JPMorgan Chase Commits $150 Million to Chicago’s South and West Sides to Advance Racial Equity

JPMorgan Chase 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 firm’s continued 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.

By combining the firm’s unique set of business, data, policy and philanthropic resources, 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. These commitments continue to be informed by the firm’s additional home lending in Chicago, recent progress and insights from its philanthropic work in the city since 2017 and through conversations with local community, government and business leaders in Chicago. Today’s announcement is part of the firm’s $30 billion national commitment to advance racial equity.

“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,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co. “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.”

During the pandemic, 69% of Black households and 63% of Latinx households reported having financial problems, compared to 33% of White households in Chicago.¹ 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.

"Continued investments like these allow us to unlock the full potential of each and every one of our communities," said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. "This announcement not only shows just how important it is to forge public-private sector partnerships to bring about meaningful change to our communities, but it also builds upon our ongoing work to ensure that every one of our residents has a clear path to good paying, sustainable jobs and financial wellness resources. I want to thank JPMorgan Chase for its commitment to revitalizing and strengthening our South and West Sides, which will undoubtedly support our inclusive recovery from the pandemic."