relief customer assistance available

In addition, the bank is proactively reversing Wells Fargo fees for impacted customers using non-Wells Fargo ATMs. For questions or assistance with potential payment relief and disaster assistance options, customers should contact the Wells Fargo call center (800-219-9739) or visit an open branch location found through the branch locator at wellsfargo.com/locator.

Team member assistance

Wells Fargo has activated assistance for team members in the affected states via its WE Care Fund, which provides grants to Wells Fargo team members who face a catastrophic disaster or financial hardship resulting from an event beyond their control. This program is available to those affected by the California wildfires and is intended to help team members get back on their feet with basic necessities; in particular, it is intended to assist those team members who do not have other resources to help themselves.

About Wells Fargo

Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,500 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com). With approximately 261,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. With its corporate philanthropy, Wells Fargo aims to pave a path to stability and financial success for underserved communities by focusing on housing affordability, small business growth, and financial health, among other local community needs. In 2018, Wells Fargo donated $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits. For 10 consecutive years, Wells Fargo has held the honor of No. 1 in workplace giving by United Way Worldwide. Wells Fargo team members also actively support communities by donating more than 2 million hours of volunteer time in the last year. News, insights and more information on the company’s overall corporate responsibility are available at Wells Fargo Stories and www.wellsfargo.com/impact.

* The American Red Cross name, emblem and copyrighted materials are being used with its permission, which in no way constitutes an endorsement, express or implied, of any product, service, company, opinion or political position. The American Red Cross logo is a registered trademark owned by The American National Red Cross. For more information about the American Red Cross, please visit redcross.org.