Bank of America donates $1M to Northern Virginia Community College

Funding to be used for job development programming

Published November 19, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Bank of America donated $1 million to Northern Virginia Community College to help students of color complete education and training necessary for the workforce as part of its $25 million commitment to community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, and Latino-serving institutions.

Using the donation, NOVA intends to develop and expand programs to meet skill gaps for in-demand, higher-paying jobs. Bank of America will work with regional employers on hiring needs and career pathways for future employment. Twenty-one U.S. higher education institutions were granted funding, with NOVA as the only Virginia-based recipient.

“NOVA is committed to ensuring that every student achieves and every community prospers, and with this investment, we will connect even more students to in-demand workforce pathways that lead to meaningful, sustaining careers, ensuring that the full diversity of our community is supported with the resources they need to achieve,” NOVA President Anne M. Kress said in a statement. “We thank Bank of America for this grant and for their dedication to closing income and opportunity gaps.”

Bank of America in September announced its partnership with the Virginia Ready Initiative, which serves to train Virginians for in-demand jobs. The company has also provided more than $3 million in job-initiative grants to Northern Virginia nonprofits that are working to connect people to regional jobs. These initiatives are part of the bank’s recent $1 billion, four-year commitment to advance racial equity and economic opportunity.

“Bank of America looks forward to working with NOVA and other employers in the DMV to identify needed skills and help create economic opportunity and a path to employment for qualified, well-trained talent,” Larry Di Rita, Bank of America’s market president for Greater Washington, D.C., said in a statement.

Bank of America operates 121 banks in Virginia. With $91.2 billion in revenue, 66 million clients and 210,000 employees worldwide, the Charlotte-based bank is the second-largest banking institution in the country.

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