Capital One's $750,000 Grant
and Three-Year Commitment Will Create Small Business
Training Program for Women Veteran Business Leaders
MCLEAN, Va., June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital
One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) today announced at the
Clinton Global Initiative America meeting that it will partner with
Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence, the leading
not-for-profit provider of business education and resources for
women, to help create a new small business training program for
women veteran business owners this Fall.
Capital One's $750,000, three-year
commitment will fund a new program launching in December that will
focus on reaching women veteran business owners who are past the
start-up phase, but encountering challenges that are blocking
continued business growth. There are currently more than 100,000
businesses in the U.S. that are at least 50 percent owned by women
veterans.
"After serving our country, service members are returning home
and looking for ways to translate their unique skill sets into the
civilian workforce. At Capital One, we're proud to support our
veterans during this important transition," said John G. Finneran, Jr., General Counsel, Capital
One. "We are committed to doing our part. Working together
with Count Me In we believe that there is a tremendous opportunity
for us to help women veteran business owners succeed and watch
their businesses grow."
The new program will kick-off in December of 2012 with a two-day
Leadership Institute at Capital One's McLean, Virginia, headquarters, right outside
of Washington, D.C. The inaugural
forum will gather hundreds of women veterans and business growth
experts to participate in a variety of panels and workshops, some
of which will be led by other female veterans. The forum's agenda
will be shaped by a Women Veterans Steering Committee, comprised of
a diverse group of public and private sector authorities on women
veteran's affairs and women-owned business issues.
The event will be followed by a six-month intensive group
coaching program designed to help women business owners focus on
personal growth and increasing business skills, based on Count Me
In's successful model for women entrepreneurs. Capital One will
also engage its skilled pro bono volunteers to provide a range of
assistance to the participants and provide additional volunteer
services. Capital One and Count Me In will hold additional
Leadership Institutes for women veteran business owners over the
course of the three-year program.
Capital One has committed $750,000
and additional in-kind services such as coaching and mentoring. The
new program builds on Capital One's three-year, $4.5 million commitment to support the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce's Hiring Our Heroes initiative, a program which
provides job fairs and workforce training initiatives across
the United States for veterans and
military spouses. In March
2012, Capital One, the U.S. Chamber and National Chamber
Foundation announced "Hiring 500,000 Heroes," a national campaign
to engage the business community in committing to hire 500,000
veterans and military spouses by the end of 2014.
About Count Me In for Women's Economic
Independence
Count Me In is the leading not-for-profit provider of business
education and resources for women focused on business growth.
Founded in 1999, the organization inspires and instructs thousands
of women business owners online, at live events, and through peers,
coaches and experts to significantly increase revenues and create
new jobs. CMI has developed a reputation nationally and
internationally for accelerating business growth and positioning
women in the forefront of global economic recovery.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a
financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital
One, N.A., Capital One Bank (USA),
N. A., and ING Bank, fsb, had $216.5
billion in deposits and $294.5 billion in total
assets outstanding as of March 31, 2012. Headquartered
in McLean, Virginia, Capital
One and ING Direct offer a broad spectrum of financial products and
services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients
through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has approximately
1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey,
Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and
the District of Columbia. A
Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100
index.
About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Established in 2005 by President Bill
Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global
leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's
most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together
more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and
hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major
philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have
made more than 2,100 commitments, which are already improving the
lives of nearly 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When
fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at
$69.2 billion.
CGI's Annual Meeting is held each September in New York City. CGI also convenes CGI America,
a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery
in the United States, and CGI
University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and
graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community
or around the world. For more information, visit
clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal
and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.
About CGI America
President Clinton established the Clinton Global Initiative
America (CGI America) to address economic recovery in the United States. CGI America brings together
leaders in business, government, and civil society to generate and
implement commitments to create jobs, stimulate economic growth,
foster innovation, and support workforce development in
the United States. Since its first
meeting in June 2011, CGI America
participants have made more than 100 commitments valued at
$11.8 billion. When fully funded and
implemented, these commitments will improve the lives of three
million people, create or fill more than 150,000 jobs, and invest
and loan $354 million to small and
medium enterprises in the United
States. The 2012 CGI America meeting will take place
June 7-8 in Chicago. To learn more, visit
cgiamerica.org.
SOURCE Capital One