JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Detroit Service Corps to Strengthen the City’s Nonprofit Community

DETROIT, November 3, 2014 /3BL Media/ – JPMorgan Chase & Co. today announced a new five-year program that sends teams of top-performing employees to Detroit to help strengthen the city’s nonprofit community. These employees will utilize their business skills and expertise to help select nonprofit organizations address the city’s economic challenges and support those who need it most.

As part of JPMorgan Chase’s  $100 million, five-year commitment to the city, the inaugural Detroit Service Corps will spend the first three weeks of November on the ground helping four  Detroit nonprofit organizations tackle blight, aid community development and facilitate small business growth. Specifically, JPMorgan Chase employees will be supporting critical projects at Eastern Market, Focus: HOPE, Michigan Community Resources and Vanguard Community Development Corporation – all local organizations supporting low and middle income communities.

“The expertise of our employees around the world is JPMorgan Chase’s most valuable resource, and we are proud to put that to work supporting Detroit’s economic recovery,” said John Donnelly, Head of Human Resources, JPMorgan Chase. “Our employees’ business, marketing, financial skills and personal commitment will go a long way to supporting the continued hard work of Detroit’s nonprofit community.” 

The initial Detroit Service Corps is made up of 12 JPMorgan Chase employees from across lines of business and locations around the world including New York, Sydney, São Paulo, Mumbai and Hong Kong. Together, they have more than 100 years of work experience at JPMorgan Chase with an average tenure of nearly nine years. Over the next five years, JPMorgan Chase will send additional teams of employees to Detroit annually whose expertise aligns with the needs of Detroit’s nonprofit community.

“Detroit's nonprofits play a vital role in the lives of people across our city through the services they provide," said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “The JPMorgan Chase Detroit Service Corps is a wonderful program that will help strengthen these community based organizations by providing expertise that otherwise they would not have access to. Bringing the Service Corps here will mean greater access to opportunity and support programs for Detroit residents.”

Employees will work in teams of three based on a skills match for each nonprofit’s objectives. They will work for one of the following nonprofits on the projects detailed below:

Eastern Market: Work alongside dedicated Eastern Market staff and Detroit area Wholesale Food Distributors to develop a model for a new Regional Wholesale Produce Market. JPMorgan Chase employees will examine best practices by other regional wholesale market facilities in the United States and provide a detailed assessment of how Detroit might build and operate a new Wholesale Produce Market.

"We are continually amazed at JPMorgan Chase's deep commitment to the revitalization of Detroit,” said Tracy Rivard, Director of Development, Eastern Market. “Their strong partnership with Eastern Market supports our economic development impact through Detroit Kitchen Connect, our soon to be open Community Kitchen and now the development of a strategy to grow our wholesale market. We are thrilled to have top executives from JPMorgan working as part of our team for the next three weeks."

Focus: HOPE: Help create a systematic assessment method for hiring, promoting and developing leaders and facilitating the transition to an integrated talent management approach to human resources. JPMorgan Chase employees will help develop a plan for implementing an integrated talent management system.

“JPMorgan Chase has been a longtime supporter of Focus: HOPE. In fact, Focus: HOPE opened its first bank account with Chase 46 years ago,” said William F. Jones, Jr, CEO of Focus: HOPE. “We appreciate their partnership and are really excited to benefit from their expertise as we develop an integrated talent management system that will contribute to the growth and success of Focus: HOPE.”

Michigan Community Resources: Help enhance the capacity of community organizations to attract and market Detroit’s neighborhood commercial corridors. JPMorgan Chase employees will review Michigan Community Resources’ commercial market analyses for five targeted neighborhoods and help create a marketing and outreach package that can be used by community partners.

“The JPMorgan Chase volunteers will take our work to the next level. Not only are they providing extremely useful information on how to revitalize Detroit’s neighborhoods, but they are also teaching our community partners how to use that information long into the future,” said Jill Ferrari, CEO, Michigan Community Resources.

Vanguard Community Development Corporation: Establish a viable business model for the organization to acquire, rehab and sell homes in Detroit’s North End. JPMorgan Chase employees will help quantify how the project would help stabilize the neighborhood’s property values and increase Detroit’s tax base. 

“This is a phenomenal opportunity for Vanguard to work with JPMorgan Chase to leverage the momentum along the Woodward Corridor to strengthen The North End's housing stock,” said Khalilah Gaston, Executive Director, Vanguard Community Development Corporation. “JPMorgan Chase has been a long-time supporter of our work in the neighborhood and this opportunity illustrates the power of strong philanthropic partnership in revitalizing Detroit's neighborhoods.”

The Detroit Service Corps will be implemented with the partnership of PYXERA Global, a leading nonprofit organization in the field of international development that creates partnerships between the public, private, and social sectors.

In 2015, JPMorgan Chase will expand its skills-based, international corporate volunteerism efforts to outside the United States. The firm will send eight employees to Mumbai, India, alongside IBM employees in the IBM Corporate Service Corps Program.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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, asset management and private equity. 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.

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