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February 02, 2022

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Six collaborations awarded $5 million each

JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently announced two of six winners to receive $5 million each in philanthropic capital as part of an annual competition to source innovative and sustainable ideas to advance equity in communities across the U.S. This year, the firm sourced proposals for projects designed for and by Black and Latina women to address racial and gender wealth gaps.  Starting with Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, JPMorgan Chase will award winning collaborations across six U.S. cities a total of $30 million in philanthropic commitments.

When COVID-19 disrupted America’s economy, it exacerbated deep economic disparities faced by Black and Latina women.¹  Over 2 million women left the labor force during the COVID crisis, and the unemployment rate for Black and Latina women remains persistently higher than the unemployment rates for White and Asian men and women.²  According to the JPMorgan Chase Institute, Black and Latina women were particularly vulnerable to the financial effects of the pandemic and saw differential impacts such as childcare responsibilities created by closed or virtual schools and day cares. For example, Black and Latina female-led households experienced the fastest depletion of their stimulus balance gains.

“To help address the challenges faced by many Black and Latina women across the U.S., we are investing in collaborations, drawing on the strengths of public and private sectors, to develop and test innovative and sustainable solutions. We know taking on these monumental issues will require a diversity of perspectives, areas of expertise and skills,” said Demetrios Marantis, global head of corporate responsibility, JPMorgan Chase. “Nearly two years into the pandemic in the U.S., we have continued to lose ground on the longstanding economic disparities that have disproportionately impacted Black, Hispanic and Latino people, especially women.”

These proposals will help drive solutions to support Black and Latina women who have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of COVID-19. Winning collaborations demonstrated significant experience improving outcomes for Black and Latina women, and offered timely and promising approaches to financial health and coaching, entrepreneurship, housing stability and career support. Winning proposals were selected both on the strength of their ideas and their potential to reach scale through policy and practice change. JPMorgan Chase will also work with national partners to support evaluation and facilitate a learning community among the six winners to enhance the long-term sustainability of their solutions, meet the changing needs of each community, and share learnings.

Today’s announcement is part of JPMorgan Chase’s $30 billion racial equity commitment to drive economic inclusion and builds on the firm’s initiatives to invest in solutions to drive equitable growth and community-based strategies across the country.

Five of the six collaborations are led by Black and Latina women.  Today, the firm announced two of the winners:

Advancing Early Education in Washington, D.C:

In the Washington region, the majority of early childcare educators are Black and Latina women and only one-fifth of all early childhood educators in the Washington region have a bachelor’s degree. Educators with bachelor’s degrees have more access to promotions, and the overall average hourly wage for educators with a degree is higher than wages for educators without a degree.³ With JPMorgan Chase’s $5 million three-year commitment, Martha’s Table, LIFT-DC, Venture Philanthropy Partners+ Raise DC, American University, Trinity Washington University, and the Urban Institute are launching the Advancing Early Education Collaborative—a partnership to increase access to education, skills, and training opportunities, as well as wealth building and capacity building for early childhood educators and the centers that employ them. The Advancing Early Education Collaborative will:

•     Expand access to postsecondary education through fully funded scholarships and certification opportunities;
•     Provide services such as education and financial coaching, technology access, professional development, stipends for childcare and transportation, access to children’s clothing and professional attire, and access to healthy groceries for participants;
•     Support early education providers by coordinating and centralizing costs such as information technology, billing services, human resources, professional development, healthcare and retirement benefits for staff.

Prioritizing Black and Latina women’s economic rise in Baltimore:

66% of Black, Latino and Hispanic households in Baltimore meet the standard for liquid-asset poverty. The largest percentage of those experiencing poverty are women between 25 and 54, with 50% of this population also being cost-burdened renters.⁴ With JPMorgan Chase’s $5 million three-year commitment, Latino Economic Development Center of Washington, D.C., University of Maryland Baltimore’s Community Engagement Center, University of Maryland School of Social Work, Black Women Build Baltimore, Baltimore D.C. Building Trades, Byte Back and Baltimore Community Lending will create a continuum of wealth building for Black and Latina women developers in West Baltimore. To do so, this collaborative will:

• Provide lines of credit and grants to Black and Latina women real estate developers in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods of Baltimore City to help eliminate barriers in real estate development and close the appraisal gap;
• Recruit Black and Latina women into construction apprenticeships by providing readiness training programs to prepare women to apply for, enter, and complete a building trades-registered apprenticeship;
• Establish a small business incubator program, including direct capital support and one-on-one coaching to meet women entrepreneur’s needs.

Four additional winners will be announced in the coming weeks.

The announcement builds on JPMorgan Chase’s commitment to expanding opportunities for women around the world by supporting organizations like the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Jeremiah Program, Capital Enterprise and SmartStart. This year’s investment in the six collaborations across the U.S. draws from lessons learned from previous competitions.  Key factors that result in lasting change include:

•     Shared priorities and a common understanding of goals;
•     A powerful vision for the future shaped by deep community engagement;
•     Strong leadership and collaboration among partners with resources to drive change;
•     Data-driven and evidence-based approaches that accelerate progress advancing equity.

About JPMorgan Chase’s $500 million commitment to drive growth

In 2018, JPMorgan Chase created a $500 million five-year initiative that combines the firm’s lending capital, philanthropic capital and expertise to make investments in cities around the world. The program includes large scale commitments in cities where deeper investments are needed to drive inclusive growth, as well as a challenge to source innovative cross-sector solutions for U.S. cities. What started as the AdvancingCities Challenge launched in September 2018 has since attracted more than 600 proposals over three cycles; in 2021, we received more than 200 applications from nearly 80 communities across 34 states.

Statements of Support

Kim R. Ford, president and CEO of Martha’s Table: “Our work is driven by our belief that every Washingtonian deserves the opportunity to thrive. We are deeply grateful to the JPMorgan Chase and to our outstanding peers in the Advancing Early Education Collaborative for their partnership. Together, we will help foster a strong workforce of talented early educators as well as an educational system that reflects the true value of this critical profession.”

Emi Reyes, CEO of Latino Economic Development Center: “For LEDC, our mission has always been to advance financial wealth in the Latino and underserved communities. LEDC also understands how Black and Latina women can impact our communities and serve as pillars if given the appropriate resources and tools. However, Black and Latina women are often left behind with heavy housing financial burdens or a lack of information and training. The pandemic has also disproportionately affected Black and Latina women and their financial equity. Thanks to JP Morgan Chase's three-year commitment, LEDC can continue to expand its mission in West Baltimore, decrease the wealth gap for Black and Latina women, and generate small business opportunities for all of these women and their ideas."

About JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.7 trillion in assets and $294.1 billion in stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2021. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S. and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com

1. https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Feb-Jobs-Day-v2.pdf

2. https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpsee_e16.htm

3. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/early-childhood-educator-compensation-washington-region/view/full_report

4. https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/21223/#real-estate