JPMorgan Chase Announces $30 Million for Small Business Network Growth

HIGHLIGHTS

• JPMorgan Chase Announces $30 Million for Small Business Network Growth
  Small Business Forward is a new five-year, $30 million grant program from the firm to boost small business support networks that help growing enterprises in specific industries. This commitment will connect entrepreneurs with critical resources such as facilities, investors and skilled employees to help them grow, create jobs and strengthen communities. 
   
• JPMorgan Chase Deploys Initial Investments on $100 Million Commitment to Detroit
  The firm announced the launch of the Home Restoration Program with Liberty Bank to provide rehab financing for Detroit residents who purchase homes through the city’s auction. With this and other investments, JPMorgan Chase has now put $20 million of its $100 million, 5-year commitment to Detroit, which was announced in May, to work with local community partners supporting economic development, blight reduction, workforce development and small business growth.
   
• Helping People Increase Savings, Improve Credit and Build Assets with the Financial Solutions Lab
  The Financial Solutions Lab is a new platform created by JPMorgan Chase to help consumers increase savings, improve credit and build assets. Managed by the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), the Lab will work with leading social innovators to identify, test and scale technology-enabled financial products and services for low- and moderate-income consumers.
   
• NatureVest: A Landmark Conservation Finance Initiative
  The Nature Conservancy and JPMorgan Chase are collaborating to create NatureVest, which will seek to transform the way we protect natural capital - the soil, clean air and water, and other valuable resources that nature provides. NatureVest will capitalize on the growing impact investment sector to create a platform to advance investment in conservation.

CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP

• Thousands of Youth in America Will Build Strong Foundations for Successful Careers
  JPMorgan Chase makes a $5 million commitment to helping underserved youth in America obtain the skills they need to build lasting careers. With this commitment, the firm expects to fund summer jobs for more than 4,000 teenagers and young adults, as well as learning opportunities for 20,000 13- to 24-year-olds over the next two years.
   
• JPMorgan Chase Expands its Intensive Enrichment Program for Young Men of Color
  The Fellowship Initiative, which the firm started in New York in 2010, will now reach more young men of color in New York and expand to include Chicago and Los Angeles, offering multi-year comprehensive support to high school students to help them achieve personal and professional success.
   
• WorkingRite Pioneers Program Achieves 100% Success Rate
  With funding from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, WorkingRite launched its Pioneers program in Edinburgh to support disengaged youth and help them become work-ready. The program provides a four-week induction and offers one-to-one support to help participants build transferable skills.
   
• Local TV Personality Opens Shop with Scottish Charity to Help Young People Get Jobs
  Tomorrow’s People – with support from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation – kicked off a new retail and furniture recycling unit in Glasgow to help unemployed young people secure work. High quality donated products will be recycled and sold at affordable prices to fund youth employment programs, while also providing paid apprenticeships.
   
• J.P. Morgan Partners with Yonsei University to Help Disadvantaged South Korean Youth Obtain Jobs
  In partnership with Yonsei University in South Korea, J.P. Morgan launched a program to help young people in the country overcome social challenges and build skills that they can use in the workplace. Haja Center and Youth Hub operate the program under the supervision of Yonsei University.
   
• New Skills At Work Launches in Paris (French)
  The firm announces Institut de L’Enterprise as a research partner in France and launches the initiative with representatives from the public, private and social sectors.

THE GLOBAL CITIES INITIATIVE
A joint project of Brookings and JPMorgan Chase

• FDI in U.S. Metro Areas: The Geography of Jobs in Foreign-Owned Establishments
  New Brookings research supported by the Global Cities Initiative provides a first-of-its kind analysis of where jobs in foreign-owned businesses are located and examines the role that foreign investment can play in helping to rebuild local economies.

  The Global Cities Initiative brought business, community and government leaders together in three cities this quarter to discuss strategies for economic growth:

Seattle.
A coalition of business and government leaders announced that the Central Puget Sound region is joining a pilot program to attract foreign direct investment as part of the Global Cities Exchange. After the forum, leaders from Seattle joined economic development colleagues from five other cities in a working session, where they discussed developing their foreign direct investment plans.

Phoenix.
This GCI forum featured a dialogue on global trade with former Ambassador Carla Hills and former Secretary of Commerce William Daley. U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker also joined the forum via satellite to announce the launch of the next phase of the National Export Initiative and recognized “metropolitan leaders who are developing global trade and investment strategies through [GCI and] are at the forefront of this important effort that will strengthen our economy.”

Louisville-Lexington.
Leaders from the Louisville-Lexington region came together to discuss the importance of a strong workforce and an innovative manufacturing sector. The forum focused on priorities identified through the Bluegrass Economic Advancement Movement – a joint regional business plan to grow the economy, increase trade and investment, and create quality jobs by building on shared manufacturing assets.

HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES GROW

• Ashoka Launches Its 2014 Impact Programme in Bern
  J.P. Morgan is working with Ashoka to help 10 social enterprises in Switzerland build their capacity and scale up their social and environmental impact through the Impact Programme. Participating enterprises address a range of issues, from creating access to work for young mothers, to creating a CO2 benchmarking system for the food industry.
   
