Press Release.pdf | NJ.com July 20, 2015 article | NJ.com article.pdf

PRINCETON, NJ, JULY 16, 2015 – Community Options, Inc. was awarded a $1,000 grant on Thursday, July 16 by Wells Fargo to support the organization’s mission of developing housing and employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Community Options, Inc. (COI) was founded in 1989 by Robert Stack from his kitchen table. COI is a national nonprofit that operates in 38 cities across nine states and provides housing and employment supports for thousands of people with disabilities.

“At a time when donations from the public and private sectors are down due to the economy, we truly appreciate the support Wells Fargo has provided,” said Diane D’Orazio, Executive Director of Ocean and Monmouth County offices. “We will use this grant to plan our annual 5K fundraiser, Cupid’s Chase.”

The grant was awarded as part of Wells Fargo’s Community Connections program, which provides local branch managers the opportunity to make a $1,000 charitable contribution on behalf of Wells Fargo to a nonprofit of their choice.

Wells Fargo’s 56 branches in the Southern New Jersey region distributed a total of $50,000 in grants to support nonprofit groups – $1,000 for a nonprofit identified by each store manager.

“Our local branches see which nonprofits are out in the community making a difference every day,” said Brenda Ross-Dulan, Wells Fargo’s Southern New Jersey region president. “We use this as an opportunity to celebrate and say thank you to Community Options, Inc. for all of the value they have provided to our community over the past year.

The Community Connections program offers Wells Fargo store managers the opportunity to provide additional grants to local nonprofits of their choice in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. A total of $140,000 in Community Connections grants is slated to be distributed throughout the month of July in Southern New Jersey.

“Many of our Wells Fargo team members also volunteer or are impacted by Community Options in some way, “said Tiffany Alphonso, manager of the Wells Fargo Forked River branch. “We’re proud to help the nonprofits serve our communities wherever we can.”

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About Community Options

For over 25 years, Community Options has developed housing and employment programs for people with disabilities. Community Options operates with a budget over $107 million and serves thousands of people with disabilities through 38 offices across 9 states. Providing advocacy assistance to empower people with disabilities, Community Options believes that all people –regardless of disability level – should live and work in the community with dignity, choice, and self‐determination. A registered PVO with USAID, Community Options is also the pioneer of innovative programs for people with disabilities in the Middle East, Russia, and South America. Please visit our website at www.comop.org.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.7 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 12,800 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 266,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.