PNC Bank strengthen its financial commitments towards women and non-binary entrepreneurs

On the first anniversary of the company's three-year commitment to Coralus (formerly SheEO) for $1.257 million, PNC Bank announced that it has secured additional financing to the tune of $220,000; it will support 200 businesses owned by women and non-binary people.

Coralus offers interest-free loans and an ecosystem of support to help underrepresented entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses.

Additional financial support from PNC will cover the cost for a further 257 women and non-binary people to join the Coralus community and the new PNC Bank + Coralus Collective, a cohort of non-binary women and entrepreneurs and financial advisors working together for growth and success.

"Creating an opportunity for 257 people to become members of Coralus is directly related to PNC's Project 257SM, which according to World Economic represents the number of years that women need to financially catch up with men," said Beth Marcello, director of women's entrepreneurship development at PNC.

She went on to add, "Expanding our partnership with Coralus allows PNC to make a real difference and help bridge this gap by offering more women and non-binary entrepreneurs better access to capital, which perfectly aligns with our commitment." agrees to help everyone thrive financially."

The Coralus community, made up of women and non-binary organizations working on the World's To-DoList, which essentially is a register of seventeen interconnected United Nations’ sustainable development goals which includes global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.

Coralus provides financial backing to companies or "ventures" and funds "Activators" capital pools, which fund the loan pool and play an active role in the evaluation and selection of ventures.

The additional 257 people who will benefit from PNC's expanded engagement include 200 business owners and 57 PNC employees who identify as women or non-binary and will serve as Activators on behalf of the bank, one for each market where PNC Bank has a presence and that they will play a significant role in the selection, mentoring and success of Coralus Ventures.

“From the beginning, PNC expressed and demonstrated their strong commitment to women by offering us the largest donation I have received from a US-based company, while investing more in this effort than just writing a check," said Vicki Saunders, Founder from Coralus while adding, “In the first year of our partnership alone, PNC has referred 30% of entrepreneurs who have applied for funding. And today, as PNC expands its financial support to another 200 aspiring entrepreneurs, PNC is making a significant contribution to the loan pool, ultimately offering these entrepreneurs interest-free loans, financing and access to an ecosystem of resources to help their businesses thrive."

Furthermore, the selected entrepreneurs will also be allowed to participate in the PNC Bank + Coralus Collective and will receive added resource of a PNC-certified female entrepreneur to act as a mentor and sounding board, as well as exclusive invitations to finance workshops designed to meet the needs of the businesses in the cohort and other benefits.