• A South African Success Story: Program for Small & Medium Enterprises Surpasses Expectations
  J.P. Morgan's two-year pilot for South African Small and Medium Enterprises has achieved its established objectives, with all participants still in operation and a 27% median annual revenue increase overall. With the conclusion of the program, a new business development services analytics platform is being built that will transform C4G into an independent not-for-profit organization.

IMPROVING FINANCIAL CAPABILITY AND INCREASING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING

• The Reinvestment Fund to Bring $100 Million to Healthy Food Businesses in Underserved Communities
  The Reinvestment Fund announced it will generate $100 million in new financing to scale up its ReFresh initiative, a national network of partnerships engaged to improve access to healthy foods in communities where long-standing barriers exist, making it difficult for residents to live healthier, more stable lives. The JPMorgan Chase Foundation is also among ReFresh’s first partners supporting an effort to expand healthy food financing.
   
• Chase Receives $60 Million in New Markets Tax Credit Award 
  The latest round of New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocations will enable Chase to further expand its investment to support jobs and service in low-income communities across the U.S. Chase has received eight NMTC awards over the last nine rounds since the program began 14 years ago.
   
• MyBnk Launches Impact Centre
  MyBnk partnered with J.P. Morgan to launch its new Impact Centre, which will provide financial education and improve financial literacy among young people across the U.K.
   
• Chulalongkorn Business School partners with Townsend Thai Project and J.P. Morgan to launch ‘Financial Communication Center’ 
  Chulalongkorn Business School, in collaboration with the Townsend Thai Project and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, announced a new Financial Communication Center that aims to equip Thai households with financial management capabilities. The Center is building a knowledge platform and training financial advisers to provide educational services regarding financial management to people in rural communities.

INVESTING FOR IMPACT

• JPMorgan Chase Joins UK Government’s DFID and CDC to Announce $20 Million Investment in Novastar 
  This new joint investment in Novastar Ventures will kick start promising businesses in East Africa. The investment is developing and growing early-stage businesses that address basic human needs, such as healthcare, energy, housing, education and sanitation, in some of the poorest communities in East Africa. Watch a CNBC newsclip or read a Bloomberg article on the announcement. 

• JPMorgan Chase Wins FT/IFC Transformational Business Award
  JPMorgan Chase won the Transformational Business Award from the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, for its work on the Global Health Investment Fund, which is supporting late-stage global health technologies, drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to fight life-threatening diseases that disproportionately affect low-income countries. The Fund was announced in September 2013.

• New J.P. Morgan & GIIN Survey Indicates Higher Impact Investment Commitments, Investor Satisfaction 
  Spotlight on the Market, the 2014 edition of the J.P. Morgan and GIIN annual impact investor survey, reveals market growth amidst greater government support, new product and fund launches, and widespread impact measurement. For the first time, the survey provides detailed insight into asset allocation trends across regions, sectors and financial instruments from the largest respondent group since the survey began in 2010.

SERVING AMERICA'S MILITARY AND VETERANS

• 100,000 Jobs Mission Hires 140,832 U.S. Military Veterans 
  Companies in the 100,000 Jobs Mission hired a total of 140,832 U.S. military veterans through the first quarter of 2014—putting the coalition well on the way to beat its doubled goal of hiring 200,000 by 2020. In addition, the 100,000 Jobs Mission is expanding its efforts to hire military spouses and launched a networking tool called the Military Spouse Talent Exchange, an online portal to get the resumes and profile information of spouse job seekers in front of participating 100,000 Jobs Mission companies.
   
• JPMorgan Chase Pledges $20 Million to Support U.S. Military Veterans and Their Families 
  Under a new initiative First Lady Michelle Obama introduced in May, JPMorgan Chase pledged $20 million to help U.S. military veterans and their families. The pledge builds upon the firm's existing programs and initiatives for military veterans focused on employment, education and housing.
   
• JPMorgan Chase Employees Participate in 2,000 Mile, 27-Day National Relay to Remember the Fallen 
  Nearly 500 JPMorgan Chase employees participated in a national relay called “Carry the Load,” which started at West Point in N.Y. on April 29 and culminated in Dallas over Memorial Day weekend. Carry the Load is a nonprofit organization with the vision to restore the true meaning of Memorial Day by connecting Americans to the sacrifices of the nation's military, law enforcement, firefighters and rescue personnel. Employees marched alongside veterans, servicemembers, first responders, family members and civilian supporters in over 10 cities across the country to remember the fallen.
   
• JPMorgan Chase Turns Attention to Women Veterans
  JPMorgan Chase supported the participation of more than 200 women veterans and military spouses in Syracuse University's Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship program (V-WISE) this June. V-WISE was developed by Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management with support from the U.S. Small Business Administration and provides cutting-edge entrepreneurship training to women veterans looking to start a business venture.

  JCMorgan Chase also partnered with John Jay College of Criminal Justice to host a Women Veterans Symposium on June 25 covering topics such as entrepreneurship, health care and wellness and translating military work experience to civilian employment. The firm shared its Transition Field Guide for Veterans with audience members.