JPMorgan’s $250 Million in Grants Presents Opportunities for Nonprofits Nationwide

JPMorgan Chase plans to spread its philanthropic approach to urban revitalization nationwide after several years of intensive involvement in redevelopment projects in a handful of cities.

The investment bank’s foundation said Wednesday it will commit $500 million, evenly split between below-market-rate loans and grants to nonprofits.

The key to receiving a grant: cooperation. Nonprofits, which have until November 30 to apply, should propose ways to work with lawmakers and business leaders to reduce inequality and spur more investment in distressed urban areas.

In AdvancingCities, the grant-making portion of the pledge, JPMorgan will give up to $3 million in as many as 30 cities. Winning proposals will strengthen established coalitions that seek “systems change” in a variety of areas, including health, education, transportation, criminal justice, and economic development.

Over the past several years, JPMorgan has poured tens of millions of dollars into urban revitalization projects, most notably in Detroit, where it devoted $100 million to an effort led by foundation, business, and civic leaders to bring the city out of bankruptcy. It has also been active in Chicago and Washington, D.C., where it committed $40 million and $25 million, respectively.

Those big commitments not only involve a lot of cash, said Janis Bowdler, president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. They also require an involved and driven group of leaders who have mobilized around a common strategy.

“These are not necessarily places that are starting from scratch,” she said. “We’re looking for cities and civic leaders where there’s already been some table-setting, where there is a shared vision and what they’re lacking is funding.”

Seeking ‘Fertile Ground’

Eventually, the bank would like to make large investments in as many as five additional cities, similar to its deployments in Chicago and Washington. AdvancingCities will also allow JPMorgan to contribute smaller amounts to a wider selection of metropolitan areas. While it may not dive in as deeply everywhere as it did in Chicago and Washington, JPMorgan hopes it can identify cities that have made progress coming up with a plan and use their grants to attract additional capital.

“You need to have fertile ground,” Bowdler said. “The competition allows us to work with cities large and small that are headed in that direction but aren’t there yet.”

Similarly, the investment portion of the commitment seeks what Bowdler calls the “missing middle” — where city officials and nonprofit leaders have identified promising business investments that would likely result in sustainable enterprises but that have a higher risk profile than many commercial lenders can tolerate.

JPMorgan will primarily make loans to projects led by Community Development Financial Institutions that are meant to help entrepreneurs of color access capital and to finance neighborhood revitalization. To oversee the challenge, the financial-services giant assembled an advisory council with eight members, including Kresge Foundation President Rip Rapson, who has worked with JPMorgan extensively in Detroit, Ashley Swearengin, who is the former mayor of Fresno and current president of the Central Valley Community Foundation, and other civic, business, and academic leaders.

The investment bank said the loans and grants were made possible by the lower corporate tax rates that were signed into law in December. The $500 million commitment reflects a 40 percent increase in giving that JPMorgan announced in January.