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JPMorgan Chase Announces $3 Million Grant to Create Local CDFI Collaboration in Ohio's Three Largest Cities

Three-year commitment supports collaboration of local nonprofit CDFIs to bolster small business lending and community development financing in distressed neighborhoods in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland.

October 3, 2018 (Columbus, OH) – JPMorgan Chase has announced the OH3C Collaborative – a $3 million, three-year grant to fund a collaboration between four of Ohio’s strongest community development financial institutions (CDFIs) working across Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland.

CDFIs operate locally to lend money to people and in places where conventional lending is scarce. JPMorgan Chase’s grant will strengthen the CDFIs’ efforts to help more neighborhood residents start and sustain businesses that create jobs and build wealth in the target communities, while also providing the CDFIs with capital to finance the development of more affordable housing options and commercial spaces to house neighborhood-based businesses.

The neighborhoods targeted by the partners working in the “three Cs” – Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland – are experiencing the impact of gentrification as the real estate markets in these communities begin to improve and attract market rate investments. These investments are a welcome sign of improving economic conditions, but these communities already lack affordable housing options and a scarcity of locally-owned small business, making it difficult for neighborhood residents to build wealth. CDFIs play a unique role in generating economic growth and opportunity by providing access to low-cost capital and resources for neighborhood revitalization.

“JPMorgan Chase is committed to helping everyone share in the rewards of a growing economy. While many areas are booming across the state, we know that not everyone has the same opportunities to move up the economic ladder,” said Janis Bowdler, President, JPMorgan Chase Foundation. “We are proud to partner with these CDFIs to break down barriers to economic mobility and advance the long-held vision that local residents have for their neighborhoods.”

Currently, CDFIs in Ohio operate independently within their local markets. The grant from JPMorgan Chase provides funding for four CDFI institutions to form the OH3C Collaborative. The collaborative will work to reduce commercial and residential vacancy in targeted disinvested Ohio neighborhoods to ensure that, as housing and commercial markets continue to improve, the resulting new retail and housing is occupied by neighborhood residents.

The four CDFI institutions that received the grant:

“The OH3C Collaborative's vision is to further the redevelopment of Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland core city neighborhoods,” said Steve Fireman, President and General Counsel, ECDI. “The shared mission is to emerge as inclusive communities that provide housing choices for people at all income levels, as well as thriving business districts where long-time residents have access to needed services and capital for entrepreneurial endeavors.”

According to research from the Greater Ohio Policy Center, CDFIs in Ohio loaned nearly $1 billion between 2005 and 2016 and leveraged $5 for every $1 of CDFI investment. CDFI capital often flows into affordable housing, which remains a challenging issue in each of Ohio’s three largest cities. Transformational neighborhood change is key to stabilizing and strengthening Ohio’s communities, though as the Greater Ohio Policy Center research suggest, the need for credit in these neighborhoods exceeds what any one CDFI can address individually. JPMorgan Chase’s grant creates a CDFI collaborative that allows for increased lending opportunities, and larger impact where it’s needed most.

“The City of Columbus is excited to partner with Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, ECDI and JPMorgan Chase to continue investing in effective housing and small business programs in Columbus,” said Mayor Andrew Ginther. “This program will build on the past investments the City has made with these partners to provide homes and entrepreneurial opportunities. Together, we will help Columbus remain one of America’s most affordable cities, as well as one of the best cities for startups. We are grateful to JPMorgan Chase for their continued investment in Columbus.”

To meet its goal of transformational change within Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, the OH3C Collaborative has engaged the Greater Ohio Policy Center to track various measures. Based on their experience with neighborhood conditions and trends assessments, data will be collected including neighborhood change analyses that look at past trends across neighborhoods, as well as baseline quantitative data on market demographics, strength of the market, market distress and basic population demographics.


About the JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.