Tory Burch Foundation and Bank of America Partner to Support Women Entrepreneurs with Capital and Mentoring

The Tory Burch Foundation and Bank of America Partner to Support Women Entrepreneurs with Capital and Mentoring Opportunities. Program Launches with Initial $10 Million Investment to Grow Women-Owned Small Businesses and Create Communities of Entrepreneurs Across the Country

The Tory Burch Foundation (TBF) and Bank of America have announced the launch of the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, an initiative aimed at providing early-stage women entrepreneurs in the United States access to low-cost capital, mentoring support, and networking opportunities to help them grow their businesses and build communities of women entrepreneurs.  

The program will launch with a $10 million investment in low-cost capital from Bank of America, along with additional operating expense funds provided by TBF and Bank of America. The initial launch will support women entrepreneurs in Boston, Charlotte, Las Vegas, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco and will expand to more markets over the next two years.

This unique partnership combines TBF's network of early-stage women entrepreneurs with one of the world's largest financial institutions. The loans will be administered through nonprofit entrepreneurial loan centers (also known as Community Development Financial Institutions or CDFIs) that support low- and moderate-income communities. In the initial markets, participating partners include Accion East (Boston and New York), Self-Help (Charlotte), and the Nevada Microenterprise Initiative, in partnership with VEDC (Las Vegas), Entrepreneur Works (Philadelphia), and Opportunity Fund (San Francisco). Bank of America is the largest supporter of CDFIs among major financial institutions.

Tory Burch, founder of TBF, stated, "When we started our foundation, we understood that women entrepreneurs need access to capital and business networks. By partnering with Bank of America, we are thrilled to be providing help to women across the United States. The combination of loans, mentoring support, and peer networking expertise opens up new opportunities for women looking to build and grow their businesses."

Thomas K. Montag, Co-Chief Operating Officer of Bank of America, said: "Bank of America and the Tory Burch Foundation recognize a huge opportunity to support women-owned businesses. Research has shown that women entrepreneurs need better access to capital and more opportunities to build strategic business relationships. The program will help address these issues and provide loans and mentoring to women ready to take their businesses to the next level."

Andrew Plepler, Global Head of Environment, Social and Governance, Bank of America, said: "Tory and team recognize that supporting women-owned businesses, both financially and by sharing expertise, can have a dramatic impact on the local economies, paving the way for future generations. This program has the potential to be a real catalyst for advancing women's economic empowerment."

The program will launch this evening with a TBF signature event at the Bank of America Tower in New York City.