JPMorgan Chase has announced a new $150 million, five-year commitment in philanthropic capital and low-cost loans to Chicago’s South and West sides.
This is part of the firm’s effort to help advance racial equity across Chicago through new business investments, philanthropy and cross-sector partnerships. It will bring the firm’s total business and philanthropic investments toward Black and Latinx and other underserved communities in Chicago to $800 million by 2025.
JPMorgan Chase aims to improve homeownership opportunities, accelerate wealth creation, help grow small businesses and expand financial health for Chicago’s South and West sides.
“Business has a responsibility to help solve challenges facing the customers and communities it serves, and that includes addressing long standing racial and economic inequities that affect far too many Chicagoans,” CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. “We must all collectively do more to close the racial wealth divide. That’s why we are furthering our commitment to create meaningful, lasting, and equitable change in Chicago, especially on the West and South sides.”
JPMorgan Chase’s $150 million commitment to Chicago’s South and West sides intends to support an inclusive recovery from the pandemic by:
Jobs and Skills: Connecting 5,000 people with high-quality career pathways and engaging 100 employers in these efforts. This includes collaborating with HIRE360 to create the first 20 cohorts of its Apprenticeship Prep program to prepare 400 apprentice candidates to meet entrance requirements for apprenticeships in more than 30 construction industry trades.
Neighborhood development: Preserving or creating 1,000 units of low-income housing to serve 2,500 individuals. For example, collaborating with Community Investment Corporation to capitalize the Woodlawn Construction Loan Fund to provide low cost financing to developers for the acquisition and rehab of multifamily and single-family properties in the Woodlawn community on the South side.
Small business: Helping 9,000 small businesses receive services, including at least 1,000 minority business owners access capital. The firm is collaborating with the Fund of Equitable Business Growth to create a marketplace of services such as expanded business models and education for minority small business owners across Chicago.
Financial health: Helping 10,000 people access high-quality products and services to improve their financial health. For example, the firm is investing in Working Credit to expand its financial coaching and credit building program into the City Colleges of Chicago’s Fresh Start Program. This program helps more than 700 Chicago students improve their credit scores and credit literacy.
In October 2020, JPMorgan Chase announced a $30 billion commitment over five years to provide economic opportunity to underserved communities, especially the Black and Latinx communities, and help drive an inclusive economic recovery.
