Truist Awards $2.5 Million Grant to TechSoup COVID Recovery Fund

SAN FRANCISCO, November 12, 2020 /3BL Media/ – TechSoup, the leading nonprofit network provider of technology solutions to civil society organizations globally, today announced that it has received a $2.5 million grant from Truist Financial Corporation to support the TechSoup COVID Recovery Fund, a gap-filling funding measure that helps grassroots nonprofits make critical technology investments while continuing to serve the most vulnerable communities through the coronavirus crisis and into the future.

The grant, the largest one into the COVID Recovery Fund, is part of the financial services company’s Truist Cares initiative and will underwrite two critical initiatives at TechSoup—funding the costs for nonprofits to acquire remote-work technology tools, training and services, and helping organizations overcome challenges to adopting cloud-based solutions. The grant will serve smaller nonprofits with annual budgets under $2.5 million in 15 states where Truist operates. Truist Cares is a cooperative effort between Truist Financial Corporation, Truist Foundation, Inc., and Truist Charitable Fund to provide communities, organizations and individuals disaster relief and assistance during the COVID-19 crisis.

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on nonprofits that deliver essential services to millions in need across the U.S.,” said Lynette Bell, president of the Truist Foundation. “We’re thrilled to support TechSoup in getting the tools and resources into the hands of front-line nonprofits to help them inspire and build better lives and communities.”

“The pandemic has laid bare the critical need for nonprofits to rapidly make technology decisions necessary to navigate this crisis,” added Marnie Webb, chief community impact officer for TechSoup. “Truist is making an investment in its communities that will have a lasting impact, ensuring that nonprofits successfully implement technology systems that allow them to deliver their services with greater impact while leveraging data for both their own and collective decision-making and deliberative processes.”

The grant is expected to help more than 1,000 nonprofits access critical remote-work tools such as Zoom, Microsoft 365, Box, DocuSign, Asana and BitDefender. It will also help about 150 other nonprofits to secure their communications and operations, upgrade hardware and fill technology gaps as they migrate operations to the cloud. For nonprofits interested in learning more about the TechSoup COVID Recovery Fund, click here.

Among the nonprofits that are already benefitting from the Truist Cares grant:

• A Father's Way, a nonprofit in Lancaster and Rock Hill, South Carolina, offering education and services uniquely tailored for fathers trying to rebuild their lives and their families.
• Better2gether RVA, a Henrico, Virginia, organization providing support to families of children with medically complex illnesses.
• Classroom Central, Inc, equipping students in need by collecting and distributing free school supplies to the teachers, serving 200 schools across six districts in the Charlotte, North Carolina, region.
• Open Arms, Inc., bringing healing, hope, and help to children, adults, and their families in need of support, intervention and prevention as a result of child abuse and homelessness in Albany, Georgia.
• Operation Teammate, an Augusta, Georgia, organization providing military children with community resources and leadership opportunities to enhance their quality of life through sporting experiences that lead to impactful athlete interaction. 
• The HeartBright Foundation, a Charlotte, North Carolina, nonprofit educating the local community in healthy lifestyles and funding preventive cardiology programs in economically disadvantaged communities.

Truist joins several companies, including VMware and Microsoft, and foundations like the Funders 2025 Fund that have donated to the fund. Organizations or individuals interested in helping grassroots nonprofits continue serving our most vulnerable communities through the crisis can find more information here.

About TechSoup
TechSoup provides the transformative technology solutions, the digital platforms, and the in-person experiences that enable people to work together toward a more equitable world. With 60 partner NGOs around the world, TechSoup manages the only global philanthropy program that brings together more than 100 tech companies to provide technology donations to NGOs everywhere. TechSoup's data and validation services enable companies, foundations, and governments to connect their philanthropic resources with vetted NGOs around the world. In the past 30 years, TechSoup has reached 1.06 million NGOs and facilitated distribution of technology products and grants valued at more than $13 billion. https://www.techsoup.org/

About Truist
Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspire and build better lives and communities. With 275 years of combined BB&T and SunTrust history, Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country. The company offers a wide range of services including retail, small business and commercial banking; asset management; capital markets; commercial real estate; corporate and institutional banking; insurance; mortgage; payments; specialized lending; and wealth management. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is the sixth-largest commercial bank in the U.S. with total assets of $499 billion as of September 30, 2020. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.

About Truist Foundation
The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on leadership development, economic mobility, thriving communities and educational equity. Learn more at Truist.com/Truist-Foundation.

Media Contacts
TechSoup Media Relations
(720) 470-3653
mo.shafroth@shafroth.com

Audria Belton
Truist
media@truist.com