JPMorgan Chase Deploys Additional $35M in COVID-19 Support

On Jun 15, 2020

JPMorgan Chase is deploying $35 million in new philanthropic investments to help with immediate relief and to support an inclusive recovery with a focus on supporting vulnerable, hard-hit individuals who have lost their jobs and experienced reduced income and small businesses facing closure through:

• Small Business: Providing underserved  small businesses with access to capital and technical assistance in order to make best use of digital platforms to continue their commercial activity and access government aid programs;
• Financial Health: Helping individuals and small business owners address their immediate financial needs, navigate public benefits and manage their finances;
• Neighborhood Development: Supporting affordable housing providers through flexible capital and technical assistance to stabilize cost-burdened households and provide essential resident services
• Jobs and Skills: Providing access to job training opportunities for workers to better navigate the job market and helping community college students access critical resources to continue their studies; and
• Strengthening Nonprofits: Providing local nonprofits that are responding to the crisis with critical capital to continue to serve vulnerable communities and maximize their impact.

Investing in Immediate Relief and Inclusive Recovery

• According to the JPMorgan Chase Institute, 65 percent of families don’t have the cash buffer to weather a simultaneous income dip and spike in expenditure like the one resulting from the COVID-19 crisis.
• Median Black and Hispanic families earn roughly 70 cents in take-home income for every dollar earned by White families. Racial gaps in liquid assets are twice as large.
• 50% of small businesses in the U.S. have less than 15 cash buffer days, meaning many small businesses are especially vulnerable in this environment.

The $35 million in philanthropic investments will be deployed in communities across the U.S. and around the world, with a focus on communities of color and vulnerable populations globally, to help them access much-needed financial and technical resources during the crisis and prevent the opportunity gap from widening as the economy begins to recover.

• Newark:
  • Jobs and Skills: $375,000 to help BOC Capital/Greater Newark Enterprise Corporation provide minority-owned, hard-hit small businesses with better access to capital and advice on navigating government funding programs.

“The COVID-19 crisis is impacting the livelihoods of undeserved people across the world and threatening to further widen the opportunity gap for low-income households and communities of color,” said Karen Keogh, head of Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase. “At JPMorgan Chase, we are building on our past philanthropic work and data-driven insight to lift up communities in-need, collaborating with local government, businesses and community organizations, and using our business expertise to address the impact of this crisis for people, families and small businesses who have been hit the hardest.”

In addition to supporting vulnerable communities in regions across the U.S., JPMorgan Chase is making philanthropic investments in countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America.

What’s Next

• In the coming months, these investments and insights from emerging research will inform the firm’s strategy, helping impacted people and communities recover and rebuild.
• The firm will continue to combine its business expertise, data, capital and global presence to support its communities, employees, clients and customers affected by this unprecedented global crisis with a focus on four key areas where it has the skills and insights to make a real impact: jobs and skills, small business expansion, neighborhood development and financial health.

This commitment builds on JPMorgan Chase’s long-term investments to test and scale innovative programs, including those that provide minority entrepreneurs with access to capital, education and other resources.

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

Related Articles: