For the first time ever, a major FinTech company and small business lender, National Funding, has announced that it will be the title sponsor of the 2015 Holiday Bowl in San Diego. The National Funding Holiday Bowl pits USC versus Wisconsin.
       
Founded in 1999 by USC alumnus David Gilbert, National Funding is a San Diego-based financial technology company serving small to medium-sized businesses nationwide.
       
"National Funding has helped small businesses – locally and nationally -- with the capital they need to grow their operations for nearly 20 years," says David Gilbert, CEO, National Funding. "After a breakthrough year for the company, it felt like the right time for our company to give back to our community and make a bold statement in our industry by sponsoring this bowl."
       
National Funding is on pace for a record-breaking year with a 67% revenue jump from 2014 and the company recently doubled its office space to accommodate employee count up to 273. The company's rapid growth underscores a surge in the FinTech industry overall which took on more than $12B in investment in 2015, triple the amount from the previous year.
       
The 2015 National Funding Holiday Bowl kicks off Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and will feature the 25th-ranked USC Trojans (8-5) from the Pac-12 against the Wisconsin Badgers (9-3) from the Big Ten. The game will be played at Qualcomm Stadium.
       
The mission of the non-profit National Funding Holiday Bowl is to generate tourism, exposure, economic benefit and civic pride for San Diego and its citizens by producing the nation's most exciting and entertaining bowl game and festival of events. Since its inception in 1978, the organization has generated $730 million in economic benefit for the San Diego region.