JPMorgan Chase Provides $1.7M To Promote Equity

In a bid to promote equity in Black neighborhoods, JPMorgan Chase has awarded the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative and the Center for Community Progress a $1.7 million grant, according to a new press release shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE. 

“At JPMorgan Chase, we are committed to helping people and businesses realize their full potential for economic growth and prosperity,” said Suganthi Simon, JPMorgan Chase’s head of Global Philanthropy for Georgia, Tennessee, and North and South Carolinas. 

“We are proud to support Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative and Center for Community Progress as they work to increase the supply of affordable commercial and residential properties to stabilize Atlanta’s historically Black businesses and neighborhoods.”

The contribution will go toward the AWBI’s ongoing initiative to establish equitable opportunities for Black business owners and their communities.

Vice President of Policy and Research at the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative, Dr. Alex Camardelle, spoke about the recent development. 

“The preservation of historically Black commercial corridors is an essential strategy to promote shared wealth and prosperity in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods,” he said.

Camaredelle believes that the grant can help Black neighborhoods that have been negatively affected by the steady rise of rental costs.

“Rising commercial rents are having a disproportionate impact on Black businesses and Black neighborhoods in Atlanta, which is leading to business closures and the loss of good-paying jobs,” Camardelle continued. “AWBI is committed to using the power of research and advocacy to mitigate that trend and support Black businesses in Atlanta.”

The AWBI plans to continue its efforts to address knowledge gaps surrounding affordable commercial spaces and enact policies designed to protect small business owners. The organization also hopes to help community leaders implement anti-displacement measures within private and public sectors.

Additionally, the Center for Community Progress will use the new development to foster partnerships for affordable housing, renovate unused properties, and create proposals encouraging philanthropy, policy, energy efficiency, and more fields.   

“In Atlanta and across the country, community developers are at the heart of successful revitalization,” said Kathleen J. Guillaume-Delemar, President & CEO of the Center for Community Progress. “These small-scale developers have to overcome additional hurdles created by systemic barriers in financing real estate development to build a portfolio of projects. The Center for Community Progress is committed to changing how neighborhood-scale developers of color are connected to land and opportunity to unlock their full potential.”