Wells Fargo and NGLCC Award $2,000 Grant to the GFLGLCC - Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

August 3, 2017 

Fort Lauderdale, FL – The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community, awarded the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce with a $2,000 Chamber Development Grant for its Business Connect program at the 2017 International Business & Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and administered by the NGLCC, this grant is awarded to support and provide increased visibility to the LGBT Business Summit. The main goal of the program is to foster the development, growth, and sustainability of NGLCC’s 1,000 certified LGBT Business Enterprises® (LGBTBEs®). 

“The NGLCC is excited to see the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce grow as an organization and a voice in the LGBT owned and allied businesses community,” said Sam McClure, NGLCC Senior Vice President. They have shown tremendous growth in the size of their business membership and outreach programs, embodying the mission that NGLCC has continuously strived for.” 

“Wells Fargo is a proud, long-time supporter of NGLCC, and we share their commitment to helping small business owners succeed financially,” said Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo head of Small Business. “We are dedicated to providing funding that will support their entrepreneurship and leadership training programs, along with educational tools and resources to help diverse-owned business in communities across America grow and thrive.” 

“The Business Connect Program has become a vital resource to our members as they expand their businesses and engage in long term growth,” said Keith Blackburn, President and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber. “The program furthers our mission of supporting our members through business growth, education, and advocacy. We are thrilled to receive this generous grant from Wells Fargo and NGLCC which will allow us to expand and enrich our program.” 

ABOUT BUSINESS CONNECT:

ABOUT NGLCC: 

The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is the business voice of the LGBT community and is the largest global advocacy organization specifically dedicated to expanding economic opportunities and advancements for LGBT people. NGLCC is the exclusive certification body for LGBT-owned businesses. www.nglcc.org | @NGLCC 

ABOUT WELLS FARGO: 

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $2 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo serves approximately 3 million small business owners across the United States and loans more money to America’s small businesses than any other bank (2016 SBA government data). To help more small businesses achieve financial success, in 2014 Wells Fargo introduced Wells Fargo Works for Small Business® – a broad initiative to deliver resources, guidance and services for business owners – and a goal to extend $100 billion in new lending to small businesses by 2018. For more information about Wells Fargo Works for Small Business, visit: WellsFargoWorks.com. Follow us on Twitter @WellsFargoWorks. 

ABOUT GREATER FORT LAUDERDALE GAY & LESBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: 

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce was founded in 2011. Our mission is to promote business and economic opportunities for the LGBT and LGBT-friendly community, be an advocate and resource for all member businesses that promote equality, and promote tourism with a unified approach by working with appropriate and related organizations. 

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Jonathan Lovitz 

Senior Vice President, NGLCC 

jlovitz@nglcc.org

954-695-5896 

Keith Blackburn 

President and CEO, GFLGLCC 

keith@gflglcc.org

954-523-3500