2024 TD Ready Challenge Focuses on Addressing Systemic Barriers Faced by Underserved Small Business Owners: $10 million in Grants Available for Innovative Solutions

Business Wire 24-Jul-2024 10:02 AM

Applications now open for eligible charitable and non-profit organizations across TD's footprint in the U.S. and Canada

TD Bank Group (TD) announced today that applications are now open for the annual TD Ready Challenge grant program. This year, TD is inviting eligible charitable and non-profit organizations to submit proposals for innovative solutions that support underserved small business owners in developing, launching, or growing their businesses. A total of 10 grants are available of either CDN $1 million or USD $1 million, depending on the applicant's country of residence.

"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" said Mushtak Najarali, SVP, Sustainability, Strategic Sourcing and Enterprise Real Estate at TD. "Despite their critical role, within their first five years roughly 40% of businesses in Canada fail¹, and in the U.S. an astounding 50% fail². 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. We are looking forward to seeing the creative solutions that will be submitted."

The TD Ready Challenge aims to help scale programs that promote innovation and inclusive growth. 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.

The TD Ready Challenge is a key component of the Bank's global corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment. Since 2018, the TD Ready Challenge has granted over $60 million CDN to 65 charitable organizations to help respond to pressing societal issues connected to the four drivers of change of the TD Ready Commitment: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health. The TD Ready Challenge is the Bank's annual North American initiative, which has ten (10) $1 million grants (in local currency of recipients) available to organizations developing innovative, impactful, and measurable solutions for a changing world.

This year's problem statement is one of the many ways TD is seeking to help improve economic inclusion. It aligns with TD Pathways to Economic Inclusion, the Bank's social framework that focuses on three areas where the Bank seeks to contribute to inclusive financial and economic outcomes: employment access, financial access, and housing access. It also aligns to the goals of the TD Bank Community Impact Plan, a three-year, $20 billion commitment announced in January 2024 which aims to provide economic opportunities that benefit low- and moderate-income, diverse and underserved communities across the Bank's U.S. presence.

TD will be accepting grant applications until 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 5, 2024. For complete details about this year's Challenge, please visit: td.com/readychallenge.

About TD Bank Group

The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by assets and serves over 27.5 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centers around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Auto Finance Canada; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation; Wealth Management and Insurance, including TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities and TD Cowen. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 17 million active online and mobile customers. TD had $1.97 trillion in assets on April 30, 2024. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

¹ According to government of Canada Key Small Business Statistics 2023 ² According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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