(NewsNation) — Wells Fargo Bank announced plans last week it will donate up to $60 million to support the expansion of a nonprofit that aims to reduce repeat criminal offenses from people leaving prison.

Officials with the nonprofit, Concordance, called the donation “transformative” and said it will likely be used to help open 40 new healing centers across the country over the next eight years, as well as bring in more support for financial education and counseling.

Concordance’s program to help people re-enter communities is based on the findings of three years’ worth of research into the root causes of repeat criminal offenses. The program lasts 18 months and starts before someone is released from prison.

“Our evidence-based model breaks the generational cycle of crime, transforms communities, and changes racial equity for the better,” said Danny Ludeman, chairman and CEO of Concordance. “It’s a holistic program that provides a structured pathway for successful re-entry into society and lowers crime and reincarceration rates in the process.”

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, more than one million people are held in state penitentiaries and 71% of those people will likely be re-arrested within a three-to-five-year period.