The firm deepens its 130-year presence in Baltimore and commitment to driving inclusive economic growth; advances $20 million five-year philanthropic commitment to Baltimore
June 4, 2024 (Baltimore) - Today, JPMorgan Chase announced an $8.45 million philanthropic commitment to nonprofit organizations and programs across the city of Baltimore to support economic and community development. Specifically, the firm’s funding will address residential vacancies to stabilize housing supply and promote access to affordable homeownership; support commercial corridor revitalization; and promote small business growth. This announcement is the latest round of funding as part of the firm’s $20 million five-year commitment to benefit underserved communities across the city.
The philanthropic investments include:
- $6 million to stabilize housing supply and increase access to affordable homeownership: The firm will commit new philanthropic capital to nonprofit organizations addressing housing vacancy in Baltimore, with a specific focus on those investing in neighborhood stabilization efforts, building wealth in underserved communities and increasing the affordable housing supply. Several local organizations working across the city have been invited to apply for this funding and the firm will select recipients working at varying levels of program implementation and capacity in late 2024.
This approach reflects the firm’s strategy to increase housing supply and support access to affordable homeownership, which has been informed by over half a decade of partnership with local organizations and leaders across the city. This new commitment advances three primary objectives: building local capacity, supporting evidence-based policies that enable acquisition and development, and catalyzing capital to drive scale. Earlier this year, the firm articulated its rationale for these objectives in a report on “What Works: Tackling Persistent Residential Vacancy, Abandonment and Disrepair,” which provided an in-depth analysis of its past work leveraging the public and private sectors, philanthropy and community partners to advance place-based neighborhood strategies.
- $2.45 million to support small business growth and expansion and commercial corridors revitalization:The firm announced philanthropic capital to support small business growth and expansion, including five separate grants totaling $1.45 million provided to community-based organizations working with small businesses to support technical assistance and access to capital. Grant recipients working directly with entrepreneurs are Innovation Works and Ignite Capital, Revolve Fund, and The Harbor Bank of Maryland. The firm also provided a planning grant to Maryland Procurement Economy Playbook, an initiative to strategically assess Maryland's procurement landscape and promote growth for small and diverse firms with a focus on Baltimore City.
The firm is also committing an additional $1 million to the Baltimore Civic Fund to support its new “Vacancy to Vibrancy” initiative, with matched funding from the City of Baltimore, to support local business owners and drive inclusive economic growth by empowering social entrepreneurs to successfully secure and transition to commercial spaces in Downtown Baltimore and West Baltimore. The program will support a fourth cohort of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore BOOST program to move small businesses to Downtown storefronts and the development of a new project led by Innovation Works and Ignite Capital and focused on the West North Avenue corridor and the Pennsylvania Avenue Main Street revitalization.
“We are thrilled to grow our commitment in the great city of Baltimore with new funding to help strengthen the community through homeownership, commercial corridor revitalization, and small business growth,” said Tim Berry, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility and Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Region and member of the Greater Baltimore Committee. “We’re proud of our 130-year history in the region and the partnerships we’ve built along the way to help us best serve the needs of the community. Today’s announcement is another step forward in growing and deepening this relationship as we continue to support building healthy communities and driving economic growth across the city, which is also critical to the economic health of the greater Mid-Atlantic region.”
“Betting on Baltimore’s future is always a safe bet,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. “Ensuring our city achieves its full potential is going to take all parts of our city – and partnerships like this one are critically important to that effort. Today’s announcement about philanthropic investments to increase accessible and affordable housing and supporting small business will continue to fuel Baltimore’s renaissance and help our city become the best version of itself. I look forward to the equitable change this investment will make and am thankful for the leaders who made it possible.”
“It is inspiring to see leaders come together to invest in our commercial corridors and ultimately the vibrancy of Baltimore’s neighborhoods and small business economy,” said Jay Nwachu , president and CEO, Innovation Works and Ignite Capital. “This investment is the continuation of an impactful partnership that has – and will continue to – power economic growth and advance the entrepreneurial spirit in Baltimore.”
“Addressing vacancy and affordable housing supply represents the greatest challenge, but also the greatest opportunity for Baltimore” said Bree Jones, founder, Parity Homes. “Catalytic capital by JPMorgan Chase supported Parity Homes so we could grow, scale and create wealth building opportunities for Baltimoreans, and we are just getting started. I am excited to see how this new investment empowers others in the work of equitable housing.”
JPMorgan Chase in Baltimore and Greater Washington
JPMorgan Chase has a 130-year long history serving Greater Baltimore. Across the Greater Washington region, the firm employs 1,500 people across all lines of business, serves 1.2 million consumer customers and 74,000 business clients. JPMorgan Chase currently has 110 branches in the Greater Washington region and the firm is expected to bring 30 branches to the Greater Baltimore region over the next three years.
Since 2019, the firm has committed more than $13.4 million in philanthropic capital across the city. The firm has also provided $114 million in financing since 2019 to create and preserve 776 affordable housing units and invested in $20 million of New Markets Tax Credit allocation to support economic and community development projects.
JPMorgan Chase has hosted 150 free financial health events supporting customers, community members and employees since 2021. And in October 2023 the firm furthered its commitment to create new jobs and promote career growth opportunities in the city by opening a new virtual call center team. Working with the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), the firm hired 40 Baltimore based customer service specialists and leaders and provides regular training and face-to-face meetings at the Parks & People Foundation and the Chase Mondawmin Community Branch.
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 $4.1 trillion in assets and $337 billion in stockholders’ equity as of March 31, 2024. 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.
