JPMorgan Chase Commits $20 Million to Revitalize Neighborhoods in Five U.S. Cities

DETROIT, October 19, 2016 /3BL Media/ – JPMorgan Chase & Co. today announced $20 million for five community development organizations working to create economic opportunity in disadvantaged neighborhoods. As part of the firm’s $125 million, five-year PRO Neighborhoods initiative, these five collaborative partnerships will revitalize neighborhoods in their respective cities that have been left behind by the recovery.

“The 2016 PRO Neighborhoods winners have come to the table with very exciting partnerships that aim to draw the urban renaissance and prosperity they are experiencing in their cities into the deeply distressed neighborhoods where they are working” said Janis Bowdler, Head of Community Development for Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase. “We are proud of the innovative approaches this cohort is taking to delivering capital to entrepreneurs of color, diverse neighborhoods, and urban food deserts.  Each is using a data-driven approach that will create opportunities for more people to share in the prosperity of the local economies of their hometowns of Detroit, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and New York.”

PRO Neighborhoods provides the necessary capital to local community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to address the drivers of economic opportunity in neighborhoods. These CDFIs work together to pool resources and expand lending activities for building health and education facilities, open retail centers and support community services in area neighborhoods. The first grant recipients of this new initiative include:

• Detroit Strategic Neighborhoods Initiative Collaborative (Detroit, MI) - $5 Million.  This alliance will combine new loan capital and unique programs with existing funding capacity to provide economic development in the three targeted neighborhoods in Detroit. The focus on helping distressed neighborhoods is informed by and builds upon JPMorgan Chase’s $100 million, five-year commitment to the city’s economic recovery.

“This announcement from JPMorgan Chase is another example of its deep commitment to Detroit and revitalizing its neighborhoods,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “Thanks to this funding, we are going to start seeing new small businesses open, existing businesses expand and new residential developments take place in several key areas of the city. This fits in perfectly with our strategy to revitalize our neighborhoods.”

• Equity Atlanta Collaborative (Atlanta, Sandy Springs & Roswell, GA) - $4 Million.  This grant will assist Equity Atlanta in providing critical loan capital, technical assistance and development to underserved, small businesses.  The collaborative will also create or preserve over 700 affordable housing units, establishing over 1,000 jobs through small business and housing development.

“I want to thank JPMorgan Chase and the Atlanta Collaborative for their investment in our most vulnerable neighborhoods,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “By providing seed capital for rebuilding, they allow residents in communities that have been left behind to access affordable housing and other essential services close to home. This key partnership between a legacy business and a local nonprofit will leverage homegrown expertise and technical assistance to give residents an opportunity to thrive and join the prosperity of our growing City.”

• Neighborhood Retail-Chicago Collaborative (Chicago, IL) - $3.5 Million. The Community Development Retail Fund aims to provide technical assistance services and loans for commercial developments that provide higher-quality goods and services; offers jobs to local residents; gives existing and new businesses more opportunity and support to grow wealth; and reduces blight in chronically distressed Chicagoland neighborhoods.

“This initiative will generate investment and economic opportunities that will reach neighborhoods across the city of Chicago,” said Chicago Deputy Mayor and Chief Neighborhood Economic Development Officer Andrea Zopp. “By investing in these neighborhood businesses we can strengthen entire communities.”  

• North-Miami-Dade CDFI Collaborative (Opa-locka and Liberty City, FL) - $3.65 Million. This alliance will build upon their previous work in Opa-locka and Liberty City, communities that have had long-standing, systemic challenges of low incomes, poverty, unemployment, dilapidated housing, lower education, food deserts and poor healthcare.   The group will invest in housing, commercial and small business developments as part of broader, comprehensive neighborhood revitalization initiatives that also include arts, education and healthcare.

“We need to do more to bring the local economic recovery of Miami deeper into distressed neighborhoods that need the most support and this collaboration is a big step in the right direction,” said Mayor Tomas Regalado. “Thanks to some innovative thinking and important economic support, some of our hardest hit communities with the most urgent need will see better, more affordable housing, new jobs, and new local businesses they deserve.”

• NYC Collaborative (New York, NY) - $3.36 Million.  Over a three year period, the grant will help finance underserved entrepreneurs with an approximate average loan size of $43,000. It also expects to provide business/finance advisory services to over 1,000 entrepreneurs, and over 3 years, the project expects to create and retain over 1,200 jobs and expand hundreds of businesses in the target communities.

“It is essential that small businesses have access to capital in order to launch and grow, and I am pleased that today’s awards will help meet this important need,” said Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “We appreciate our partnership with JP Morgan Chase and will continue to work with public and private partners to connect small businesses with the resources they need to succeed.”

• CU Impact (New York, NY) - $500,000.  CU Impact will help to expand the delivery of innovative products and services in low-income and underserved communities by transforming the way credit unions deliver financial services.  This group will start by conducting a planning and capacity building process to launch the CU Impact platform with two NYC credit unions in 2017 and 2018.

About PRO Neighborhoods

In addition to supporting CDFI partnerships, PRO Neighborhoods focuses on:

• Holding our annual competition to identify innovative capital solutions to inclusive economic development.
• Providing Affordable Housing Seed Capital to enable local partners to acquire, refurbish, and provide affordable housing in communities that are at risk of gentrification.
• Employing data-driven neighborhood solutions to help cities better understand the most urgent problems facing distressed neighborhoods. This research helps local community development organizations better understand the implications of demographic shifts and help cities become smarter about what strategies work best and where to apply local support.

Measuring the Impact of PRO Neighborhoods

According to an impact assessment by The Harvard Joint Center on Housing Studies, JPMorgan Chase’s 2014, $33 million PRO Neighborhoods pilot program focused on disadvantaged neighborhoods allowed 26 CDFIs to raise more than $339 million in additional capital for local economic and social service projects. This has resulted in $270 million in loans, financing first-time home purchases, the preservation and development of 1,975 units of affordable housing, lending to 331 small businesses and creating and retaining 4,432 jobs.

Other Notable Statements of Support

 “The PRO Neighborhoods grants allowed the CDFIs to expand their lending and develop new ways to serve low-income communities,” said Alexander von Hoffman, a senior research fellow at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and lead author of the progress report. “The CDFIs not only leveraged the grants for additional funding, but also connected with each other and to the financial markets, which allows them to continue to boost their lending into the future.”

“There’s a lot of excitement surrounding downtown revitalization and the comeback of the American city, but we cannot forget that this prosperity is not equally shared across urban communities,” said Sarah Rosen Wartell, President of the Urban Institute. “I’m encouraged by JPMorgan Chase’s PRO Neighborhoods investment in the distressed neighborhoods too often left behind. With the critical combination of seed capital, high quality data and the engagement of CDFIs, this initiative is building the architecture for measurable change.”

About JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.