Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced it will donate $6 million shared across 59 nonprofits through its 2012 Leading The Way Home® program Priority Markets Initiative to help stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods hard-hit by the economy. The Leading The Way Home® Priority Markets Initiative provides grant support for neighborhood stabilization projects that are located in areas designated for revitalization to stimulate growth, stability and investment in distressed areas.

“These grants are focused on stabilizing and rebuilding local communities,” said Kimberly Jackson, executive director of Wells Fargo’s Housing Foundation. “We’re increasing our grant commitments to help even more efforts led by nonprofits to revitalize neighborhoods in cities that have been deeply affected by the challenging economy.”

Grant recipients are nonprofits actively involved and experienced in community revitalization efforts and were selected from requests submitted by local team members and nonprofits Wells Fargo identified as being in need of extra help with large-scale neighborhood revitalization projects. Leading The Way Home® Priority Markets Initiative grants can be used for any costs associated with the development or redevelopment of the project except advertising and marketing. A maximum 20 percent of the grant can be used for homebuyer subsidies such as down payment/closing costs. Recipients must be IRS 501c3 organizations with successful histories of building or renovating housing for low- to moderate-income homebuyers.

Wells Fargo is making $6 million in grants that will be shared across 59 nonprofits including:

The Leading The Way Home® Priority Markets Initiative grants are administered through the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation. Since 2009, the Leading the Way Priority Markets Initiative grant program has provided more than $18 million to more than 75 communities. Since its inception in 1993, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has stewarded nearly $200 million dollars and 4.5 million team member volunteer hours in support of creating affordable housing and community revitalization programs. Wells Fargo Housing Foundation’s Team Member Volunteer Program has mobilized more than 175,000 volunteers to build or refurbish 4,000 homes in low-to-moderate income communities. In 2011, Wells Fargo programs delivered a record 1245 donated properties to support local affordable housing and community revitalization programs.

Wells Fargo’s Leading The Way Home® community outreach program helps communities stabilize their current housing situation while advancing homeownership to build strong communities into the future. From 2008 through October 2012, Wells Fargo has invested more than $148 million in community revitalization programs and $40 million in support of housing and credit counseling services. The NeighborhoodLIFTSMprogram has committed $95 million in 2012 to help revitalize housing markets significantly affected by the housing crisis. NeighborhoodLIFTSMprogram is a collaboration between Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., the Wells Fargo Foundation, Neighborworks America, an independent non-profit organization, and local non-profit organizations.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 2012 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.