Bank of America Boosts Support for VEDC Funding Source

Valley-area woman-owned small businesses will get access to additional affordable loans after Bank of America announced Friday that it is doubling its capital investment in the Tory Burch Foundation to $100 million. Locally, the New York-based Tory Burch Foundation partners with the Valley Economic Development Center in Sherman Oaks to provide business loans to women entrepreneurs. The announcement was timed for International Women’s Day. “We recognize that women entrepreneurs help fuel economic growth in communities across the U.S., and that access to capital remains a key challenge,” Andrew Plepler, Bank of America’s global head of Environmental, Social and Governance, said in a statement. “Partnering with the Tory Burch Foundation to advance women in small business is one way we invest in the future of local economies.” Since its launch in 2014, the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program has awarded $46 million in total loans to more than 2,500 women entrepreneurs.