JPMorgan Chase is making a $75 million investment in the D.C. region, and it’s all aimed at underserved communities.
On Tuesday, the investment bank announced a five-year commitment in “philanthropic capital and flexible low-cost loans” to the region.
Wards 7 and 8 in D.C. will benefit from about $20 million of that. Baltimore will also benefit from about $20 million. The remainder will benefit Richmond, Virginia, and other communities.
“Business must do its part to help solve challenges facing the customers and communities it serves,” said Peter Scher, JPMorgan’s vice chairman, in a statement Tuesday. “Addressing inequities requires concerted and sustained efforts by public and private sector partners that seek to build wealth for communities of color.”
In D.C., for instance, Martha’s Table, LIFT DC and Venture Philanthropy Partners — as well as American and Trinity Washington universities — will receive $5 million for the launch of an “Advancing Early Education Collaborative,” which aims to increase access to education and training opportunities in early education for Black and Latina women in Wards 7 and 8.
Nearly $5.5 million will go to Parity Homes, Equal Justice Works and the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, to make home ownership easier for Black and Latino households in the region.
And another $5 million will help a collaboration of various local groups create wealth-building programs for minority real estate developers in West Baltimore.
JPMorgan said its choices were informed by insights from its philanthropic work in the region over the last five years, as well as through conversations with local leaders. One of the lessons it says it learned: Invest in diverse groups and businesses that are “by and for” communities of color.
“This investment from JPMorgan Chase, an investment in Black and Latina women, in early education, and in affordable housing, will give more families in D.C. the fair shot they deserve,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in reaction to the announcement.
