Receive $1 Million Grant Through the 2024 TD Ready Challenge to Support Small Businesses
The grant will support the organizations’ collaborative solution to help underserved small business owners develop, launch, or grow their businesses.
Washington DC, March 19, 2025 – Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF), through its partnership with Building Bridges Across the River (Building Bridges), is the recipient of a $1 million grant through the 2024 TD Ready Challenge, an annual initiative that seeks to support nonprofit organizations developing impactful, measurable solutions for communities within the bank’s footprint. This year, the program sought organizations finding innovative solutions that support underserved small business owners in developing, launching, or growing their businesses.
For almost 40 years, WACIF has worked to increase economic opportunity in underserved communities in the Washington, D.C. area by investing in low- and moderate-income small business owners through inclusive entrepreneurship, community wealth building, and equitable economic development. Building Bridges is an East of the River organization that runs the largest social sector non-profit collaboration in the country and is about to break ground on the 11th Street Bridge Park – the first elevated park in the nation’s capital.
The grant received through the TD Ready Challenge will further enhance WACIF’s ability to provide access to capital and services in partnership with Building Bridges. By combining an innovative financial product with specialized support for entrepreneurs that are sensitive to difficult financial situations, the collaboration will be provide a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Washington, D.C. area.
“This grant is a game-changer for the entrepreneurs we serve—many of whom have faced challenges accessing financial resources,” said Shannan Herbert, CEO at WACIF. “With the investment from the 2024 TD Ready Challenge, we can deepen our commitment to providing small businesses with the capital, coaching, and community support they need to thrive in a rapidly changing market.”
“Small businesses are critical economic anchors of the neighborhoods we serve, employing thousands of local residents, providing essential services and maintaining the area’s vibrant culture,” shared Scott Kratz, Executive Vice President at Building Bridges. “This important investment will help our community build inter-generational wealth, revitalize Anacostia’s commercial corridors, and support more entrepreneurs to become financially secure. We are grateful for TD Bank helping our community thrive!”
“A healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem is integral to communities such as Anacostia, and TD is honored to continue to invest in this historic neighborhood and work alongside Washington Area Community Investment Fund & Building Bridges Across the River as their work will help fortify the health and growth of these vital, underserved businesses,” said Chris Ward, Regional President of Metro Mid-South, TD Bank. “These organizations are invaluable resources for local businesses, helping them to gain access to credit as well as capacity-building. TD is proud to invest in organizations like WACIF and Building Bridges that are developing forward-thinking solutions that stand-up small businesses, so they and our communities can succeed.”
The TD Ready Challenge is part of the Bank’s longstanding commitment to helping create a more inclusive and sustainable future. Each year, the TD Ready Challenge invites eligible organizations to submit applications that offer solutions to a problem statement that is connected to one or more of the four drivers of the TD Ready Commitment: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health. In previous years, the TD Ready Challenge has focused on helping to address barriers to affordable housing, driving more equitable health outcomes and addressing pandemic-related learning loss.
A full list of TD Ready Challenge U.S. grant recipients as well as more information about the program can be found here.
About Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF)
Established in 1987, the Washington Area Community Investment Fund’s mission is to increase equity and economic opportunity in underserved communities in the Washington, DC area by investing knowledge, social, and financial capital in low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. Our mission is driven by three strategic pillars: inclusive entrepreneurship, community wealth building, and equitable economic development, and is fulfilled by providing access to capital products and services, and capacity building technical assistance to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. WACIF has been continuously certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) since 1996, making the organization one of the nation’s first CDFIs.
About Building Bridges Across the River
Building Bridges Across the River is a Ward 8 based non-profit with five signature projects designed to provide access to health, arts and economic opportunity: the Town Hall Education Arts & Recreation Campus (THEARC); 11th Street Bridge Park; Skyland Workforce Center; Building Bridges Farms; and THEARC Theater. Our work bridges communities and creates intentional and sustainable pathways to build a stronger and more prosperous East of the River. The 11th Street Bridge Park (a partnership between Building Bridges and the District Government) will be Washington DC’s first elevated park over the Anacostia River and reconnect long-divided neighborhoods. Informed by over 1,000 stakeholder meetings, the Bridge Park will break ground in 2025 and open in late 2027. In addition to investing in the park’s construction, for the last 10 years the team has created a Communities Preservation Plan that includes supporting housing, small businesses, workforce training, arts / culture and health / wellness strategies. To date, the Bridge Park has invested over $100MM in this effort and is advising nearly a dozen similar cities across the U.S.
About The TD Ready Commitment
TD has a long-standing commitment to deliver on its purpose to enrich the lives of its customers, colleagues and communities. TD’s corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, focusescommunity giving and colleague engagement in four areas that we call the Interconnected Drivers of Change: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health. Through the TD Ready Commitment, TD aspires to work with nonprofit and community-based organizations to help make a positive impact for the customers and communities we serve.
For further information about the TD Ready Commitment, click here.
Press Contact:
Kaelyn Green
Washington Area Community Investment Fund
Jessica Smith Lennan
Building Bridges Across the River
Natasha Brown
TD Bank