T.D. Jakes has partnered with a major financial institution to bolster the Black community.
Wells Fargo and Jakes’s T.D. Jakes Group, which includes T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures, TDJ Enterprises and T.D. Jakes Foundation announced a strategic partnership to focus on stimulating underserved communities. According to a news release, the initiative’s aim is to develop a pipeline for community revitalization that could result in up to $1 billion in capital over the course of 10 years.
“We are excited to collaborate with the T.D. Jakes Group as they play a key role in the transformation of communities that will have a lasting impact for generations to come,” said Charlie Scharf, CEO of Wells Fargo in a statement. “This strategic partnership goes beyond a one-off capital investment and underscores our continued commitment to diverse and inclusive communities. We look forward to seeing the meaningful difference we’ll make together in communities across the country.”
Jakes’s real estate company began purchasing nearly 100 acres of Fort McPherson, the former army base near downtown Atlanta with plans to create a mixed income housing community. This is one of the first projects that Wells Fargo intends move forward under the strategic partnership.
“This alliance with our organization allows us to further our four decades-long work to provide economic justice, eradicate food deserts, construct desirable workplaces and affordable housing, closing the digital divide and ultimately help families leave a rich and lasting legacy for the next generation,” Jakes said in a news release. “We recognize the need for CEOs like Charlie Scharf bending the arc and aim of Wells Fargo toward correcting systemic inequalities. We are committed to ensuring additional opportunities actually reach as many areas of need that we can influence. Disruptive partnerships like this create a paradigm shift in how we can collectively bring long overdue transformation, particularly to Black and Brown communities and other marginalized groups around our nation.”