Bank of America has announced grants totaling $4.7 million in support of Native American communities, bringing to more than $17 million the total awarded since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of a five-year, $1.25 billion commitment to advance racial equality and economic opportunity, the bank awarded capital investments and grants totaling $13 million in 2020 to nonprofits and institutions providing services to Indigenous communities. Announced on the last day of Native American Heritage Month, the bank’s 2021 funding includes grants totaling $3.3 million to thirty-nine nonprofits and institutions providing critical services to Indigenous communities in the areas of health, hunger, workforce development, and small businesses and entrepreneurship. In addition, the bank is expanding its partnership with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and education company EAB to support student success, financial sustainability, and institutional transformation at thirty-seven tribal colleges and universities, and launching a four-year, $1 million partnership with Water First in Canada to bolster access to clean drinking water in Indigenous communities, which includes training young Indigenous adults for a career in water science.

Grant recipients include the American Indian College Fund, Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, First Nations Development Institute, the National American Indian Housing Council, Our Native America Business Entrepreneurship Network, and United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc.

“Through investments in Native American communities, we are working to connect Indigenous people to opportunities that will help them build stability and a more successful future,” said Andrew Plepler, global head of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) at Bank of America. “We recognize that more needs to be done, and we continue to explore partnerships and expand our commitment to invest in Native American-owned small businesses, jobs development, and critical needs.”

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