TD Ready Challenge Addresses Barriers Faced by Small Businesses

On Jul 25, 2024

TD Bank Group (TD), Cherry Hill, has announced that applications are now open for the annual TD Ready Challenge grant program. This year, TD is inviting eligible charitable and nonprofit organizations to submit proposals for innovative solutions that support underserved small business owners in developing, launching, or growing their businesses. A total of 10 grants are available of either CDN $1 million or USD $1 million, depending on the applicant’s country of residence.

“Small businesses are a crucial part of resilient communities and contribute to strong local economies by helping to drive job growth, innovation and business diversity” said Mushtak Najarali, senior vice president, sustainability, strategic sourcing and enterprise real estate at TD. “Despite their critical role, within their first five years roughly 40% of businesses in Canada fail, and in the U.S. an astounding 50% fail. Data from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Senate committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship shows that the situation is even harder for those in underserved communities who often face systemic barriers when starting or growing a business. With the 2024 TD Ready Challenge, we aim to support innovative solutions developed by charities and non-profit organizations that can help cultivate a more supportive entrepreneurial landscape across our footprint. We are looking forward to seeing the creative solutions that will be submitted.”

The TD Ready Challenge aims to help scale programs that promote innovation and inclusive growth. Through this year’s challenge, TD is seeking to support novel strategies, technologies or partnerships that have the potential to help underserved entrepreneurs — especially those in industries such as the arts that are still recovering post-pandemic— overcome persistent barriers such as insufficient funding and support, lack of knowledge about effective business planning, and limited access to capital and credit history.

The TD Ready Challenge is a key component of the Bank’s global corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment. Since 2018, the TD Ready Challenge has granted over $60 million CDN to 65 charitable organizations to help respond to pressing societal issues connected to the four drivers of change of the TD Ready Commitment: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health. The TD Ready Challenge is the Bank’s annual North American initiative, which has ten (10) $1 million grants (in local currency of recipients) available to organizations developing innovative, impactful, and measurable solutions for a changing world.

This year’s problem statement is one of the many ways TD is seeking to help improve economic inclusion. It aligns with TD Pathways to Economic Inclusion, the Bank’s social framework that focuses on three areas where the Bank seeks to contribute to inclusive financial and economic outcomes: employment access, financial access, and housing access. It also aligns to the goals of the TD Bank Community Impact Plan, a three-year, $20 billion commitment announced in January 2024 which aims to provide economic opportunities that benefit low- and moderate-income, diverse and underserved communities across the Bank’s U.S. presence.

TD will be accepting grant applications until 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 5. For complete details about this year’s Challenge, please visit: td.com/readychallenge.

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